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: Headlines from Europe look to again be the main driver of the share market today, with no local data to distract. Global equities bounced modestly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Greece appeared to be taking the right steps to avoid a default. On Wall Street, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 1% to 1,174.33 and Europe's Stoxx 600 Index closed 0.9% higher at 220.87.
Kirkcaldie & Stains Ltd. (KRK): Former Guinness Peat Group chairman Ron Brierley has become a substantial shareholder in the Wellington department store, lifting his stake to 5.7% from 4.4% previously at an average price of $2.85 a share. KRK shares fell 5% yesterday to $2.85.
Orion Minerals Group (OMG): The former iron ore miner, which currently has no form of revenue, reported a US$6,000 net loss for the 12-months ending June 31, compared to a US$2.3 million net loss a year ago. The improvement was due to foreign exchange gains and reduced overhead costs, particularly in Chile where the company has disestablished its operations. OMG shares were unchanged yesterday at 0.5 cents on the NZAX.
SkyCity Entertainment Group (SKC): The casino and hotel operator looks set to be one of the beneficiaries of the Rugby World Cup, which is expected to bring in $782.5 million to New Zealand. The company had previously flagged that it expects to earn an additional $20 million from the event. SKC shares rose 1.5% yesterday to $3.45.
Telecom Corp. (TEL): Holders of the company's $541.7 million in listed bonds are being offered a one-off consent fee of 0.25% to vote in favour of the spin-off of its lines business Chorus into a separate company. The bondholders will vote on the de-merger on September 30, ahead of the vote by Telecom shareholders scheduled for November 14. The fee will only be paid to those bondholders voting in favour and only if the vote succeeds. TEL shares rose 2% yesterday to $2.51.
Telstra Corp. (TLS): The Australian phone company is unlikely to increase its dividend before 2015, but indicated that it is considering a share buyback to return capital to shareholders, according to a report by The Australian newspaper. The company's 28 Australian cent dividend, which represents a yield of almost 10%, has long been the most attractive attribute of the telco's stock. TLS shares fell 0.3% yesterday on the NZX to $3.79.
Windflow Technology Ltd. (WTL): The embattled wind turbine pioneer is down to $400,000 in the kitty and needs to raise $2.4 million from existing shareholders and other sources to keep going until next January. The company, having declared a loss of $7.03 million for the year to June 30, said it can then hang on for another six months to June 2012 because it is due $2.82 million for the last 32 turbines at the Te Rere Hau windfarm in the Manawatu. WTL shares were unchanged on the NZAX yesterday at 50 cents. at $1.74.
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