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| Subject: Australia & New Zealand Feb. 27 (Bloomberg | |
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Author: ERG Ltd. (ERG AU) fell 9 cents, or 8 percent, to A$1.02 |
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Date Posted: Tuesday, March 09, 07:27:45am In reply to: Channel 10 's message, "Ten news update" on Sunday, February 22, 12:28:27am Australia & New Zealand E-Mail This Story Printer-Friendly Format Business Confidence Falls to Nine-Month Low on Two Interest-Rate Increases Fisher & Paykel Appliances Raises Its 2004 Earnings Forecast; Stock Surges Commonwealth Bank Leads Australian Banking Stocks Higher; Rio Tinto Drops Australian Stocks Rise, Led by Suncorp-Metway on Record Profit Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Australian stocks gained, lifting the S&P/ASX 200 Index to its fourth weekly advance, led by Suncorp- Metway Ltd. after home insurer reported a record first-half profit. The S&P/ASX 200 added 13.8 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3360.60 at the close in Sydney, for a 0.5 percent advance this week. The index climbed 2.7 percent this month. The S&P/ASX 200 Index's futures contract due in March rose 0.7 percent to 3359. The All Ordinaries Index added 14.4, or 0.4 percent, to 3372.5. The week's gains have been led by financial companies as insurers such as AMP Ltd., Australia's largest insurer, raised its operating profit forecast and rivals Promina Group Ltd. and Insurance Australia Group Ltd. reported higher earnings. The S&P/ASX 200's finance index climbed 1.2 percent this week. ``The industry has been restructured,'' said Steven Marsh, who helps manage $350 million, at Trust Co. Funds Management Ltd. in Sydney and holds insurance stocks. ``Premium rates have risen, claims conditions have been tightened and the companies are properly pricing risk.'' Suncorp-Metway added 48 cents, or 3.7 percent, to A$13.58, a two-year high. The company said first-half profit surged to A$281 million as insurance earnings tripled and it loaned more to businesses and homebuyers. New Zealand's NZSX 50 Index added 3.95 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2440.48 at the 5 p.m. market close in Wellington. The NZSX 40 Index rose 0.1 percent to 2246.02. The following stocks rose or fell. The stock symbols are in brackets after the company names. Australian stocks: Adacel Technologies Ltd. (ADA AU) fell 9 cents, or 12 percent, to 68 Australian cents. The Melbourne-based software developer had a net loss of $14.7 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, after writing off A$9.7 million on intellectual property, business losses and lower North American sales because of the rise in the Australian dollar, it said in a statement to the exchange. Adacel had net income of A$35,000 a year ago. Alinta Ltd. (ALN AU) added 16 cents, or 2.3 percent, to A$7.10. Western Australia's biggest natural gas supplier said full-year profit rose 51 percent to A$87.6 million following the acquisition of some of the Australian assets of U.S.-based Aquila Inc. Allied Gold Ltd. (ALD AU) fell 3 cents, or 10 percent, to 27 Australian cents. The Western Australia state-based gold miner told shareholders in a letter filed with the exchange to sell any holdings of less than 1,640 shares, or A$500, by April 15. After that date less-than-marketable parcels will be sold by Allied Gold in accordance with the Australian Stock Exchange Business Rules, the company said in the letter. Australian Cancer Technology Ltd. (ACU AU) fell 4.5 cents, or 11 percent, to 37 Australian cents. The Perth-based biotechnology company said it had a net loss of A$5.01 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, widening from a loss of A$242,102 a year ago because it wrote off A$3.5 million on research and development in preparation for a NASDAQ listing. Caltex Australia Ltd. (CTX AU) rose 39 cents, or 5.9 percent, to A$7.01. Australia's biggest oil refiner, whose full- year net income fell 8.2 percent to A$197.5 million, will pay a special dividend of 6 cents a share and a final dividend of 8 cents a share. Cellnet Group Ltd. (CLT AU) rose 14 cents, or 12 percent, to A$1.25. The Brisbane-based mobile phone distributor said it had net income of A$5.1 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from A$2.2 million a year ago. ERG Ltd. (ERG AU) fell 9 cents, or 8 percent, to A$1.02. The Perth-based electronic ticketing company had a net loss of A$43 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, from A$124.9 million a year ago. Harvey Norman Holdings (HVN AU) dropped 8 cents, or 2.8 percent, to A$2.78. Australia's biggest furniture and electronics retailer said first-half profit climbed 20 percent to A$94.3 million on increased sales of wide-screen televisions and digital cameras. The stock declined on concern the company had relied on property development, which was valued at A$819 million as at Dec. 31, from A$707 million a year earlier, to boost earnings. ``It was a strong profit but there is a bit of concern that it was driven by property development,'' said Craig Woolford, an analyst at Commonwealth Research Equities. ``That isn't a sustainable income stream.'' Iluka Resources Ltd. (ILU AU) fell 4 cents, or 1 percent, to A$4.14. The world's biggest producer of zircon used in ceramics were downgraded to ``market perform'' from ``outperform'' by Frank Van Rooyen, an analyst at Macquarie Equities. The company said yesterday full-year profit fell 22 percent as a surge in the Australian dollar cut the value of its mineral sales. Institute of Drug Technology Australia Ltd. (IDT AU), a Melbourne-based drugmaker rose 13 cents, or 6.5 percent, to A$2.13. Director Geoffrey Fredrick Lord bought 9,000 ordinary shares for A$18,870, the company said in a statement to the exchange. Kip McGrath Education Centres Ltd. (KME AU) rose 5 cents, or 3 percent, to A$1.70. The Sydney-based tutoring services company had net profit of A$306,962 in the six months ended Dec. 31, up from A$154,322 a year ago. Lumacom Ltd. (LUM AU) fell 9.5 cents, or 22 percent, to 33 Australian cents. The Perth-based audio and visual producer yesterday reported a net loss of A$1.67 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, narrowing from a loss of A$1.03 million a year ago. Strategic Pooled Development Ltd. (SPD AU) rose 1 cent, or 4.9 percent, to 21.5 Australian cents. The Melbourne-based investment company had net profit of A$107,179 in the six months ended Dec. 31. It had a net loss of A$125,158 a year ago. Village Roadshow Ltd. (VRL AU): Shares in Australia's largest film exhibitor were halted from trading ahead of a decision later today by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria, the company said in a statement. Village yesterday fell 5 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$1.70. Virotec International Ltd. (VTI AU) fell 3 cents, or 5 percent, to 57 Australian cents. The Queensland state-based remediation service company said it had a net loss of A$7.6 million in the six months ended Dec. 31, widening from A$2.8 million a year earlier. New Zealand stocks: Freightways Ltd. (FRE NZ), New Zealand's second-biggest courier company, fell 6 cents, or 2.7 percent, to NZ$2.20. ABN Amro Capital said it sold a 12.8 percent of the company overnight to institutional and retail shareholders at NZ$2.15 a share. ABN Amro retains a 6 percent stake in the business. Sky City Entertainment Group Ltd. (SKC NZ), the nation's biggest gaming company, fell 16 cents, or 3.6 percent, to NZ$4.30. New Zealand's largest casino operator said first-half profit rose less than analysts forecast as construction work disrupted sales in Auckland. It earned NZ$55.1 million ($38 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of eight analysts was NZ$56.2 million. Warehouse Group Ltd. (WHS NZ), the country's biggest retailer, fell 13 cents, or 3 percent, to NZ$4.19. The company forecast a reduced full-year profit after it said losses at its Australian unit may triple to as much as A$40 million. Australian losses have ``seriously undermined the value of the New Zealand business -- they will be facing a decision in the next 12 months whether they do really want to persist in Australia,'' said Warren Couillault, who holds Warehouse for NZ$190 million he helps manage at Fisher Funds Management Ltd. in Auckland. To contact the reporter on this story: Andrew Harrison in Sydney aharrison2@bloomberg.net To contact the editor for this story: Teo Chian Wei at cwteo@bloomberg.net Last Updated: February 27, 2004 01:10 EST [ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ] |