Melbourne, Feb 25: Australian health and freight group Mayne Nickless Ltd reported stronger half-year earnings on Wednesday but the result failed to meet investors' high hopes.Mayne also said it aimed to keep its pledge to sell its A$1billion-plus stake in Australia's newly liberalised telecommunications industry in calendar 1998.
But investors, who had boosted Mayne's share price on the eve of the result, marked the stock down on Wednesday after the company reported a 6.1-per cent rise in half-year net profit.
The A$60.7 million profit, for the six months ended January 4, was within market forecasts but, in the words of one broker, "it wasn't brilliant"."It was at the lower end of analysts' estimates," said transport analyst Andrew Mulholland, of brokerage Prudential Bache Australia.
He declined to give his full-year earnings forecast for Mayne for the year to July, but anticipated a minor downward revision in the order of 10 per cent or less.
Brokerages have forecast Mayne to report 1997-98earnings before one-off items of around A$130 million.Mayne shares weakened after the half-year profit announcement and stood at about A$8 in late Wednesday trading, down about two per cent on its strong Tuesday finish.
Mayne shares had been lifted on Tuesday by a much-improved profit announcement from Optus Communications Pty Ltd, which is 24.99 per cent owned by Mayne.
Copyright(c)1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
