Author: roymorgansocial

Keep lid on the minimum wage, business urges

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 27-Feb-24

Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Andrew McKellar says the inflation outlook means it is likely to seek a lower increase in the minimum than the 3.5 per cent rise that it advocated in 2023. The Fair Work Commission increased the minimum wage and award rates by 5.75 per cent in 2023, which was the largest increase in more than a decade. Jarden’s chief economist Carlos Cacho says the minimum wage ruling could be a key factor in the outlook for wages in 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, JARDEN AND COMPANY

Lynas set to expand despite glut fears

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 27-Feb-24

Lynas Rare Earths has posted a 2023-24 interim net profit of $39.5m, which is 74 per cent lower than previously; revenue was down 37 per cent at $234.8m. The half-year result was marred by a six-week shutdown of its refinery in Malaysia, although Lynas took the opportunity to expand its production capacity. Lynas has advised that it now has the capacity to produce about 10,500 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) annually. Lynas also intends to increase production at its cracking and leaching plant at Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, although Lacaze notes that Lynas will need to find an alternative source of sulphuric acid if BHP closes its Kalgoorlie nickel smelter.

CORPORATES
LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Alcoa chases Alumina for $3.4bn deal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans, Valerina Changarathil
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-Feb-24

US-based Alcoa is offering 0.02854 of its shares for every share in Alumina Limited, its joint venture partner in the Alcoa World Alumina & Chemicals business. The all-scrip bid values Alumina at $US2.2bn ($3.4bn), and the offer represents a 13.1 per cent premium to Alumina’s last trading price. The bid has the support of Alumina’s board, as well as the target’s largest shareholder, Allan Gray Australia. China-based CITIC could potentially determine the outcome of the bid, given that it has a stake of about 19 per cent in Alumina.

CORPORATES
ALUMINA LIMITED – ASX AWC, ALCOA INCORPORATED, ALCOA WORLD ALUMINA AND CHEMICALS, CITIC LIMITED

Forrest blames green move for executive exodus

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-Feb-24

Fortescue’s executive chairman Andrew Forrest has rejected claims that the company has experienced an unusually high number of executive departures. Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Forrest conceded that some executives had left it because of its transition from a "fossil fuel-burning company to a green energy company", while he said its turnover was around half when compared to the mining industry as a whole. Forrest said that Fortescue’s senior management team was beginning to settle down now.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE LIMITED – ASX FMG, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

Named: the big businesses with (very) large gender pay gaps

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Helen Trinca
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 27-Feb-24

Landmark data from the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that the national total median remuneration gender pay gap is 19 per cent across private sector businesses with more than 100 employees. The base salary gap is in turn 14.5 per cent. However, the gender pay gap is more than 50 per cent at 37 companies, while women are paid 40-50 per cent less than their male colleagues at 107 companies. The data shows that Macquarie Group, Telstra and Woodside Energy are among the large companies that have a significant gender pay gap. WGEA CEO Mary Wooldridge says employers ignore gender gaps at their peril, while Minister for Women Katy Gallagher says the gender pay gap costs the economy $51.8bn a year. The WGEA’s gender pay gap data in 2025 will include public sector employers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY, MACQUARIE ADVANCED INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, WOODSIDE ENERGY GROUP LIMITED – ASX WDS

Women’s Leadership a key factor as Roy Morgan aces the first Workplace Gender Equality Agency gender pay gap test

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

Roy Morgan has aced the Workplace Gender Equality Agency’s first ‘gender pay gap’ test with a ‘median total remuneration gender pay gap’ of 0.0% in 2022-23, compared to the industry comparison group average of 29.3% – an outperformance of 29.3% points in favour of Roy Morgan. The ‘median base salary gender pay gap’ is also at 0.0%, compared to an industry average of 27.3%. Even more impressively, Roy Morgan’s ‘gender pay gap’ has remained at 0.0% for a third consecutive year, both for median total remuneration and median base salary. Roy Morgan understands the immense value women bring to a company in leadership roles and strives to bring talented women into the company and on pathways to managerial and executive leadership roles. This policy is succeeding and in 2022-23 Roy Morgan has an even spread of managers by gender, with nine women and nine men filling these 18 managerial roles – a 50:50 split. Roy Morgan’s board also outperforms the industry comparison when it comes to representation of women. Women comprise a clear majority of 67% of Roy Morgan’s board – more than double the average of our industry peers at only 32%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. WORKPLACE GENDER EQUALITY AGENCY

Mortgage stress increased in January following RBA’s November rate rise to record high above 1.6 million

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,609,000 mortgage holders (31.0%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to January 2024. This period included an interest rate increase on Melbourne Cup Day, with the RBA raising interest rates to 4.35%. The figure for January represented a new record high total for mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress, beating the previous record highs above 1.56 million in August and September 2023. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 802,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 994,000 (19.8% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.3%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ALP and Coalition can’t be split Federally as parties contest Dunkley by-election: ALP 50% cf. L-NP 50%

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

Support for the ALP has dropped 2.5% to 50% and the party is now even with the L-NP 50% (up 2.5%) on a two-party preferred basis. If a Federal Election was held now we would have a hung Parliament with minor parties and independents deciding who would be our next Government, the latest Roy Morgan survey shows. There were big swings against the ALP in New South Wales and Victoria after asylum seeker boats landed in Western Australia and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton ‘hammered’ the Albanese Government all week over the failures in border protection policies. There were also significant anti-Semitic protests in Sydney and Melbourne last week as well as extensive blackouts of hundreds of thousands of people in Victoria due to heavy storms throughout the State. The swing in Victoria suggests a closer than expected by-election in the seat of Dunkley – although the ALP still leads 51.5% cf. L-NP 48.5% in Victoria. Primary support for the Coalition increased 1% to 38% – it’s highest for over a year, while support for the ALP dropped significantly, down 2.5% to 31.5%. The Greens were down 1% to 12%, One Nation increased 1% to 5% and support for Independents & Other Parties was up 1.5% to 13.5%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,682 Australian electors from February 19-25. Further details will be released in Roy Morgan’s weekly video update presented by CEO Michele Levine.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Households face income pain until 2027: economists

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 21-Feb-24

Analysis suggests that Australian real household incomes fell by 6.1 per cent in the year to September 2023, when adjusted for inflation and population growth. Real household incomes have now fallen for eight consecutive quarters, returning this metric to 2017 levels. Independent economist Chris Richardson does not expect real household incomes to return to pre-pandemic level until 2027; he adds while the revised stage-three tax cuts in mid-2024 will provide some relief for households, productivity growth will be necessary to boost living standards in the long-term. Deloitte Access Economics partner Stephen Smith in turn forecasts that household incomes will return to pre-pandemic levels by September 2025.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Roy Morgan wins three-year contract to deliver domestic tourism statistics for Austrade

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Feb-24

From 2025, Roy Morgan will provide Austrade with the world’s best practice survey methodology, big data integration and modelling techniques to deliver accurate domestic tourism statistics. Roy Morgan has reimagined the future of domestic tourism statistics to move Austrade and its stakeholders to the forefront of tourism intelligence with a new platform that will drive the future of Australia’s tourism industry, which is estimated to be worth in excess of $160 billion. Portia Morgan, the Head of Client Services at Roy Morgan, says that using face-to-face interviewing, which is the gold-standard for surveying the population, enhanced with big data and cutting-edge data science techniques, Roy Morgan will be delivering a future-proofed system that will be cost effective, reliable, and accurate. She adds that Roy Morgan has been delivering survey-based tourism insights via its Holiday Tracking Survey for 20+ years and the company is thrilled to be working with Austrade and the broader industry to provide a deeper of understanding of how many people are travelling, where they go, what they do and how they spend their valuable tourism dollars.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRADE