Author: roymorgansocial

Woolies in turmoil

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 18-Jun-15

Woolworths has advised that its 2014-15 net profit after significant items will be 12.2 per cent lower at around $A2.15bn. The retail giant had issued an earnings downgrade earlier in 2015, and CEO Grant O’Brien has revealed that he will step down when a successor is appointed. O’Brien unveiled a three-year turnaround strategy in May, which is aimed at making Woolworths more competitive against grocery rivals Coles and Aldi. Woolworths also intends to retrench 1,200 employees.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW. COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD. ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED. MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD. BIG W DISCOUNT STORES. UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Westpac sells down BT stake for $700m gain

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Thomson, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 17-Jun-15

TS Lim of Bell Potter suggests that Westpac’s move to trim its 59 per cent stake in BT Investment Management is primarily aimed at lifting the bank’s capital ratio. Westpac plans to offload about 82 million shares in BT, which will raise between $A600m and $A700m while reducing its stake in the listed fund manager to 31-40 per cent. The bulk of Westpac’s BT shares will be offered to institutional investors via a bookbuild, while about 27 million will be made available to the retail shareholders of both Westpac and BT.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Shriro warms investors’ hearts with barbecue

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 17-Jun-15

Shriro Holdings will have a market capitalisation of about $A125m when it debuts on the Australian sharemarket on 23 June 2015. The household appliances group’s IPO raised $A50.5m, with its shares issued at $A1 apiece. Shriro’s portfolio of brands includes Altise, Omega and Robinhood, while it is a distributor of brands such as Casio, Blanco and Pioneer. Shriro has forecast a net profit of $A10m and revenue of $A187m for 2015.

CORPORATES
SHRIRO HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SHM, BLANCO PTY LTD, CASIO COMPUTER COMPANY LIMITED, PIONEER ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, OMEGA APPLIANCES, ROBINHOOD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALTISE, EVERDURE, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, SHRIRO PACIFIC, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, BING LEE ELECTRICS PTY LTD, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, BREVILLE GROUP LIMITED – ASX BRG, GUD HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX GUD, REXEL AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HAGEMEYER BRANDS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ROCKPOOL BAR AND GRILL PTY LTD, ESTEE LAUDER PTY LTD, GREENSTONE LIMITED, CARTER HOLT HARVEY LIMITED, IVE GROUP, METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, WILSON HTM INVESTMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX WIG, ANZ SECURITIES LIMITED

Coal M&A on hold as price falls predicted

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 17-Jun-15

Anglo American, Vale and Peabody Energy are among the companies that are believed to be keen to sell some of their coal mines in Australia. Coal Ventures director Bede Boyle suggests that New Hope Coal, Glencore and private equity firms are the most likely contenders to buy coal assets. However, Marian Hookham of IHS Coal says many potential buyers appear to be biding their time on expectations of further weakness in the price of coal.

CORPORATES
ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, VALE SA, NEW HOPE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX NHC, GLENCORE PLC, INTERNATIONAL COAL VENTURES LIMITED, IHS COAL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, ITOCHU CORPORATION, SUMISHO COAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Former ACCC head believes Ten, Foxtel deal likely to go ahead

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jun-15

The proposed equity deal between Ten Network and Foxtel will have to be approved by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. Former chairman Allan Fels says the growth of internet-based streaming video services should ensure that the deal is not blocked on competition grounds. John Kettle of law firm McCullough Robertson also expects the deal to be approved, and he says contractual arrangements between Ten and Foxtel are likely to attract the most scrutiny.

CORPORATES
TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, McCULLOUGH ROBERTSON, STARCOM MEDIAVEST GROUP, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, ILLYRIA PTY LTD, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, PRESTO ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD

Banks shine says Credit Suisse note

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Original article by Jens Meyer
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 17-Jun-15

Credit Suisse has upgraded its recommendation on the ANZ Bank from "neutral" to "outperform". The firm has cited factors such its higher growth in earnings per share than rival banks and the fact that ANZ shares offer value in the wake of the recent selldown. Meanwhile, eleven out of 19 analysts polled by Bloomberg have a "buy" recommendation on ANZ. Credit Suisse also has an "outperform" rating on National Australia Bank, and a "neutral" rating on Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BLOOMBERG LP

Young Rich lister seeks IPO success

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 41 : 17-Jun-15

Metro Property Development is undertaking a $A170m institutional bookbuild as it prepares to debut on the Australian sharemarket in July 2015. The personal wealth of CEO Luke Hartman was estimated at $A92m in the 2014 edition of the BRW Young Rich List. Hartman will be seeking to emulate the success of other recent IPOs of companies headed by members of the exclusive list, including SurfStitch, Aconex and Rewardle.

CORPORATES
METRO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT PTY LTD, SURFSTITCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX SRF, ACONEX LIMITED – ASX ACX, REWARDLE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX RXH, VOCATION LIMITED – ASX VET, AUSTRALIAN CAREERS NETWORK LIMITED – ASX ACO, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

BP joins calls to raise GST in line with OECD

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 17-Jun-15

BP Australia COO Andy Holmes notes that the average GST rate among OECD countries is 18 per cent. He argues that Australia should lift its GST rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, and broaden the scope of the consumption tax. BP’s submission on the Federal Government’s tax white paper also calls for changes to the stamp duty regime and the petroleum resource rent tax. Rio Tinto also favours stamp duty reform, arguing that it deters investment in Australia.

CORPORATES
BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BP PLC, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Buffett to play on the ASX

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 13 : 17-Jun-15

Insurance Australia Group (IAG) shares rallied on 16 June 2015 in response to a deal for US investment guru Warren Buffett to acquire a 3.7 per cent stake in the general insurer for $A500m. As part of the deal, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will be paid 20 per cent of IAG’s annual revenue for the next decade, which will be reinvested in a number of large Australian-listed companies. Buffett has indicated that bank stocks may be included in the portfolio.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INCORPORATED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, PETERS MACGREGOR CAPITAL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, WELLS FARGO BANK, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION

Women’s active-wear on a winning streak

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Jun-15

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that seven per cent of Australian women aged 14+ buy women’s sportswear in any given four weeks, spending an average of $A74. The survey, which was carried out in the year to March 2015, also shows that 22 per cent of women who participate regularly in combative sports such as boxing and martial arts buy active-wear in an average four-week period. Likewise, women who play tennis (21 per cent), netball (21 per cent) or partake in aerobics (16 per cent) on a regular basis are also well above average for purchasing female sportswear.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED