Why Atlassian is more profitable than it looks

Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 31-Jan-20

Workplace collaboration software company Atlassian’s net income is not a true reflection of its profitability. This is due to its use of a debt instrument known as ‘exchangeable senior notes’, and which does not exist in Australia. Investors wanting to get a better idea of Atlassian’s actual profitability are urged to compare its operating income or free cash flow year-to-year. Company co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes has previously observed that Australian investors tend to overvalue profits and undervalue growth.

CORPORATES
ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC

Agent of interference: How Labor’s top lawyer steered bureaucrats against ex-PM

Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 31-Jan-20

Andrew Cooper, the Australian organiser of the 2019 Conservative Political Action Conference, was asked to register under the federal government’s Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme. The request was made by the Attorney General’s Department. According to documents released under freedom of information laws, Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus encouraged department officials to investigate whether the CPAC would trigger registration requirements under the scheme at a meeting in July. The Department also asked former prime minister Tony Abbott to register under the scheme as he was to speak at the event; both Cooper and Abbott rejected the requests. A spokesperson for Dreyfus says the opposition cannot tell public servants to do anything.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Pressure grows on Premier to act on CityLink tolling threat

Original article by Timna Jacks, Benjamin Preiss
The Age – Page: Online : 31-Jan-20

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he could re-examine Transurban’s City Link tolling deal as a result of the West Gate Tunnel dispute. Project builders CPB Contractors and John Holland have threatened to walk away from the project if Transurban does not come up with more money to deal with contaminated soil. As part of the funding agreement for the project, Andrews agreed that tolling for CityLink would be extended for a further 10 years to 2045, with tolls to rise by 4.25 per cent each year.

CORPORATES
VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, CPB CONTRACTORS PTY LTD, JOHN HOLLAND PTY LTD

Virus evac deal with Beijing close

Original article by Charlie Peel, Richard Ferguson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 31-Jan-20

The federal government is believed to be close to securing a deal with its Chinese counterpart to evacuate Australian citizens from Wuhan. The government intends to place evacuees in quarantine on Christmas Island for 14 days and require them to pay up to $1,000 for their flight. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says it is ‘normal procedure’ for evacuees to pay their costs. Meanwhile, a ninth case of the coronavirus has been confirmed in Australia; the virus has now claimed 170 lives and infected more than 7,700 people globally.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS

Aussie Broadband maintains top position in ISP satisfaction ratings

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jan-20

Aussie Broadband is the winner of Roy Morgan’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) of the Month Award for November 2019, with a customer satisfaction rating of 92%. The achievement marks Aussie Broadband’s third win in the Customer Satisfaction Awards in 2019. Aussie Broadband is well ahead of a trio of TPG Telecom brands including Internode (79%), TPG (79%) and iiNet (77%), with the Vocus Communications-owned iPrimus on 78%, ahead of Belong (76%). Telstra and Optus follow on 72%, a full 20% behind the category satisfaction leader. The ratings are drawn from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth personal interviews with over 1,000 Australians each week face-to-face in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSSIE BROADBAND PTY LTD, INTERNODE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, TPG INTERNET PTY LTD, IINET LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IPRIMUS, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, BELONG PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD

Rate cut chances tumble on inflation rise

Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Jan-20

Official data shows that headline inflation rose 0.7 per cent in the December quarter, compared with 0.5 per cent in the three months to September. The annual inflation rate rose to 1.8 per cent. Factors such as higher prices for fruit, meat and petrol contributed to the increase in the inflation rate. Ben Udy of Capital Economics says the CPI data should ensure that the Reserve Bank of Australia leaves the cash rate on hold in February. The central bank expects core inflation to rise to 1.8 per cent by the end of 2020.

CORPORATES
CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

PM stays course on coal, climate

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 30-Jan-20

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used a National Press Club speech to reiterate the federal government’s commitment to its 2030 target for reducing carbon emissions by 26-28 per cent. He noted that the Paris Agreement allows developing countries to continue increasing their carbon emissions, and stressed the need to address the ‘climate gap’ between nations. Morrison also defended Australia’s coal export trade, arguing that if it is shut down coal buyers will merely seek alternative sources of coal that may be of lower quality.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

IPO drought expected to continue into the new year

Original article by Michael Bleby
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 30-Jan-20

Research by HLB Mann Judd shows that 28 companies with a market capitalisation of less than $100m listed on the Australian sharemarket in 2019, compared with 72 in 2018. In total, just 62 companies debuted on the local bourse in 2019, collectively raising $6.91bn. The downturn in IPO activity has carried over into 2020, and HLB Mann Judd partner Nicholas Guest says many owners of high-growth businesses are likely to seek private equity backing rather than an IPO in the current environment.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD

From virus city to island refuge

Original article by Richard Ferguson, Robyn Ironside
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 30-Jan-20

The federal government has requested permission from its Chinese counterpart to evacuate Australian citizens from Wuhan. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has stressed that only one chartered flight from Australia may be permitted to land in Wuhan, while he has defended the government over criticism of its slow response to repatriating citizens who are in the quarantined city. The government intends to place evacuees in quarantine on Christmas Island for up to 14 days. Seven cases of the coronavirus has now been confirmed in Australia; more than 6,000 people worldwide have contracted the virus, which has claimed 132 lives to date.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Home loan customers reward ME Bank with highest satisfaction rating

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Jan-20

New Roy Morgan banking data shows that ME Bank has the leading satisfaction rating (91.4%) among home loan customers. ING remains in top position among non-home loan customers with a rating of 89.8%. Among home loan customers, ME Bank is followed by ING (89.3%), Bendigo Bank (83.3%) and Bankwest (77.1%). For non-home loan customers, leader ING is followed by Bendigo Bank (87.8%), ME Bank (83.5%) and Suncorp (81.0%). The institution with the largest discrepancy between home loan and non-home loan customer satisfaction is Suncorp, where the satisfaction rating among home loan customers (72.6%) is more than 8 percentage points below its rating among non-home loan customers (81.0%). The ratings are taken from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, compiled by in-depth face-to-face interviews with around 50,000 Australians each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ME BANK, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BENDIGO BANK, BANKWEST, SUNCORP BANK