Around the Traps ... with THE FERRET 08:05, Tuesday, 3 August 2004
Sydney - Tuesday - August 3: (RWE) - What a difference five little cents make.
Womenswear retailer NONI B (NBL) yesterday declared a special 5c dividend and immediately soared 18c to a record $2.41.
It must have been the 5c.
Nothing else seemed to be new.
In its announcement of the special the company reiterated its June 1 announcement that net profit for the year to June 30 was expected to be up at least 40 per cent.
The shares had already risen from $1.88 on the basis of that warning.
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For all those punters out there who are a bit nervous about banks, particularly after the trials and tribulations of NAB, they should read the quarterly report from big investor WHITEFIELD (WHF) for a bit of comfort.
It makes some encouraging noises about the sector. However, cynics may say that given Whitefield's top four investments, and 32 per cent of its total portfolio, is comprised of the Big Four, it would say that, wouldn't it.
Anyway, Whitefield says that rising interest rates, a property market likely to stagnate for several years, and signs of competition-driven margin erosion have resulted in analysts downgrading their short-term earnings expectations for the banking sector.
"We would be concerned if margin compression resulted in a long-term reduction in bank earnings," it says.
"However, we note that while bank margins have temporarily been threatened by irrational competition at times over the last 30 years, banks have responded to restore profitability in each instance.
"We are somewhat comforted by the fact that bank valuations and share prices have not been excessive, and already factor in a level of inherent earnings risk, and that individual and corporate borrowing intentions actually remain strongly positive."
Still, Whitefield will continue to monitor its exposure in the sector closely.
Whitefield was untraded yesterday.
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Software group TECHNOLOGY ONE (TNE) is getting onto the announcements kick. Last week it announced preliminary (unaudited) results showed an increase in pre-tax profit of about 30 per cent to $13.1 million.
Yesterday it announced it would lift the end-of-year dividend to 1.6c, making the full-year dividend 2.85c.
Now why couldn't the two announcements have been made at the same time?
The full preliminary profit report is to come. TechOne shares were steady at 64c yesterday.
This is the same as a week ago - the two announcements have failed to move the market.
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ABACUS PROPERTY GROUP (ABP) yesterday announced a joint property buy in Adelaide with SAITeysMcMahon ... repeat, SAITeysMcMahon.
At first we thought it was a literal and went back to check.
But it was just another dumb name.
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Journalists must simply grab these numbers out of the air.
On the weekend one of the radio stations breathlessly reported that the upcoming auction of a 9.79 carat diamond could fetch up to $3 million.
The paper yesterday announced the diamond had been sold - for $97,000.
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Floats are becoming a viable option.
For the first time in yonks the winners are outnumbering losers.
Not by much, mind you.
The RWE monthly list of new listings since the beginning of 2004 year was published yesterday and it shows 45 floats are making money for original investors with "only" 44 still in the red.
