Bonds Office retail and apartment building prices declined 7
Bonds Office, retail and apartment building prices declined 7.6percent in May from April, compared with a record drop of 8.6percent in the previous month, according to the Moody’s/REALCommercial Property Price Indices. The index covering all property types is down 34.8 percentfrom its peak in October 2007, nearing the range of forecastsof total declines expected by many analysts. This may havemeant fewer new phone or Internet lines for Telmex in thosedays. Also, Mexico’s Easter week holiday fell in the secondquarter this year, while last year it fell in the firstquarter. Slower business during that holiday may also haveharmed Telmex’s and other firms’ sales.
Telmex, a former government monopoly, plans to report itsquarterly results on Wednesday after the stock market closes. The following table shows the analysts’ average estimatesand does not take into account Mexico’s inflation.=============================================================== 20092008PERCENTAGE APRIL-JUNEAPRIL-JUNE CHANGE—————————————————————Revenue 29.861 bln30.925 bln -3.44 pctEBITDA* 13.784 bln14.424 bln -4.44 pctOperating profit 9.410 bln 9.912 bln -5.06 pctNet Profit 5.901 bln 6.187 bln -4.62 pctLost fixed lines 107,750 135,000New broadband lines353,750 488,000=============================================================== * Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation andamortization ($1 = 13.17 pesos at end of June) (Editing by Gerald E McCormick) Stocks Stocks. * Not paying distribution until economy improves Stocks * Profitability, cash flow hurt by weaker demand * Units fall more than 26 pct (adds TD Newcrest comments, updates stock movement) By Chakradhar Adusumilli BANGALORE, July 20 (Reuters) – Noranda Income Fund(NIF_u.TO), which owns a zinc-processing plant in Quebec,suspended its monthly cash distribution as sluggish demand andweak market conditions took a toll on its profitability andcash flow, sending its units down more than 26 percent. “The suspension of the distribution is clearly negative,however given the lack of visibility with the sulphuric acidsituation, and the fund’s net debt position of C$193 million,we view this as a prudent move,” TD Newcrest analyst StevenGreen said in a research note to clients. The analyst said if the fund continues at operating levelsof 80 percent for the remainder of 2009 and if it is unable toreduce current debt levels, it may trip leverage ratio covenantin the fourth quarter. The analyst, who cut his price target on the company’sstock to C$2.25 from C$2.50 but maintained a “hold” rating,said Noranda would save about C$1.5 million per month from thesuspension of distribution.
The company, which owns the CEZinc processing facility inSalaberry-de-Valleyfield, said the suspension would impact boththe ordinary and priority unitholders. “It is disappointing news that they are not continuing withthe distribution for the short term,” analyst Terence Ortslanof TSO & Associates told Reuters. Sluggish demand and falling metal prices have forced manyzinc producers to curtail operations, axe jobs and cutproduction forecast. “It is not a question of pricing any more, but it is aquestion of volumes,” Ortslan said, adding that the undisposedvolume is hurting the company’s cash flow.
Since March 2009, the fund has operated the production ofsulphuric acid and zinc at 80 percent of 2008 levels due to theweak demand, the company said in a statement. The Fund’s profitability and cash flow have been negativelyimpacted by operating at less than full capacity and by weakmarket conditions, Noranda added. The fund, which was created to buy Xstrata Canada Corp’sCEZinc processing facility in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, said itwould stop paying monthly cash distribution until there is anoverall improvement in the economic outlook. “They (company) have proven to make lot of money in thepast and there is no reason why its not going to happen again,”Ortslan added. The company’s units, which have fallen more than 35 percentso far this year, were trading down 68 Canadian cents at C$1.94on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Editing by Ratul Ray Chaudhuri, Pradeep Kurup) Stocks. Experienced Recruiter Enhances TMT & Professional Services PracticeNEW YORK–(Business Wire)–CTPartners, the performance-based executive search firm, today announced thatLoran Kaminsky has joined the firm as a Partner in the Redwood City Office.Loran specializes in professional IT services, software and the Internet. He hassuccessfully completed assignments in the C-Suite and for general management,senior executive functions and operations executives.
