Forrest among Virgin suitors as June sale set

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Original article by Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 13 & 20 : 1-May-20

The first meeting of Virgin Australia’s creditors has been told that eight prospective buyers of the carrier have signed non-disclosure agreements with the administrators. A further 12 parties are still in negotiations with Deloitte, which is seeking indicative offers by mid-May with a view to finalising the sale of Virgin by 30 June. Meanwhile, a spokesman for Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo investment group has declined to comment on speculation that the iron ore magnate could buy Virgin. ACTU president Michele O’Neil has called for government support for Virgin.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, MINDEROO PTY LTD, ACTU

APRA to probe super payouts

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 17 : 1-May-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority generally expects superannuation funds to release money under the federal government’s early access scheme within five business days. APRA requires super funds to provide it with a range of data every week regarding the early access regime, and a spokesman says it is prepared to pursue enforceable action against funds that do not pay eligible members within an appropriate time-frame. APRA is collecting both industry-level and fund-level data, which will be publicly disclosed.

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AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Prepare for drawn-out downturn

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 1-May-20

The ANZ Bank has posted an interim cash profit of $1.41bn, which is 60 per cent lower than previously. The result was marred by impairment charges totalling $1.7bn, while a decision on its half-year dividend will be deferred until August due to uncertainty regarding the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. ANZ’s common equity tier one ratio has fallen to 10.8 per cent, compared with 11.5 per cent a year ago. Meanwhile, CEO Shayne Elliott says the Australian economy is unlikely to experience a V-shaped recovery.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

BHP aims to lift Pilbara exports

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 20 : 29-Apr-20

BHP’s iron ore export capacity at Port Hedland is currently 290 million tonnes per annum, but the resources group will seek approval to lift this by up to 40 million tonnes. This could increase BHP’s revenue from its Pilbara operations by around $5bn a year, based on the current iron ore price of around $US80 per tonne. Hayden Bairstow of Macquarie says BHP could increase its Pilbara exports to 300mtpa without the need for ‘material’ capital expenditure. Fortescue Metals Group has also flagged plans to increase its Pilbara export volumes.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Economic hit outpaces Great Depression

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 29-Apr-20

Treasury officials have told a parliamentary inquiry that Virgin Australia is not the only company that has sought government assistance due to the coronavirus pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy has warned that some businesses will not recover from the crisis. He also said the expected rapid rise in Australia’s unemployment rate will be unprecedented. The jobless rate is forecast to reach 10 per cent in June; Kennedy noted that while unemployment rose much higher during the Great Depression, it did so over several years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH

Government payments outweigh wage slump

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 29-Apr-20

New figures from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia highlight the impact of the coronavirus on the labour market. Its analysis shows that there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of CBA bank accounts that are receiving JobSeeker payments. Senior economist Gareth Aird says the increase in government benefits that have been paid since the onset of the pandemic has been greater than the fall in wages and salaries paid into CBA accounts to date. Meanwhile, CBA expects the savings rate to rise significantly in the June quarter.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Budget impact may be lessened by quicker recovery

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 29-Apr-20

The federal government is hopeful that Australia’s success in containing the coronavirus will result in the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme costing far less than the $130bn that has been budgeted. The government had expected about six million workers to access the payment; Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has told a parliamentary inquiry that there have been 540,000 applications from employers to date, covering about 3.3 million workers. The cost of the JobSeeker package for the unemployed may also end up being less than forecast.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Westpac braces for virus shock

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Apr-20

Westpac has advised that its half-year accounts will include a pre-tax impairment charge of $2.24bn. This includes a $1.6bn provision for coronavirus-related loan losses. However, CEO Peter King says the bank is well-positioned to absorb an increase in loan losses, while Westpac does not expect the impairment charges to have much effect on its common equity tier-one capital ratio. Westpac is not expected to undertake a capital raising, having raised some $2.77bn from investors in November. Westpac will release its interim results on 4 May.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

COVID-19 movement case study shows supermarket traffic remains steady during pandemic: Sydney

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-20

A special analysis of movement data in indicative locations around Australia reveals that despite massive drop-offs in movement throughout Sydney and Melbourne, supermarkets have seen only a small impact. Supermarkets have played a key role in the national conversation over the last couple of months as ‘panic buying’ of many essential goods took hold. Research firm Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technological innovator UberMedia to analyse movements at specific supermarket locations within each of the two cities. The results show no significant fall in the number of visitors to some of these supermarkets during the pandemic lockdown compared to January and February. Analysing the movement at Erskineville Woolworths in Sydney’s Inner South-Western suburbs shows high movement in the week restrictions were first introduced in mid-March, and then a slight decline over the next two weeks. However, compared to the emptying out of the city’s major business districts, movement at Erskineville Woolworths remained fairly steady. In other words, whatever changes people have made to their shopping routines, it has not resulted in fewer in-person shoppers. In contrast, we have seen sharp drop-offs in movement data for key Sydney locations including the airport, Central and Redfern Stations, Taronga Zoo, and other shopping centres with high numbers of fashion and other stores that are temporarily closed, such as Westfield Chatswood, Marketplace Leichhardt, Stockland Balgowlah, Westfield Bondi Junction and Westfield Warringah.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA

COVID-19 movement case study shows supermarket traffic remains steady during pandemic: Melbourne

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-20

Research firm Roy Morgan has partnered with leading technological innovator UberMedia to analyse movements at specific supermarket locations within Sydney and Melbourne during the coronavirus lockdown. Analysing the movement at Coles Williamstown in Melbourne’s Inner Western suburbs shows panic buying peaking on the weekend before the first restrictions were introduced on Sunday March 15. Visitor numbers have declined gently over the weeks since this peak and are now tracking slightly below average levels of movement seen earlier in the year. In contrast to the Coles in Williamstown, we have noticed sharp drop-offs in movement data for several key locations around Melbourne including the airport, Arts Centre, Botanic Gardens, Chinatown, Federation Square, Flinders Street Station, Museum and Exhibition Buildings, Southern Cross Station, Williamstown Beach Station and the Zoo. There have also been rapid declines in movement data for several key general shopping destinations including Chadstone, Highpoint, Southland, The Glen, Werribee Shopping Centre and Costco Docklands.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, UBERMEDIA