BUSINESS FORECASTING – AUSTRALIA

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

Murdoch needs to get in quick to secure free-to-air TV stations

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 6-Aug-18

Media experts believe that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation will eventually bid for Seven West Media following the proposed Nine-Fairfax merger and Ten Network’s sale to CBS. However, News Corp would have to satisfy the "minimum voices" rule, which was not affected by cross-media ownership reforms in 2017. It requires major newspapers, TV stations and radio stations in metropolitan areas to be held by five different owners. A Murdoch bid for Seven would breach the "voices test" in Adelaide if a rival media company moved first by acquiring HT&E’s Australian Radio Network.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED, CBS CORPORATION, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, HT&E LIMITED – ASX HT1, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Imports the only cure for gas headache

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 25-Jul-18

Mark Samter of MST Marquee says industrial gas users on Australia’s east coast should support plans to build LNG import terminals, as gas prices will keep rising. Samter has downplayed a recent report from the Australian Energy Market Operator which suggested that the gas crisis on the east coast is likely to ease due to higher production in coming years. He argues that gas prices are unlikely to fall without the proposed import terminals.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEE, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MARKET OPERATOR LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Myer to shed head office jobs but keep stores

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 20-Jul-18

Department store group Myer has reduced staff numbers at its head office in Melbourne’s Docklands precinct by about 30 per cent in recent years, and CEO John King is expected to seek further job cuts. However, sources have rejected suggestions that up to 50 per cent of head office staff could be retrenched. King also intends to reduce the number of Myer stores, although he is expected to wait until existing leases expire. Meanwhile, David Jones has posted 2.2 per cent growth in sales for the first half of 2018, and growth of 2.7 per cent in same-store sales. Full-year sales were 0.9 per cent lower than previously.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, DAVID JONES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS HOLDINGS LIMITED, HOUSE OF FRASER HOLDINGS PLC, SEARS HOLDINGS, KMART CORPORATION, LATITUDE FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, VICTORIA RACING CLUB LIMITED

OZ commits to ongoing dividend payout

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Jul-18

OZ Minerals produced 54,597 tonnes of copper in the first half of 2018, putting it on track to achieve its full-year target of 100,000 to 110,000 tonnes. Gold output totalled 58,994 ounces, and OZ Minerals expects full-year output of 120,000 to 130,000 ounces. A review of OZ’s capital management strategy is nearly complete, and CEO Andrew Cole has stressed that shareholders will continue to receive regular dividend payments despite a big increase in expenditure on exploration and development.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, AVANCO RESOURCES LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, S2 RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX S2R

Evolution forecasts output reduction

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 27 : 20-Jul-18

Listed gold producer Evolution Mining has advised that its output for 2017-18 totalled 801,187 ounces, at an all-in sustaining cost of $797 per ounce. It has forecast that gold production in 2018-19 will be within the range of 720,000 to 770,000 ounces, at an all-in sustaining cost of $850 to $900 per ounce. Evolution’s operating mine cash flow reached a record $221.9m in the fourth quarter of 2017-18, and its net debt has fallen to $72m.

CORPORATES
EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN

BHP rides record iron ore wave

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Jul-18

BHP Billiton will aim to produce between 241 million and 250 million tonnes of iron ore in 2018-19, after output in 2017-18 rose by three per cent to a record 238 million tonnes. BHP has attributed the 2017-18 result to factors such as record production at its Jimblebar and Mining Area C mines in the Pilbara and its rail and port operations’ productivity gains. Meanwhile, BHP has advised that its costs associated with the Samarco tailings dam disaster in Brazil are likely to rise by $US440m ($600m).

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, JEFFERIES AND COMPANY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Warning on rush to build LNG terminals

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 17-Jul-18

Four LNG import terminals are currently mooted for Australia; two in Victoria, and one each in New South Wales and South Australia. However, Nicholas Browne from Wood Mackenzie says Australia does not need that many terminals, based on its current market forecasts. Of the four terminals currently flagged, Browne says AGL’s proposed terminal at Crib Point in Victoria is most likely to be developed first.

CORPORATES
WOOD MACKENZIE, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, EXXONMOBIL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Iron ore miners tipped to have record quarter

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 16-Jul-18

UBS estimates that Rio Tinto’s iron ore shipments from the Pilbara totalled 88.9 million tonnes in the June quarter. BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals Group are also expected to have had record quarterly shipments, at 71.7 million tonnes and 46.3 million tonnes respectively. Brazilian rival Vale is also expected to report record quarterly shipments, at 96.3 million tonnes. Meanwhile, UBS forecasts that BHP’s shipments from the Pilbara totalled 274 million tonnes in 2017-18, which is slightly below the resources group’s full-year guidance of 275-280 million tonnes.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, VALE SA, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, MINERAL RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX MIN, ROY HILL HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND SCIENCE

Exchange-traded funds set for take-off

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Jul-18

ETF Securities founder Graham Tuckwell is upbeat about the outlook for Australia’s exchange-traded fund market, which he expects to grow significantly in the next five years. Tuckwell says Australians have been slow to embrace ETFs while financial advisers have instead favoured actively managed funds, as they receive a commission for recommending such products to clients. He adds that active fund managers often underperform the market after their fees are taken into account.

CORPORATES
ETF SECURITIES LIMITED