Stocks to watch: APT, NPX, LPC, PLU, TEL, WHS, WTL

Stocks to watch: APT, NPX, LPC, PLU, TEL, WHS, WTL

Sept. 10 (BusinessDesk) – The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading. All prices are in New Zealand dollars unless specified.

Themes of the day: New Zealand has slipped three places from last year to 23rd in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report, with this country’s business development being particularly weak compared to the other 138 nations in the survey. Equities in the U.S. gained as a larger-than-expected fall in jobless claims helped underpin a positive outlook for the economic recovery. Data showing the U.S. trade gap narrowed 14% also bolstered optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4%. In New Zealand, terms of trade is due out today for the second quarter. The kiwi dollar traded at 72.43 U.S. cents, up from 72.19 yesterday.

AMP NZ Office Trust (APT): The office space property investor is facing significant vacancies with Westpac moving out of its two Auckland premises in the PricewaterhouseCoopers building and all but half a floor of its Wellington space in the Vodafone building in the year ending June 2012, according to Goldman Sachs JB Were analyst Buffy Gill, quoted on the ShareChat website. Shares were unchanged yesterday at 76 cents.

Nuplex Industries Ltd. (NPX): The specialty chemicals manufacturer said it was seriously considering relocating to Australia, while keeping its two listings, a move that chairman Rob Aitken said could lead to the stock being rerated. The shares rose 0.6% yesterday to $3.39.

Lyttelton Port Co. (LPC): The South Island’s biggest port sustained damage to facilities including its coal terminal and will need to spend some tens of millions over time on repairs. The stock, which is controlled by Christchurch City’s investment company, last traded on Sept. 7 at $2.42.

Pulse Utilities New Zealand Ltd. (PLU): The NZX-listed electricity retailer has frozen trading in 464,000 of its ordinary shares, belonging to a subsidiary controlled by two large shareholders pending an independent investigator’s report. The stock last traded on Sept. 3 at 44 cents.

Telecom Corp. (TEL): The phone company dropped 5.2% to $2.02 yesterday after Crown Fibre Holdings prioritised three regional deals in its short list for the government funded roll-out of an ultra-fast broadband network, dousing hopes for a Telecom Corp.-led national approach.

Warehouse Group (WHS): New Zealand’s largest listed retailer posted a net profit of $83.2 million for the year to August 1, down 2.4% on the previous period. A final dividend of 8.5 cents per share was declared, bringing the total ordinary dividend for the year to 24.0 cents per share, up or 14.3%. Shares fell 0.2% yesterday to $3.69.

Windflow Technology Ltd. (WTL): The maker of turbines for windfarms yesterday revised up its loss for the year to June 30 to $7.95 million because of costs of remedial work for customer NZ Windfarms. The shares fell 4.4% to $1.10 yesterday.

(BusinessDesk)

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