Shares in Treasury Wine Estates have been halted from trade as management reviews the wine maker’s financial results for the first half of the financial year.
The owner of the Penfolds and Wolf Blass brands said preliminary financial results, and any implications for its forecasts for the full year, were being reviewed.
Treasury Wine has forecast pre-tax earnings in 2013/14 of between $230 million and $250 million, up from $216 million in 2012/13.
But the company has previously said earnings in the first half of 2013/14 are expected to be lower than in the prior year due to lower US shipments and increased brand investment in Asia.
An excess of stock in Treasury Wine’s key United States market contributed to $153.4 million in costs in the 2012/13 financial year, and the decision to dispose of excess wine led to the exit of chief executive David Dearie.
Treasury Wine shares last traded at $4.55.
Australian stocks, meanwhile, have fallen heavily after resuming trade after the Australia Day public holiday, due to a recent sell off on Wall Street.
Wall Street’s Dow Jones Industrial Average took a near two per cent slide on Friday night and a further, albeit smaller, selloff on Monday night.
All sectors of the local market showed weakness at the start of trading on Tuesday, Morgans senior private client adviser Bill Chatterton said.
“It’s going to be across the board, you don’t have a move in the Dow like that without having a response across our market,” he said.
The big four banks were more than one per cent lower, with Westpac down 38 cents to $30.74, ANZ down 47 cents to $30.17, Commonwealth Bank down 87 cents to $73.87, and National Australia Bank was 37 cents weaker at $33.45.
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Among the resources stocks, BHP Billiton was down 70 cents, or nearly two per cent, at $36.34, while Rio Tinto had dropped $1.10 to $64.06 and iron ore miner Fortescue had lost eight cents to $5.15.
Telstra was four cents lower at $5.11.
One of the few bright spots was retailer JB Hi-Fi, which was up $1.57, or almost nine per cent, at $19.86, after saying sales and profit rose in the first half of the financial year.
Oil Search was also higher, up 15 cents, or nearly two per cent, on increased production and revenue.
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