G40 Fuel Retailing

Petrol plunge could hit 85c

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The West Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jan-15

Data from FuelWatch shows that some service stations in Perth are selling unleaded petrol for $A1.06 per litre. The crude oil price has fallen below $US50 a barrel, and Stephen Moir of the Motor Trade Association of Western Australia says it could potentially fall to around $US30 a barrel. He adds that at that price, Perth motorists could be paying between $A0.85 and $A0.90 per litre for petrol

CORPORATES
FUELWATCH PTY LTD, MOTOR TRADE ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA (INCORPORATED), PUMA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Wholesalers defend fuel pricing strategies

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 8-Jan-15

The Australian Government has ordered a review of Australia’s fuel pricing system. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission will monitor oil companies for three years. Viva Energy CEO Scott Wyatt said on 7 January 2015 that the pricing system works well. It is transparent and fast enough to ensure that savings resulting from lower oil prices are promptly passed on to retailers and motorists, he argued

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, VIVA ENERGY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM LIMITED, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, 7-ELEVEN STORES PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ROYAL AUTOMOBILE CLUB OF VICTORIA (RACV) LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY

Dollar’s fall lifts retailers’ spirits

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 21 : 10-Dec-14

The latest Deloitte Access Economics retail forecasts study shows that the sector can expect higher margins during the 2014 Christmas period, due to the fall of the Australian dollar against the US currency. The overall sales growth figure for the calendar year is tipped to be 5.4%, compared with 3% on average per annum since 2010. The Australian National Retailers Association (ANRA) also forecasts turnover in the second week of December to reach $A7.6bn. However ANRA CEO Anna McPhee notes that retail sector margins have declined in the past three years

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL RETAILERS ASSOCIATION LIMITED, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Woolies defies critics with profit guidance

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Original article by Andrew Fraser
The Australian – Page: 21 : 28-Nov-14

The stock of retailing sector group Woolworths on 27 November 2014 closed 2.16% higher at $A31.75, following comments made by chair Ralph Waters at its AGM. He told investors that the company was maintaining its forecast of 2014-15 net profit growth between 4% and 7%. CEO Grant O’Brien also noted the improving performance of the Dan Murphy’s liquor stores chain, Masters hardware joint venture and New Zealand supermarkets division. Waters sought to discount the competitive threat potentially posed by rival Aldi

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DAN MURPHY’S, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE CORPORATION, TESCO PLC, J SAINSBURY PLC, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Goyder defends Coles’s conduct amid strong sales

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 21 : 31-Oct-14

The total turnover of retailer Coles during the September 2014 quarter grew 4% to reach $A9.2bn. Across the individual units of the Wesfarmers-owned group, sales at Bunnings were up 11%, those at Officeworks 8% and Kmart 2.9%. At the results presentation on 30 October 2014, Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder rejected claims by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission that Coles supermarkets were guilty of "unconscionable conduct" by pressuring grocery suppliers into making financial contributions

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ZARA, INDITEX SA, TOPSHOP, ARCADIA GROUP PLC, HENNES OCH MAURITZ AB

Coles confirms job cuts in Melbourne

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 4-Sep-14

Management confirmed on 3 September 2014 that Coles Group will retrench and redeploy 400 Melbourne support staff. The close to $A40 million in savings arising from the retrenchments will be used to revamp stores and cut grocery prices. The restructure is the largest by the supermarket chain since its 2007 acquisition of Wesfarmers. Several general managers recruited as part of the $A20 billion takeover are said to be leaving Coles under its new MD, John Durkan

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ACCENTURE AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Caltex to axe 350 jobs ‘to become stronger’

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 19 : 26-Aug-14

Caltex Australia has announced a 2014 interim net profit increase of 1% to $A173m, on revenue that also rose 11% to reach $A12.771bn. The six-month distribution is $A0.20, fully franked. CEO Julian Segal said the Australian-listed petroleum refining and service stations group would make another 350 workers redundant after 400 jobs were lost in the shutdown of the Kurnell refinery. Overall a tenth of the employees of Caltex will be laid off

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Co-payment faces battle in Senate

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Aug-14

The Palmer United Party continues to oppose the Australian Government’s $A7 Medicare co-payment. However, Health Minister Peter Dutton says the current bulk-billing rate of 83 per cent is unsustainable and needs to be addressed. He has also foreshadowed exempting more people from the co-payment. Meanwhile, Treasurer Joe Hockey has urged the Senate to support the proposed reintroduction of fuel indexation

CORPORATES
PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. NATIONAL COMMISSION OF AUDIT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Coles to play banks at own game

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Original article by Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Jul-14

Coles will expand its product offerings in the financial services sector, with the introduction of personal loans. The grocery retailer expects to receive regulatory approval by the end of 2014, but Coles Finance director Rob Scott has declined to comment on the possibility that Coles could also seek a banking licence. The new products will be offered in partnership with GE Capital

CORPORATES
COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GE CAPITAL AUSTRALIA, TESCO PLC, J SAINSBURY PLC, MARKS AND SPENCER PLC, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VISA INTERNATIONAL, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Business doubts over backdated tax refunds

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 24-Jun-14

The reintroduction of the carbon tax repeal bill to the House of Representatives on 23 June 2014 has prompted businesses to consider their actions if the carbon tax is indeed abolished. Diane Smith-Gander, the director of Wesfarmers and chairman of Transfield Services, spoke about the impact of the repeal of the tax on retailers at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia conference. The fact that the Australian Government wants the abolition of the carbon tax to be retrospective to 1 July will create problems for retailers, because of shoppers being entitled to a refund of any carbon tax component

CORPORATES
TRANSFIELD SERVICES LIMITED – ASX TSE, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WESFARMERS BUNNINGS LIMITED, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGK, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STANWELL CORPORATION LIMITED, CS ENERGY LIMITED, MACQUARIE GENERATION, INTERNATIONAL POWER (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD