MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks rise; DNZ leads gainers

MARKET CLOSE: NZ stocks rise; DNZ leads gainers, Pumpkin Patch falls

By Jason Krupp

March 24 (BusinessDesk) - New Zealand stocks rose for a seventh straight session, led by DNZ Property Fund Ltd. after brewer Lion Nathan agreed to remain at the company's East Tamaki property for another three years. Pumpkin Patch Ltd fell.

The NZX 50 Index rose 11.45 points, or 0.3%, to 3,387.24. Within the index, 26 stocks rose, 15 fell, and nine were unchanged. Turnover was $118.3 million.

DNZ, the listed property investor, rose 2.5% to $1.24. Lion Nathan agreed to extend its lease of the Springs Road facility, which houses one of New Zealand's biggest liquor packaging and distribution operations, to 2014, DNZ said today. Lion Nathan had previously said it would look to vacate the premises in September this year.

"The deal backs the perception that the stock offers value, and that DNZ is out there actively doing a whole lot of deals that are incrementally adding value," said Peter Sigley, an institutional broker at Goldman Sachs & Partners.

He said property stocks had been sought after given the recent volatility on equity markets, with investors taking positions in companies perceived to have a defensive value.

Property for Industry Ltd., the commercial property investor, rose 1.8% to $1.16, Kiwi Income Property Trust, the country's biggest listed property investor, rose 1.5% to $1.02, and Argosy Property Trust, the property investment vehicle formerly known as ING Property Trust, rose 1.4% to 72 cents.

Vector Ltd., the electricity and gas distributor also perceived by the market as a defensive stock, rose 1.6% to $2.53.

Mainfreight Ltd., the trucking company, rose 1.3% to $8.79 after its $205 million acquisition of Dutch company Wim Bosman Group was unanimously approved by shareholders today. The move marks Mainfreight's first foray into the European market.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, the clothing retailer, rose 0.5% to $3.73, after the company posted a 17% drop in first-half profit, meeting the clothing retailer’s guidance, as 'intense' competition for women's apparel forced it to cut prices to maintain sales.

Profit fell to $7.1 million, or 11.96 cents a share, in the six months ended Feb. 1, from $8.5 million, or 14.33 cents a year earlier, the company said in a statement today. Sales fell 1.7% to $100.6million.

Pumpkin Patch, the children's clothing chain, fell 3% to $1.29, leading decliners on the NZX 50.

AMP, the dual-listed wealth manager, fell 0.1% to $7.25 after it announced it will pay the minimum amount of A$6.43 a share for Axa Asia Pacific Holdings.

Investors will receive A$2.55 cash and 0.73 of an AMP share for each Axa share under the $13.3 billion takeover bid, it said in a statement. Axa minority shareholders, who approved the deal earlier this month, will also get a final dividend of 9.25 Australian cents a share.

AMP will partially fund the deal with a A$600 million note issue to institutional investors. The securities mature in 2021, and will pay 250 basis points above Australia’s three-month bank bill swap rate.

Southern Travel Holdings, the travel and tourism booking company, was unchanged at 13 cents after it said it will not be able to sustain a turnaround started in the first-half of the financial year owing to the impact of the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes.

The Christchurch-based company did not give any indication of how its financial performance is likely to be impacted by the disasters. The company posted a first-half net loss of $85,000 for the year ending Dec. 31, from a loss of $538,000 in the previous period.

(BusinessDesk)

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