Stocks to watch: Pike River, NZX, Smiths City

Stocks to watch: Pike River, NZX, Smiths City

May 19– The following stocks may be active on the New Zealand exchange after developments since the close of trading yesterday.

Themes of the day: Stocks edged lower on Wall Street after figures showed U.S. housing starts sank to a record low last month, led by a slide in apartments and condominiums. The kiwi dollar held above 60 U.S. cents.

NZX Ltd. (NZX): The stock exchange operator plans to establish a trans-Tasman small cap market via its acquisition of 50.1% of NSX, according to its prospectus to raise NZ$20.55 million in a one-for-five rights issue. The shares were unchanged at NZ$8.25 yesterday and has surged 52% this year.

Pike River Coal (PRC): The coal miner yesterday said it had put its first heavy coal cutting machine back into action after completing a temporary ventilation hole while the main vent is restored following a cave-in. As of yesterday, the Alimak raise – an angled bypass to the main damaged shaft – was 58% complete, the company said. CEO Gordon Ward said he expected to have all three mining machines cutting coal by early June. Pike was unchanged at NZ$1.03 yesterday and has gained 19% this year.

Smiths City Group Ltd. (SCY): The Christchurch-based department store operator said sales in the six months to April fell 5.7% to NZ$113million, while same-store sales fell 4.5%. The retailer said sales grew at the expense of margin in a “highly competitive market” and full-year profit would be “substantially down” on last year. The stock was unchanged at 35 cents yesterday and has gained 13% in the past month.

Widespread Portfolios Ltd. (WID): The minerals investment group said there are signs the Vietnam government may reduce a proposed 20% tariff on nickel exports, a move that would enhance the viability of the Ban Phuc nickel mine. The mine is controlled by Asian Mineral Resources, Widespread’s biggest investment.

(Businesswire)

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