BUSINESS FORECASTING – AUSTRALIA

SEEK’s reinvestment delivers record revenue

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 20-Feb-18

Online job advertisements group SEEK has posted a 2017-18 interim underlying net profit of $A112.1m, which is 21 per cent higher than previously. It has advised that full-year profit is expected to be at the higher end of its previous forecast of $A225m to $A230m. Group revenue for the first half rose by 27 per cent to a record $A628m; its Australia and New Zealand division’s revenue rose 15 per cent and its international unit’s revenue was up 10 per cent. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.24 per share.

CORPORATES
SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, BRASIL ONLINE HOLDINGS, ONLINE CAREER CENTER MEXICO SA DE CV

More gas needed to meet demand: Beach

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 20-Feb-18

Beach Energy has posted a 2017-18 interim net profit of $A95.7m, which is seven per cent lower than previously. Beach has advised that the expected annual cost savings from its acquisition of Lattice Energy will be around $A50m, compared with its previous guidance of $A20m. Meanwhile, Beach executive Lee Marshall has warned that the east coast will face a gas supply shortage by the mid-2020s unless new gas reserves are found and ones that are considered to be uncommercial at present are developed.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, LATTICE ENERGY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO

Private equity ready to splash $7.7bn cash

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Original article by Scott Murdoch
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 19-Feb-18

The Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association has reported that the industry raised $A3.35 billion in 2017. Local private equity funds invested $A3.38 billion in deals in 2017, while private equity and venture capital funds are estimated to have a $A7.7 billion "war chest" at their disposal. Vic­toria Allen of Minter Ellison says sectors that can expect to attract private equity and venture capital investment include healthcare, technology and disability services.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED, MINTER ELLISON, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, KKR AND COMPANY LP, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, VARDE PARTNERS INCORPORATED, I-MED/MIA NETWORK LIMITED, EQUITY TRUSTEES LIMITED – ASX EQT, PERMIRA ADVISERS LIMITED, LASER CLINICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, CLAYTON UTZ, FORT STREET CAPITAL PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, REDCAPE PROPERTY GROUP, MOELIS AND COMPANY, DIXON GROUP, VENTIA, APOLLO GROUP INCORPORATED, FITNESS AUSTRALIA, QUADRANT CAPITAL PTY LTD

Telstra boss says 5G can kick-start telco sector earnings

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Feb-18

Telstra has advised that that its net profit for the first half of 2017-18 was down 4.9 per cent to $A1.7 billion, while total revenue increased by 5.9 per cent to $A14.51 billion. CEO Andy Penn says the global telecommunications sector is going through a period of cyclical change. Customers are seeking to extract more value and data from their plans, while telcos’ margins are under pressure. However, Penn is optimistic that the introduction of 5G services will help to revive growth in the sector.

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, NBN CO LIMITED, MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

NAB posts $1.65b in Q1 cash profit

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 9-Feb-18

Shares in National Australia Bank closed 2.3 per cent higher at $A28.90 on 8 February, after the major bank reported a cash profit of $A1.65bn for the first quarter of 2017-18. The result was three per cent higher than previously, while there was a 2.4 per decline in bad and doubtful debts. However, NAB’s expenses increased by four per cent during the quarter, and the bank expects expenses to rise by another 5-8 per cent during the remainder of the financial year. Citigroup has upgraded its recommendation on NAB’s shares to "buy".

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Rio investors tipped for mighty big win

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 23 : 6-Feb-18

Rio Tinto will release its full-year results on 7 February, and Macquarie Wealth Management forecasts that it will reveal underlying earnings of $US8.88 billion, up 74 per cent, and that cash from operations will rise by 63 per cent to $US13.809 billion. Macquarie also predicts that Rio shareholders will receive a final dividend of $US1.96 per share. This would bring Rio’s total dividend payment for 2017 to $US3.06 per share.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Smaller end of town to buoy ASX

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 25 : 31-Jan-18

A report by HLB Mann Judd notes that 37 companies have plans to list on the Australian sharemarket at present, compared with 23 at the same time in 2017. Third Party Technologies heads the list of prospective floats, with plans to raise $A123m from investors. HLB Mann Judd expects small and medium-sized companies to continue to dominate the IPO market in 2018. There were no IPOs worth more than $A1bn in 2017, and no IPOs of this size are currently in the works.

CORPORATES
HLB MANN JUDD, THIRD PARTY TECHNOLOGIES INCORPORATED – ASX 3PT, INDIA FUND LIMITED – ASX INF, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED, INGHAMS GROUP LIMITED – ASX ING, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, OFFICEWORKS SUPERSTORES PTY LTD, ARCHER CAPITAL PTY LTD, CRAVEABLE BRANDS LIMITED, OPORTO PTY LTD, RED ROOSTER FOODS, ZIP INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA, QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, CHAMP PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD, ACCOLADE WINES LIMITED

Miners ride high into new profit season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 29-Jan-18

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that Australian-listed companies are forecast to achieve earnings-per-share growth of seven per cent in 2017-18. Kogan, Noni B and Lovisa are among the companies that have upgraded their earnings forecasts ahead of the February 2018 reporting season. The outlook for resources stock in particular is good, with Macquarie Group recently upgrading its share price targets for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and South32 on the strength of its bullish price forecasts for commodities such as iron ore and coking coal in 2018.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, PINNACLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX PNI, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, PRICELINE PHARMACY, ORIGIN ASSET MANAGEMENT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Consumers are in surprisingly sunny mood

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 41 : 25-Jan-18

UBS forcasts that Australian retail sales will rise by 2.6 per cent overall in 2018, while growth in discretionary spending is expected to slow to just two per cent. Craig James of CommSec notes that consumers were upbeat leading into 2018, citing factors such as historically low interest rates, the strong growth in jobs in 2017 and the recent rise in the value of the Australian dollar. However, the ANZ/Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence index has eased 3.3 per cent to 119.9, although consumer confidence is still higher that its long-term average of 112.9.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, ADAIRS LIMITED – ASX ADH, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, THE PAS GROUP LIMITED – ASX PGR, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, PRICELINE PHARMACY, MICHAEL HILL INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX MHJ, EMMA AND ROE, KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Santos’ full-year sales up 20pc

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 38 : 25-Jan-18

Oil and gas group Santos has advised that its sales rose 14 per cent in the December 2017 quarter, to $US861bn ($A1.07bn), while sales for the calendar year were up 20 per cent to $US3.1bn. Total production for the year was 3.4 per cent lower than previously at 59.5 million barrels of oil equivalent, although it was at the higher end of the company’s guidance. Santos still expects its output for 2018 to be within the range of 55 million to 60 million boe.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HARBOUR ENERGY LIMITED