Uncategorized

More staff come forward in Super Retail legal case

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Carrie LaFrenz, Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 30-Apr-24

Harmers Workplace Lawyers has confirmed that it is acting for four female employees at Super Retail Group who are seeking compensation over alleged governance breaches, including an undisclosed relationship between CEO Anthony Heraghty and its former head of HR, Jane Kelly. Harmers has stated that more staff have come forward to join the action after Super Retail Group disclosed the relationship in an announcement on Friday, with the company stating that it expected two employees to bring a claim for between $30 million and $50 million alleging governance failures, including the non-disclosure of the romance between Heraghty and Kelly.

CORPORATES
SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, HARMERS WORKPLACE LAWYERS

Why Foxtel faces its streaming apocalypse

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 26-Apr-24

Foxtel boasted annual earnings of nearly $1bn a decade ago, when nearly one in every three households had a pay-TV subscription. However, Foxtel has been hard hit by competition from subscription video-on-demand services. Analysts expect Foxtel’s earnings to fall to about $390m in the 2026 financial year, while its own streaming platforms will lose key HBO content if Warner Bros Discovery proceeds with plans to launch its own SVOD service in Australia. Foxtel CEO Patrick Delany says the company is now essentially two separate businesses, focused on streaming and its legacy pay-TV operations. Foxtel’s 3.1 million SVOD users account for 66 per cent of its customer base, but just 23 per cent of group revenue; in contrast, its 1.5 million pay-TV customers contribute 63 per cent of revenue.

CORPORATES
FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ABC ombudsman clears 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson of breaching impartiality rules in an interview with an IDF spokesman

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: Online : 23-Apr-24

The ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron has examined an interview between 7.30 host Sarah Ferguson and an Israel Defence Forces spokesman, after 52 complaints were received about the interview. Ferguson had told the spokesman that she did not accept claims that the killing of seven World Central Kitchen aid workers was a mistake, with Cameron reviewing the complaints against Ferguson against the ABC’s editorial standards for impartiality. Cameron has come out in support of Ferguson’s comments, noting Ferguson had a duty to conduct a testing interview that does not allow the interviewee "to use the occasion as a political platform".

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

The Future of Retail: A Roy Morgan Business Address

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 23-Apr-24

Roy Morgan’s Retail, Social and Consumer Trends Expert Laura Demasi presents a Roy Morgan Business Address on the consumer trends shaping Retail, as sales flatten amid the ongoing cost of living crunch. The Future of Retail Business Address explores how consumers are coping in this pressured environment: who is the hardest hit, how Australians are adjusting their spending, which cohorts still have spending power, and the surprise retailers winning in this environment. The Address also outlines Roy Morgan’s forecast for annual retail sales for 2024.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Lynas’ near M&A target finds backer in Hancock

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jemima Whyte
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 10-Apr-24

US-based rare earths producer MP Materials has disclosed that its shareholders include Hancock Prospecting. The Gina Rinehart-controlled company’s 5.3 per cent stake in MP Materials is worth about $US150m, based on the company’s current share price. Hancock’s stake was disclosed after MP Materials undertook a share buyback. Hancock also holds stakes in Australian-listed companies Brazilian Rare Earths and Arafura Rare Earths. MP Materials recently held merger talks with Lynas Rare Earths, although a deal did not eventuate.

CORPORATES
MP MATERIALS CORPORATION, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, LYNAS RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX LYC, BRAZILIAN RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX BRE, ARAFURA RARE EARTHS LIMITED – ASX ARU

ABC and triple j revive One Night Stand music festival

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Calum Jaspan
The Age – Page: Online : 9-Apr-24

The ABC’s youth-focused radio station triple j will team up with Music Australia to relaunch the One Night Stand music festival. The event was held annually from 2004 to 2019, but it was put on hold in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Triple j will run a competition to decide which regional town will host the one-day festival in 2024. The decision to revive One Night Stand follows the cancellation of popular music festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo and the Falls Festival.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, TRIPLE J PTY LTD, MUSIC AUSTRALIA

Rio Tinto takes over uranium mine clean-up amid spiralling costs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Toscano
The Age – Page: Online : 4-Apr-24

Energy Resources of Australia had initially estimated that rehabilitation work at its defunct Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory would cost $500m and be completed by 2026. ERA subsequently advised in September 2023 that cleaning up the site will cost at least $2.2bn and is unlikely to be finished before 2028. Rio Tinto has announced that it has reached agreement with ERA to take over management of the rehabilitation program; the mining giant has an 86.3 per cent stake in ERA.

CORPORATES
ENERGY RESOURCES OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX ERA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Lew unveils ambitous Premier overhaul

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-Mar-24

Premier Investments has posted a 2023-24 interim net profit of $177.2m, which is 1.7 per cent higher than previously. Sales rose by 2.9 per cent to $890m, while shareholders will receive a record half-year dividend of $0.63 per share. Meanwhile, chairman Solomon Lew has revealed plans to spin off the Smiggle stationery brand and the Peter Alexander sleepwear business into separately-listed companies in 2025. The proposed demerger of the two flagship plans follows a review of Premier Investments’ assets that was commissioned last year.

CORPORATES
PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, SMIGGLE PTY LTD, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD

Musk joins Dick Smith in stoush over ABC fact-check

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sophie Elsworth
The Australian – Page: 3 : 26-Mar-24

Dick Smith has threatened to sue the ABC for defamation if a report issued by the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit is not corrected. The report was issued in response to an interview between Smith and 2GB host Ben Fordham, in which he stated that "no country has ever been able to run entirely on renewables – that’s impossible". Smith claims that the report basically made him out to be a liar, and that "fact checkers are traitors to Australia". Billionaire Elon Musk has weighed in on the issue, claiming in a tweet on his X social media platform that "having government ‘fact-checkers’ is a giant leap in the direction of tyranny"

CORPORATES
RMIT UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

China’s Shein set to smash $1b sales in challenge to locals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Bonyhady, Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 13-Mar-24

Jarden’s head of research Ben Gilbert says Wesfarmers will need to invest in its Kmart and Target brands in order to compete with new online rivals such as Shein and Temu. Gilbert forecasts that Temu, Shein and Amazon will achieve combined sales of more than $7bn in 2024. Meanwhile, corporate filings show that Shein’s Australian arm posted a gross profit of $26m in 2023, while revenue totalled $812m; Roy Morgan estimates that Shein is on track to post annual sales of $1bn. Shein was founded in China but is now based in Singapore, while it is planning a US sharemarket listing.

CORPORATES
SHEIN, TEMU, JARDEN AND COMPANY, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED