Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Mike Pero and Air New Zealand: Capitalism vs Socialism

The fuss made by Air New Zealand [AIR.NZ] over Mike Pero's generous offer last week to provide a plane for families of victims of the 1979 Mt Erebus crash to visit the crash site has come to a head today when Air New Zealand seems to have relented because of embarrassment over a pitiful 6 individuals allowed to go to the site for the 30th anniversary of the crash last week.

The pilot of the fateful Air New Zealand DC10 that killed 257 people was blamed by Air New Zealand management at the time for the crash but evidence was clear that the fault lay first and foremost at Air NZ's feet and that management lied and covered up to rescue the company reputation.

It seems Rob Fyfe and his fellow board members have learned little over the years.

The company that he runs, which is majority owned and financially supported by Kiwi taxpayers has had a history under Fyfe's ownership of socialistic tendencies. That is, its CEO Fyfe has muttered that his company needs more taxpayer moola to run it, using fake science to attack competitors and making public comments that really shouldn't be made by a CEO in a publicly listed company.

Air New Zealand is to all intents a government department and it is run that way.

You can see that in its response to Mike Pero's offer to get a charter plane up to Erebus. Pero made the offer, Air NZ was "offended" by it, then changed its mind and now wants to do it itself, with taxpayer money - pure politics in operation and nothing else.

The failure by Fyfe at the top to be proactive and supply a plane for as many family members of victims who wanted to go is the real story.

Of course the fact that Jim Collins, the pilot of the 1979 flight, hasn't been publicly vindicated is the biggest shame of all and politics is again to blame for that.

As taxpayers, we are all Air NZ shareholders and we should all be angry about that. Those that have made a choice to buy Air NZ shares on the NZX should be seriously looking elsewhere to make money - this company aint going anywhere good in the long-term.

I salute you Mike for standing up to the mediocrity of socialism and using your fine capitalistic skills to try and make a difference for "victims" of the Erebus disaster.

Lets hope you go ahead with the flight. I know which flight I would rather be on.


AIR @ Share Investor

Queenstown Airport: Loud Voices & Loyalty
Long Term View: Air New Zealand Ltd
John Palmer Tipples on the Shareholder
Mike Pero and Air New Zealand: Capitalism vs Socialism
Rob Fyfe's "Environmental Extremism"
Reality Needs to Bite
Air New Zealand wants another taxpayer bailout

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Monday, November 30, 2009

Stock of the Week - Reprise: Contact Energy Ltd



Contact Energy Ltd [CEN.NZ] was a Stock of the Week pick back in June and I picked it then because the share price was heading below 6 bucks and there seems to be some resistance to the stock price falling too far past the $5.50 mark and that is why I have included it again.

The stock has retrenched below $6 4 times this year and has always retraced back above that mark. As high as just over $6.50 on one occasion.

A good stock for you short termers out there and a good opportunity for those of you looking for a good company on the cheap for a long-term proposition.

I must repeat though that management of this company is poor but even a monkey running this company can make money.

Could go lower than its current $5.84, with a low this year of $5.47.

Buy on further weakness if this stock has been on your watchlist.


Contact @ Share Investor Blog

Not so fast Davy Boy
Still Watching Contact Energy
Beam me up Davy
Stock of the Week: Contact Energy
MarketWatch: Contact Energy - June 2009
MarketWatch: Contact Energy - Jan 2009
Contact Energy looks bright during dark times
Share Investor's 2009 Stock Picks
Follow the Monopoly Board

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Stock of the Week Series

Restaurant Brands

NZ Refining
Ryman Healthcare
Mainfreight Ltd
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare
Xero Ltd
Auckland International Airport
Sky City Entertainment Group
Burger Fuel Worldwide
Michael Hill International
Contact Energy Ltd
The Warehouse Group
Fisher & Paykel Appliances

Related Amazon Reading

Small Investor Goes to Market: A Beginner's Guide to Picking Stocks
Small Investor Goes to Market: A Beginner's Guide to Picking Stocks by Jim Gard
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c Share Investor 2009

Friday, November 27, 2009

Kiwi Income Property debt levels should be a worry to investors

I only have 1000 Kiwi Income Property [KIP.NZ] shares so the outcome of decisions made by management has little material effect on me but it is well worth noting their recent plethora of capital raising attempts over the last few months.

Back in April they raised $50 million in an institutional and shareholder offer for additional shares and just recently I received a very glossy (and no doubt expensive) prospectus asking for an additional $125 million from shareholders.

Now I am not against companies raising capital from time to time, it is part of being a shareholder, but the dilution for shareholders if they don't take up the offer is something that cannot be ignored.

The high debt levels are a worry too in an economy that is yet to bottom.

The company has massive debt levels of almost NZ$1 billion which is just slightly half of the value of the assets on its books - assets that are worth $200 million less than last year and are likely to be worth even less next year as the commercial property sector comes under more pressure due to a business slowdown and less rental activity.

Management of various assets has also been a little lax to say the least with a building in Wellington, BP House, only being offered for sale to one interested party when there were others sniffing around - very strange.

The over-reliance on one property for income - Sylvia Park Shopping Centre - and the spending of shareholder capital to continually expand it could also be a concern if the retail sector continues to slide as it has over the last 18 months.

I am starting to backslide on my reasons for buying in the first place and regret my purchase - be it ever so small - I don't like losing money and fear I will with this one if their debt levels overwhelm their asset values, shareholders run out of money to prop it up and institutions lose interest.

KIP Shareholders please keep an eye out for your investment over the coming year.

As a footnote, and it really needs to be said even though it is probably obvious, I did not participate in the April capital raising and will not involve myself in the latest money grab.

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Letters to Aston: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime of Investing

NEW! "Letters to Aston: Lessons Learned from a Lifetime of Investing" by Martin Hawes


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Share Investor 2009

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Sky City to Focus on Gaming

I was going to write about something completely different today but that can wait.

Something I have been writing about for years 1 2 3 has finally happened at Sky City Entertainment Group [SKC.NZ]. They have ditched their money losing Sky City Cinema Division.

CEO Nigel Morrison hinted at it in an interview I did with him back in September:

SI - The SkyCity Cinema division has always been a challenge, to put it mildly. How do you see its fit within your gaming assets given its poor operating history and low to negative returns over a long period?

NM - As I’ve always said since my arrival at SKYCITY, I don’t believe that SKYCITY Cinemas is a core division of our Group. Our Cinemas team, led by Jane Hastings, has done a good job turning around this division in 2009 and we are looking for better performance again in 2010.

He was a little more revealing off the record at the time but either way this Sky City shareholder is very happy about the news.

With the dropping of the cinema division the company will now be able to focus on the casino assets that made the company a shareholder favourite in the 1990s until early 2000s when this asset started to suck money out of the company and the attention of directors and the former CEO Evan Davies.

They are getting NZ$59 million (subject to due diligence and regulatory approval) from Australia based cinema operator Amalgamated Holdings Ltd [AHD.AU] and the good news is that this excludes land and leases held by the company. Presumably this means that if sold in a February deadline Amalgamated will be paying rentals to Sky City - such a lovely thought!

The cinema division was bought for a total of just north of NZ$100 million years ago and was completely written off on the balance sheet 2 years back, so the realisation of nearly $60 million, plus hanging onto assets in the company actually worth something (the cinemas as such made no money) is a great outcome for the company and its long suffering shareholders.

The only decision to be made now is whether the proceeds of the sale will be used to pay down additional debt or distributed to shareholders as a special dividend - I would support the former.



Sky City shares rose 3c in a down market on larger than average volume on the news, indicating that the market has been looking forward to this result.

Disclosure: I own SKC shares in the Share Investor Portfolio


Share Investor Interviews

Share Investor Interview: Sky City CEO, Nigel Morrison


Sky City Entertainment Group @ Share Investor



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