The S&P / ASX 200 Index (Index; ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is down around 0.5%, thanks to mixed leads from overseas markets and a falling iron ore price overnight.
But these three stocks are not faring that well at all, losing more than 10% in mid-afternoon trading.
Here's why…
Austin Engineering Ltd (ASX: ANG) shares are down 14.5% to $1.29, after the mining equipment manufacturer reported a 97% fall in net profit for the 2014 financial year. Austin reported a $0.9 million profit as revenues fell 27%, thanks to reduced capital spending in the mining sector. The company's CEO Michael Buckland remains positive and expects an emerging recovery cycle. We'd beg to disagree. Capital spending has yet to hit the bottom in our view, and more bad news could be headed Austin's way. Another mining equipment manufacturer, Bradken Limited (ASX: BKN) could also be in the firing line, with managing director Brian Hodges recently noting, "It remains unclear when the mining capital cycle will improve."
Unilife Corporation (ASX: UNS) has seen its shares tumble 10.9% to 45 cents. The developer of injectable drug delivery systems responded today to a share price enquiry from the ASX, after shares had climbed from 42.5 cents on August 26 to 51 cents yesterday, August 27. Unlife says it has no explanation for the jump in the share price – and as a result, shares have fallen back. Those price movements show how irrational Mr Market can be at times.
Seymour White Limited (ASX: SWL) is an engineering and construction contractor focused mainly on infrastructure with low exposure to the resources industry. The company saw its shares slammed down more than 6% before recovering to be down just 2.2% in mid-afternoon trading. Yesterday, Seymour White reported a 15% increase in net profit for the 2014 financial year, a final dividend of 7.5 cents per share, fully franked and $200 million worth of work in hand for this financial year. That doesn't appear to be a bad result, although the market may have overreacted to the company's comments that it was likely to experience a weak first half of the 2015 financial year.
