MARKET CLOSE: NZ shares rise on Hallenstein earnings, Tower capital plans

Feb. 8 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand shares rose, pushing the NZX 50 Index to a three-month high, after insurer Tower said it was mulling a capital return and retailer Hallenstein Glasson Holdings flagged a jump in profit.

The NZX 50 rose 9.52 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3324.66, the highest close since early November. Within the index, 25 stocks rose, 15 fell and 10 were unchanged. Turnover was $109.8 million, the second session in a row with the highest value this year.

Tower rose 4 percent to $1.51. Chairman Bill Falconer told shareholders at their annual meeting today that a capital return was among options after the insurer missed out on acquisition opportunities to rivals with deeper pockets.

Tower missed out on acquiring Christchurch-based insurer, AMI Insurance, after Insurance Australian Group agreed to buy the business for $380 million

Hallenstein, the clothing chain, rose 2.3 percent to $3.63. Earnings in the six months ended Feb. 1 jumped by about 25 percent to as much as $9 million, helped by record Christmas sales and strong trading in January.

The retailer will release its results officially next month and the statement today will lift optimism retailers may be reviving after a tough 12 months.

Hallenstein's announcement was "particularly good given it's a tough environment for retailers," Craig Brown, senior investment analyst at One Path New Zealand.

"They have done great compared to other retail stocks."

Among store owners, Briscoe Group recently released figures showing sales growth through the key Christmas period while Warehouse Group, the biggest retailer on the bourse, posted dimmer results.

Warehouse fell 2.8 percent to $2.80 today and Briscoe dipped 0.7 percent to $1.45.

OnePath's Brown said investors expect "a cautious tone from earnings season."

DNZ Property Fund rose 0.8 percent to $1.32 after announcing the sale of an office tower in Wellington for $20.3 million and the purchase of a Bunnings Warehouse property in Auckland’s Mt Roskill for $24.5 million. The DIY chain is
DNZ’s biggest tenant, and the latest acquisition will see Bunnings contributing about 10 percent of the property investor’s rental income, it said.

Guinness Peat Group gained 0.9 percent to 57.5 cents after agreeing to sell its minority stakes in four food companies to ASX-listed Mariner Corporation for some A$3.2 million.

Mariner today settled the second of four acquisitions with a 12 percent stake in egg supplier Farm Pride Foods. Earlier this week it took over a 20 percent in Peanut Company of Australia from GPG, and expects to complete acquisitions of a 20 percent stake in Tasmanian Pure Foods and a 13 percent stake in Capilano Honey in the next week.

New Zealand Experience was untraded at 40 cents after saying it expects first-half net profit to come in about $750,000, well below its previous guidance of between $1.4 million and $1.6 million and below the $1.01 million it reported for its previous first half.

The Rainbow's End theme park owner and operator said visitors to the park in Auckland's Manukau totalled 154,500 in the six months ended Dec. 31, well below the 168,000 visitors in the same six months a year earlier.

Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50, rose 1.1 percent to $6.61. Telecom rose 0.2 percent to $2.16.

(BusinessDesk)

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