Stocks to watch: ATM, MGL, NZO, SKC, TEL, WTL

Stocks to watch: ATM, MGL, NZO, SKC, TEL, WTL

July 5 (BusinessWire) – The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading last week. All prices are in New Zealand dollars unless specified.

Themes of the day: Stocks on Wall Street fell on Friday as U.S. non-farm payrolls showed a deteriorating labour market in the U.S., with the fewer new jobs in the private sector, and more than half a million job-seekers giving up on finding employment. The kiwi dollar sank to 68.79 U.S. cents from 69.44 cents amid the gloomy outlook, though trading in global markets is expected to be thin, with the U.S. out for Independence Day holiday. Brent crude oil fell 1.3% to US$72.29 a barrel.

A2 Corp. (ATM): The company said its Dairy Products business has achieved earnings in the year ended June 30 amounting to forecast EBITDA of A$2.4 million on sales of 15.8 million litres. The budget for the 2011 financial year is for EBITDA of A$3.4 million on sales of 19.5 million litres, it said. The shares traded on July 2 at 8.6 cents.

Mercer Group (MGL): The stainless steel products manufacturer part-owned by Allan Hubbard, has shuffled its debt away from embattled financier South Canterbury Finance and to another related party. Gresham Finance Ltd., a lender associated with Mercer director Humphrey Rolleston, has taken on the manufacturer’s debt to South Canterbury of some $1 million, Mercer said on Friday. The stock last traded on June 30 at 25 cents.

New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd. (NZO): The Tui oil-field is forecast to produce 2.8 million barrels of oil in the year to June 30, 2011, down from 4.8 mmb’s in the last year, reflecting both an expected reduction from the field over time and an extended shut-in of Pateke-3H, one of the four production wells in the field. Remaining recoverable reserves are estimated at 22.3 mmb’s, with 28.2 mmb’s extracted since July 2007. The shares were unchanged at $1.24 on Friday.

Skycity Entertainment Group (SKC): First NZ Capital analyst Rob Bode has rated the casino operator as an ‘outperform’ as the Australian government moves away from tough measures to curb problem gaming, according to the ShareChat website. The shares gained 1.8% to $2.88 on Friday.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): Outgoing Telecom Whoelsale chief executive Matt Crockett has played down suggestions the phone company may pull out of wholesaling if the company splits its businesses to participate in the government’s ultra-fast broadband initiative, the Dominion Post reported. Crockett said the wholesale business had been “very profitable” for Telecom, though it needs “a fundamental reset of policy settings” and was forced to sell below cost outside of urban areas. The shares rose 0.5% to $1.84 in trading on July 2.

Windflow Technology Ltd. (WTL): The designer and manufacturer of turbines for windfarms said it has made its first steps towards entering the U.K. market due to a government policy which has led to massive demand for 500 kW turbines. The shares were last at 86 cents.

(BusinessDesk)

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