Stocks to watch: AIR, ALF, BRG, DGL, FBU, NZR, PGB, PPL, WHS

Stocks to watch: AIR, ALF, BRG, DGL, FBU, NZR, PGB, PPL, WHS

March 11 (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: The government is set to release the food index for February today. Prices jumped almost 2% last month, driven by spike in fruit and vegetable cost. Also, international visitor arrivals data for January is due. New Zealand exporters could face currency pressures after the kiwi dollar gained against its Australian counterpart, after weaker-than-expected employment figures and a report showing China – its biggest market – had a trade deficit last month. That saw the Aussie dollar fall below parity with the greenback. Global equities retreated after Moody's Investor Service Inc. cut Spain's government debt rating by one notch to Aa2. In afternoon trade, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 1.3%.

Delegat's Group (DGL): Booming exports have helped the wine industry reduce its glut by about 40 million bottles, according to report by Fairfax Media. Local winegrowers now expect exports for the year ending June 30 to be 220 million litres, 15 million more than originally forecast. That will still leave the total value of exports unchanged at around $1.1 billion due to lower prices. The winemaker' shares fell 0.5% yesterday to $2.08.

Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR): The national carrier it will be hiking fares on both domestic and international flights to cope with rising jet fuel costs, which have risen from US$114 per barrel to USD130 per barrel, adding almost USD10 million per month to operating costs. As of March 18, domestic airfares will increase by an average of 7%, fares to Australia and the Pacific Islands will increase by an average of 8% and long haul fares will increase by an average of 7%. The shares

Allied Farmers Ltd. (ALF): The receivers of Allied Nationwide Finance Ltd., the failed finance arm of Allied Farmers, have put the firm’s loan books up for sale. Receivers Andrew Grenfell and Kerryn Downey of McGrath Nicol are seeking expressions of interest to buy the loan book in its entirety, which was valued at about $110.9 million in the June 2010 financial statements. Grenfell and Downey are also looking to sell the Speirs Securities Ltd. securitisation vehicle which Allied Nationwide administered. The shares fell 0.5% yesterday to 1.3 cents.

Briscoe Group (BRG): The homeware retailer has seen a sudden rise in sales in the Canterbury region as households replace glassware damaged by the most recent earthquake in Christchurch, according to a report by Fairfax Media. The company's stores in Nelson, Ashburton, Timaru and Blenheim had also seen higher demand, driven by an influx of tourists and Christchurch residents and students. The shares fell 2.1% yesterday to $1.37.

Fletcher Building Ltd. (FBU): New Zealand’s biggest construction firm announced that it now controlled just over 50% of Crane Group’s stock. The building giant is looking to completely buy out its Australian rival, and has until March 31 to complete the deal. The shares rose 0.9% yesterday to $8.86.

New Zealand Refining Ltd. (NZR): The nation’s only oil refinery said refining margins averaged US$6.17 a barrel in the year ended Dec. 31, ahead of a projected $6.06 per barrel. The outcome was assisted by average gross refining margins of US$6.75 a barrel in the last two months of the financial year, the company said. Over November and December, the refinery generated NZ$41 million in processing fees, produced from 6.6 million barrels of oil refined, and there had been a “continuation of healthy refining margins”. The shares were unchanged yesterday at $5.

Pacific Brands Ltd. (PBG): Australia's competition authority has signed off on the $70 million sale of Pacific Brand's bedding and foam businesses to bed manufacturer Sleepyhead. The deal will see Sleepyhead's Australian arm, the Comfort Group, acquire Sleepmaker and Dunlop Foams, and in turn sell its carpet underlay business, Wonderlay, to Pacific Brands. The shares were unchanged yesterday at $1.35.

Pumpkin Patch Ltd. (PPL): The children’s clothing chain fell $3.7% yesterday to $1.31, near a 1 1/2 year low, after government electronic card transaction data for February showed core retail spending fell 0.6% in the month as consumers continued to keep a tight hold on their wallets. Of the eight categories tracked by Statistics New Zealand, spending on durables and apparel fell the most in the month, down $23 million and $13 million respectively.

Warehouse Group (WHS): New Zealand's biggest listed retailer has reported a 9% decline in first-half profit, citing a tougher operating environment, price deflation and ongoing decline in some of its key categories. Net profit fell to $52.3 million in the six months ended Jan. 31, while revenues declined 1.2% to $908 million in the period. The retailer declared an interim dividend of 15.5 cents a share. The shares were unchanged yesterday at $3.38.

(BusinessDesk)

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