Author: roymorgansocial

SEEK warns of flat profits, seeks loyalty

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 14 : 7-Aug-18

Shares in employment classifieds and services company SEEK fell by 8.8 per cent on 6 August, after it announced a profit downgrade and writedown. SEEK will write down $178 million on its investments in Mexico and Brazil, while its expects its 2018-19 net profit after tax to be around the $200 million result it achieved in 2017-18. A survey of analysts by Bloomberg had forecast a 2018-19 result of $240 million. SEEK CEO Andrew Bassat notes that it is reinvesting revenue in preference to targeting profit growth; SEEK expects its 2018-19 revenue to grow by between 16 and 20 per cent.

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, BLOOMBERG LP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ZHAOPIN LIMITED

Turnbull considering more drought aid

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 7-Aug-18

The federal government is likely to offer more assistance to drought-impacted farmers, as it looks at ways to help farmers adjust to a climate that is becoming hotter and drier. Short-term assistance that the government can offer could include helping to pay for the high cost of fodder transportation, while longer-term measures could include assistance with on-farm water storage and other infrastructure, including the possibility of tax write-offs. National Farmers’ Federation CEO Tony Mahar says subsidising crop insurance would also help farmers.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RABOBANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES FARMERS ASSOCIATION

Golden age of mining returns may be hard to sustain

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 7-Aug-18

The proceeds of large Australian miners’ asset sales will boost shareholders’ returns in 2018, but Plato Investment Management MD Don Hamson cautions that investors must lower their future expectations. He argues that miners have limited scope to maintain high returns via asset sales, and the "golden age" for shareholders must end. However, Camille Simeon of Aberdeen Standard Investments and Brenton Saunders of Pendal Group contend that large miners such as BHP can keep rewarding investors by constantly refreshing their portfolios.

CORPORATES
PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ABERDEEN STANDARD INVESTMENTS, PENDAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX PDL, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Fortescue keeps seat at Atlas

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 7-Aug-18

Fortescue Metals Group has reduced its stake in Atlas Iron from 19.9 per cent to 11.37 per cent, and CEO Elizabeth Gaines says it will retain a strategic stake in the takeover target. This will prevent Gina Rinehart from moving to the compulsory acquisition stage, and force her to work with Fortescue regarding Atlas’s port capacity at Port Hedland. Rinehart has gained more than 50 per cent of Atlas shares.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Senate support to fast-track small biz cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 7-Aug-18

The Federal Government will seek to pass its full company tax cuts package in the Senate when parliament resumes in mid-August. The support of One Nation and Centre Alliance senators will be crucial, although they are still unwilling to endorse the full package. However, both minor parties have signalled that they would most likely support any proposal to bring forward tax cuts for businesses with turnover of less than $50m. The tax cuts are slated to take effect in 2026-27, but Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff says he would be open to reducing the tax rate for these businesses to 25 per cent immediately.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Labor states keep energy plan alive

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-Aug-18

Labor-led state governments are unlikely to support the national energy guarantee at the Council of Australian Governments meeting on 10 August. However, the Victorian, Queensland and ACT governments have indicated that they are open to backing the NEG, although they will not make a final decision until after the policy is put to the federal Coalition’s joint party room meeting on 14 August. The NEG’s proposed carbon emissions reduction target remains a key point of contention for Labor at both state and federal level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, QUEENSLAND. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENT, LAND, WATER AND PLANNING, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

NAB’s fee strategy in spotlight

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 7-Aug-18

The banking royal commission has been told that National Australia Bank retained "grandfathered" commissions after merging five separate superannuation funds in 2016. A former NAB executive, Paul Carter, told the inquiry that the bank had been concerned about the impact that abolishing the commissions would have on revenue, as financial planners could potentially have responded to the move by directing clients to other products. The inquiry was also told that NAB failed to inform clients that they could opt out of paying a "plan service fee".

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED, MLC MASTERKEY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NULIS

Iron ore may dominate Rio profits for decade: Jacques

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 7-Aug-18

Rio Tinto has reduced its reliance on earnings from its iron ore division in recent years, although the steel input still accounted for 65 per of underlying earnings during the first half of 2018. CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has told investors that iron ore may account for the bulk of group earnings for some years, although he said Rio Tinto is considering a number of projects in the battery sector, including lithium and cobalt. However, he stressed that Rio Tinto will only pursue diversification if it is appropriate, and capital will continue to be allocated to the best projects.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC

One less Australian Market Research Firm. DBM merges with Shanghai based Illuminera Group

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Original article by the Illuminera Group of Shanghai, China
Shanghai – Page: 1 : 3-Aug-18

Illuminera today announced their merger with DBM, an Australian provider of insight based consulting to the financial services industry. After the merger, both Illuminera and DBM will benefit from their combined knowledge and capability in the fields of data analytics and insight based consulting to meet the increasingly demanding needs of clients across the Asia Pacific region, with over 160 full-time consultants and annual revenue of more than 160 million RMB. Dhruba Gupta, founder and CEO of DBM, said "The partnership is an exciting opportunity for us to work together to share resources, knowledge and expertise, making it possible for us to offer a wider range of innovative services and deliver greater impact for our clients."

CORPORATES
DBM CONSULTANTS PTY LTD, ILLUMINERA GROUP

Union push for weekend casual pay rises

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 5 : 6-Aug-18

The Shop, Distributive & Allied Employees’ ­Association will push for casual workers’ loadings to be increased from 10 per cent to 50 per cent on Saturdays. The SDA is also seeking a loading of 25 per cent for staff who work after 6pm on weeknights, in addition to the 25 per cent casual loading at present. The Australian Retailers Association’s executive director Russell Zimmerman argues that many casual workers in the retail sector can only work after 6pm, and they may not be given extra shifts if employment costs increase. The full bench of the Fair Work Commission will hear the wage claim on 16 August.

CORPORATES
SHOP, DISTRIBUTIVE AND ALLIED EMPLOYEES’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN RETAILERS ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU