Author: roymorgansocial

ANZ-Roy Morgan Hong Kong Consumer Confidence Falls in September

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Sep-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Hong Kong Consumer Confidence Index has fallen by 4.2 points to 134.0 in September 2015, after reaching a record high of 138.2 in August. The number of respondents who say their families are "better off" financially than 12 months ago has fallen by 4.1 per cent to 38.5 per cent. Meanwhile, the number of respondents who expect Hong Kong to have "good times" economically over the next 12 months has fallen by 2.8 per cent to 54.6 per cent. Inflation expectations rose by 0.2 per cent to 3.6 per cent in September.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Baby Bunting plans growth spurt to double in size after ASX float

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 23-Sep-15

Infant supplies retailer Baby Bunting currently has 33 stores, but the group is planning an aggressive expansion following its proposed $A52m IPO. Shares will be offered at $A1.40 apiece, with proceeds of the float to be used to reduce Baby Bunting’s debt. CEO Matt Spencer forecasts that pre-tax earnings will top $A16.3m in 2015-16, with sales of $A218.6 million. The baby goods market is estimated to be worth $A2.3bn.

CORPORATES
BABY BUNTING PTY LTD

Dividends seek caring home

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 23-Sep-15

Australian-listed companies are poised to pay investors some $A18bn worth of dividends. However, UBS Wealth Management’s David Sokulsky says that in the near-term investors may be better off retaining their dividends in cash rather than reinvesting in shares. He says investors should wait until the US Federal Reserve increases the cash rate, as bank stocks may offer value when the central bank finally tightens monetary policy. He also says equity markets may have further downside.

CORPORATES
UBS WEALTH MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Perth AFL fans spend up on corporate grand final tickets

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Original article by John Stensholt, Julie-anne Sprague
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Sep-15

The Australian Football League has revealed that all 14,000 of its corporate hospitality packages for the 2015 grand final have been sold. CEO Gillon McLachlan has indicated that Perth-based AFL fans have bought about 10,000 of the packages. Meanwhile, Virgin Australia and Qantas will increase capacity on the Perth-Melbourne route during grand final week. The West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers are both one match away from competing in the grand final.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, WEST COAST EAGLES FOOTBALL CLUB, FREMANTLE DOCKERS FOOTBALL CLUB, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Pancake Parlour flips on old flat rate pay

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Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: 14 : 23-Sep-15

Pancake Parlour employees will be covered by the industrial award for the restaurant industry, after the group did not oppose an application to have its existing workplace agreement terminated. The new arrangement means they will now be entitled to penalty rates for working at night and weekends. The issue of weekend penalty rates has been under scrutiny amid concerns about the high cost to employers, and the business sector is likely to lobby Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to take action on the issue ahead of the federal election.

CORPORATES
PANCAKE PARLOUR, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Sydney clearance rates soft ahead of spring sale

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Original article by Su-Lin Tan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 23-Sep-15

The upcoming "Super Saturday" on 26 September 2015 will be a key test of the residential auction clearance rate in Sydney in Melbourne. Kim Quick of Herron Todd White says the fall in clearance rates can be partially attributed to the higher number of properties going under the hammer compared with the same time in 2014. Figures from Corelogic RP Data show that auction numbers have risen substantially year-on-year during September in both cities.

CORPORATES
HERRON TODD WHITE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED, DOMAIN.COM.AU

Lion takes up myth busting to put fizz back into beer

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Sep-15

Lion CEO Stuart Irvine says consumers widely believe that beer contains a lot of sugar and preservatives, but he notes that the sugar content is actually just 0.1 per cent. The Japanese-owned brewing giant will launch a $A10m marketing campaign during the 2015-16 summer to promote the low sugar content of beer, as part of its strategy to arrest a decline in sales of mainstream beer. Lion is also adding nutrition information to the packaging of its beer brands.

CORPORATES
LION PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, SABMILLER PLC, PETALUMA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, CROSER WINES, INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PLATINUM CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX PMC, TOOHEYS BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD, J BOAG & SON LIMITED, CASTLEMAINE PERKINS LIMITED

Company tax cut – at a price

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: S1 & S2 : 23-Sep-15

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Federal Opposition is open to reducing the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent. However, he has told the AFR Tax Reform Summit that this should not be funded via an increase in the GST. ACTU president Ged Kearney told the summit that any reduction in the corporate tax rate should not result in lower tax revenue, but stressed that this does not necessarily mean that the GST should be increased. Economist Saul Eslake proposed cutting some income tax breaks to finance a reduction in the corporate tax rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. COMMONWEALTH GRANTS COMMISSION, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Checking the health of Australia’s vitamin market

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Sep-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that 8.1 million Australians aged 14+ (or 42 per cent of the population) bought vitamins, minerals and/or supplements in any given six-month period in the year to June 2015. This compares with the 6.6 million consumers (36 per cent of the population) who bought them in the year to June 2011. The survey also shows that 49 per cent of Australian women buy vitamins in an average six months, compared with 34 per cent of men. Women aged 35-49 (55 per cent) and 50-64 (53 per cent) are the most likely to purchase these products, while men aged under 25 (14 per cent) are far and away the least likely.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

NBN rival TPG Telecom not backing down

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Sep-15

Australian-listed TPG Telecom has posted 2014-15 EBITDA of $A484.5m, which is 33 per cent higher than usual. Revenue rose by 31 per cent in the year to 31 July 2015, to $A1.27bn, while net profit also grew by 31 per cent. Meanwhile, executive chairman David Teoh says the group will keep rolling out its fibre-to-the-basement network to apartment buildings, and it may market the service under its TPG and iiNet brands. TPG intends to discontinue some of its smaller ISP brands.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, NBN CO LIMITED, INTERNODE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, WESTNET PTY LTD, NETSPACE, ADAM INTERNET PTY LTD, TRANSACT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, NEXTGEN PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL