Country Road, G8 set pace
Tightly controlled specialty retailer Country Road and fast-expanding childcare group G8 Education are set to take opening honours for 2014 as the stock- market's best performers.
With just one day of the March quarter left, G8 is atop the S&P-ASX200 with a near 60 per cent rise since December 31, while Country Road leads the 500- member all ordinaries after trebling to $14.80 from $4.30.
The stocks have easily out- performed their indices which are on track to wind up the period with negligible gains, at best.
They head an eclectic mix of early runners, including Liquefied Natural Gas (up 96.6 per cent), gold miners Saracen Mineral (78 per cent), Perseus Mining (75.5 per cent) and Northern Star (40 per cent), nickel producer Western Areas (39.7 per cent), sandalwood company TFS (60.6 per cent) and US-focused Aurora Oil & Gas (35.8 per cent).
Country Road, with fewer than 200 shareholders and 99 per cent-owned by South Africa's Woolworths and Solomon Lew, is little traded. However, its shares have appreciated sharply, particularly this month, on the back of much improved financial numbers.
G8, last traded at $5.05, has had a rapid rise to prominence, fuelled by acquisitions and favourable dynamics in the fragmented childcare industry.
Just last week, it raised $100 million at $4.60 a share to add nearly 100 centres to its portfolio, including 22 bought from WA entrepreneur Rory Vassallo.
While selected WA resources companies have weathered the quarter well, others are among the period's biggest losers.
Top-200 gold producers Regis Resources and Beadell Resources have lost 25 per cent, while embattled rare earths company Lynas is off 27 per cent and Buru Energy 28 per cent. Mermaid Marine has lost nearly 28 per cent to $2.36 after raising $100 million at $2.40 a share last month.
Across on the all ordinaries, two small US oil and gas producers are at risk of finishing as the March quarter's worst performers. Neon Energy is off 88.5 per cent after disappointing exploration results from offshore Vietnam, while Red Fork Energy has fallen 71 per cent.
