NZ stocks: Market loses ground on mixed corporate news

Mixed corporate news caused the sharemarket to lose ground for the third session today, with the benchmark NZSX-50 index giving up more of its recent gains.

At 5pm, the NZSX-50 was down 14.23 points or 0.56 per cent at 2595.52, its lowest level since early April, while the NZSX-All capital index was down 5.13 points or 0.58 per cent at 881.23.

Shares worth a total of $91.11 million changed hands on NZX today, and among the 148 stocks traded were 41 rises and 64 falls.

Bellwether stock Telecom was down most of the day, its shares closing 5c lower at 559 on turnover of $35.12 million.

Telecom today posted its March quarter result, a net profit of $232 million, from $197 million last year, lifted by a one-off gain from selling its stake of an Australian AOL firm.

The company lifted its dividend from 5c a share to 7.5c.

Hamilton Hindin Greene broker Grant Williamson said the result was as expected and the dividend yield on the stocks would be attractive to investors.

First NZ Capital's Barry Lindsay said the dip in the company's shares could be pinned to a downgrade in its full-year profit forecast, from about $850 million to within the $820 million to $830 million band.

Contact Energy today said it would buy OMV New Zealand's share of gas drawn from the Pohokura gas field in Taranaki.

Contact, whose shares rose 4c to 581, agreed to buy an entire tranche of gas for five years from Pohokura's first production date, June 30, 2006.

Another energy stock, NZ Oil & Gas (NZOG) today said it had agreed to sell its share of gas from the Kupe field to Genesis Power, which would fund up to $40 million of NZOG's Kupe development costs.

NZOG which owns 15 per cent of the Kupe oil and gas field saw its shares rise a cent to 72.

Mr Williamson said the two deals secured future gas supply for Contact and Genesis, and were "win-win situations for all parties".

On the retail front, shares in The Warehouse initially slumped after it warned its full year result was likely to be at the low end of $60 million to $70 million range.

It said also said its third quarter sales rose 9.5 per cent, but its shares fell as much as 11c before rallying to close a cent higher at 433.

"They are trying to find solutions (in Australia) but it doesn't seem to be getting better in the future," Mr Williamson said.

Briscoe Group, said its unaudited retail sales for the April quarter were $67.3 million, but same store sales were down 8.9 per cent. Briscoe shares were down 5c at 138.

Other shares on the move included: Auckland International Airport down 3c to 665, Carter Holt Harvey down 3c to 200, Cavalier Corp down 4c to 471, Fisher & Paykel Appliances down 4c to 462, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare down 10c to 1260, Fletcher Building down 5c to 439, Guinness Peat Group up 3c to 218, Michael Hill up 7c to 595, NGC Holdings up 6c to 250, NZX down 14c to 915, Oceana Gold down 12c to 88, Promina down 10c to 415, Sky City up 2c to 453, Sky TV down 10c to 530, Telstra down 5c to 533, and Tenon down 5c to 188.

- NZPA