Author: roymorgansocial

After 50 years, Exxon and BHP quietly pull plug on Bass Strait oil

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 26 : 15-Jun-16

Oil output in Bass Strait has fallen to around 40,000 barrels a day, compared with 500,000 a day when production was at its peak. ExxonMobil is believed to be seeking to offload a number of production licences in Bass Strait, which has yielded more than four billion barrels of oil for the group since it established a joint venture with BHP Billiton in the 1960s. The Bass Strait oilfields’ reserves are rapidly being exhausted, although the region holds considerable gas reserves.

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SCHLUMBERGER LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

SurfStitch class action looms over briefings

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 14-Jun-16

The disclosure practices of online retailer SurfStitch are under scrutiny in the wake of a large share price fall that reduced its market capitalisation by $A500m. The stock fell by 53 per cent to $A0.48 in early May 2016, in response to a profit downgrade. There had also been heavy selling in the previous week, after the group held private briefings for some shareholders. Glenn McGowan, a partner at law firm Gadens, may launch a class-action on behalf of SurfStitch shareholders.

CORPORATES
SURFSTITCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX SRF, GADENS LAWYERS, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, STAB, MAGICSEAWEED, GARAGE ENTERTAINMENT, SURF HARDWARE INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD

Guvera committed to stockmarket listing

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Swan
The Australian – Page: 19 : 14-Jun-16

Guvera CEO Darren Herft says the streaming music provider intends to proceed with its proposed IPO. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has subjected the group’s prospectus to increased scrutiny, but Herft says Guvera is co-operating with ASIC to address its concerns. However, Guvera’s former commercial officer Michael Wallis-Brown disputes the number of active users that is claimed in the prospectus, and says the IPO should not proceed.

CORPORATES
GUVERA LIMITED – ASX GUV, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Beaten-down blue chips offer attractive buying opportunities

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Stephen Cauchi
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 14-Jun-16

Australia’s S&P/ASX300 has gained 3.76 per cent so far in 2016, while the S&P/ASX 200 has shed 2.4 per cent. However, Olivia Engel of State Street Global Advisors remains upbeat about the top 20 blue chip stocks, arguing that the sell-off means that some of them offer value. Tim Schroeders of Pengana Capital recently noted that blue-chip miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto represent "reasonable" value on an enterprise value and EBITDA basis.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 20 INDEX, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG

Godfreys backed for long-term

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Jun-16

Shares in vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys have fallen to $A1.015, compared with an issue price of $A2.75 in late 2014. However, major shareholder John Johnston is upbeat about the outlook for the group, and recently increased his stake to 24.9 per cent. He notes that there will always be demand for vacuum cleaners, while consumers are now replacing these appliances more frequently. Johnston has had an association with Godfreys since 1936.

CORPORATES
GODFREYS GROUP LIMITED – ASX GFY, SHAVER SHOP PTY LTD, ARCADE FINANCE PTY LTD, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, UNITAS CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INVESTEC AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES

Shareholders get cut of Shaver Shop’s IPO

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 14-Jun-16

Shaver Shop is slated to debut on the sharemarket on 1 July 2016, following a $A98m IPO that is believed to have been significantly oversubscribed. The retailer posted EBIT of $A6.5m in 2014-15, which is forecast to rise to about $A11.5m in 2015-16, while its sales for the current fiscal year are expected to be around $A106m. Shaver Shop chairman Brodie Arnhold notes that all of its stores are profitable. The group aims to increase store numbers from 100 to 145 in the next three years.

CORPORATES
SHAVER SHOP PTY LTD, RIP CURL PTY LTD, QUIKSILVER INCORPORATED, MELBOURNE RACING CLUB

Labor and Greens swap deal ‘a danger’

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 9 : 14-Jun-16

The Australian Labor Party and the Greens have secured a deal to swap preference votes in many electorates. However, the Greens have excluded 11 electorates from the preferences deal, and the party will direct first preferences to minor parties in the Senate. Labor and the Greens will also have an open ticket in South Australia in order to avoid directing second preferences to the Nick Xenophon Team. The Coalition recently announced that it will direct its preferences to Labor.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, ANIMAL JUSTICE PARTY, MARRIAGE EQUALITY PARTY, SECULAR PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, PIRATE PARTY AUSTRALIA, RENEWABLE ENERGY PARTY

Blame-game in NBN backflip

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 14-Jun-16

The Australian Government has rejected claims that the Opposition’s policy will cap the cost of the national broadband network at $A29.5bn. The Australian Labor Party argues that its plan to resume deploying fibre-to-the-premises technology will reduce the cost of the rollout. Labor aims to connect an additional two million homes and businesses to the NBN via FTTP. However, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has conceded that it would cost too much to upgrade premises that have been connected using fibre-to-the-home under the Coalition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, INTELLIGENT BUSINESS RESEARCH SERVICES PTY LTD, TELSYTE PTY LTD, INTERNET AUSTRALIA

Labor, Libs leave $60b health hole

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Laura Tingle
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 14-Jun-16

The issue of public hospital funding is under scrutiny, with the health policies of the Coalition and the Australian Labor Party only providing funding for the next four years. Professor Stephen Leeder notes that none of the major political parties have outlined a plan for sustainable funding of the public hospital system. Deloitte Access Economics’ Chris Richardson says Australia faces a "black hole" in hospital funding that will ultimately have to be addressed by the federal government rather than its state counterparts.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET

Lessons learnt, says Citic’s chief as sole focus now on Sino Iron future

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 14-Jun-16

The cost of developing the Sino Iron magnetite project in Western Australia is believed to have blown out to around $US12bn ($A16.2bn). However. Citic Pacific Mining CEO Chen Zeng has declined to comment on the cost of the project, which Citic bought for $US415m in 2006. The Sino Iron project has been affected by a long-running legal dispute, while the iron ore price has fallen significantly since shipments commenced in late 2013.

CORPORATES
SINO IRON PTY LTD, CITIC PACIFIC MINING MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MINERALOGY PTY LTD, METALLURGICAL CORPORATION OF CHINA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PATERSONS SECURITIES LIMITED