Stocks to watch: Wrightson, Sky City, Auckland Airport

Thursday 23rd July 2009

The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: The New Zealand dollar climbed above 66 US cents, to a nine-month, amid signs investors are regaining their risk as more US companies post better-than-expected earnings. Boeing Co. posted a 17% jump in profit. Bank stocks on Wall Street weakened after Morgan Stanley posted a bigger loss than was forecast.

Auckland International Airport (AIA): The largest gateway to the country has entered into a joint venture with Accor Hospitality and Tainui Group Holdings to build and operate a new four-star hotel. The 260-room Novotel hotel, which is expected to be ready in time for the 2011 Rugby World Cup, is forecast to cost around $65 million. The hotel’s construction is estimated to cost around $45 million, and the deal relies on financing the project and securing a construction tender. The shares climbed 2.5% to $1.61 in trading on the NZX 50 index yesterday, and have shed 3.1% in year to date.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (FPH): The medical products maker gets almost 80% of its revenue in US dollars, so a stronger kiwi erodes the value of its overseas sales. The shares rose 1 cent to $3.07 yesterday.

PGG Wrightson (PGW): Craig Norgate stepped down as chairman of PGG Wrightson, saying the nation’s largest rural services company needs an independent leader for the next stage of its growth. Norgate will be replaced by director Keith Smith, who returns to the chairman’s role he held at Wrightson, before the 2005 merger with Pyne Gould Guinness that created PGG Wrightson. The shares rose 1 cent to 98 cents yesterday.

Pike River Coal (PRC): The coal miner delayed the scheduled date forthe first 60,000-tonne export shipment to Japan by about six weeks tomid November. Pike River has sufficient funding in place toaccommodate this delay. The company said it is on track to meet the Liberty Harbor convertible bond condition that “first steady state” production is achieved by Nov. 30. The shares fell 2 cents to $1.12 yesterday.

Sky City Entertainment (SKC): The stock rose 3.6% to $3.16yesterday, extending its rally for a fourth day. Rickey Ward, who helps manage $400 million at Tyndall Investment Management, said there’s been interest in the shares from Australian investors. The casino and hotel operator this week said net profit for the year endedJune 30 was $113 million to $116 million, about 9% higher than its forecast in April. The results reflect better-than-expected fourth quarter revenues across its core casino operations.

Businesswire.co.nz

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