NZ stocks: Telecom profit likely to rise 10pc

By ELLEN READ AND AGENCIES

Half-year results will drive the local market this week and a number of companies are due to report.

Most influential will be tomorrow's release by Telecom, the country's largest listed company with an NZSE40 weighting of 23 per cent. Analysts are expecting its second-quarter figures to show a rise in net profit of more than 10 per cent.

A Reuters survey of eight analysts found an average expectation for the three months to December 31 of $155 million.

Telecom made a net profit of $139 million in the December 2000 quarter and a net profit of $151 million in the three months to September last year.

Analysts said growth in the company's Internet and Directory unit and some improvement in the New Zealand mobile phone business were driving the gains.

The company's dividend is expected to remain unchanged at 5c a share in line with its stated policy of paying a steady dividend for the first three quarters, adjusted if required in the final quarter to target a payout ratio of around 50 per cent of net earnings.

The ports of Auckland and Tauranga will unveil interim results this week - releases which will be watched for volumes as an indication of the country's economic health.

Listed agricultural company Wrightson releases its first-half results on Thursday. Late last year the company said it was on track to post a significantly improved net profit for the six months to December 31.

Wrightson chairman John Palmer said then that significant improvement in earnings to the end of November reflected strong performances across the company's operations, in particular its New Zealand Seeds and Livestock businesses.

Wrightson said its plan for the six months had been for an after-tax profit of $3 million, "but based on our performance so far, it could be double that".

In a fallout from recent results, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare shares will be watched to see if they regain some of the ground lost last week.

The company's shares shed more than 25 per cent after the former market darling hinted at lower-than-expected revenue prospects in its third-quarter profit result.

On Thursday the company said its bottom line profit for the December quarter rose 28 per cent to $14.1 million.