BUSINESS FORECASTING – AUSTRALIA

Woodside cuts spending, lifts production guidance

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 18-Dec-15

Woodside Petroleum has advised that its total production for 2015 will be within the range of 91 million to 93 million barrels of oil equivalent. Its previous forecast was 88 million to 93 million boe. The oil and gas group has also indicated that capital expenditure for the calendar year will be $US100m lower than previously forecast, and its exploration budget has been cut by $US70m. Woodside’s shares closed 0.85 per cent lower at $A26.82 on 17 December.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, CHEVRON CORPORATION

Stanmore Coal on track to reopen mothballed mine

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 18-Dec-15

Nick Jorss, the MD of Australian-listed Stanmore Coal, is confident that the Isaac Plains mine in Queensland will be profitable despite the downturn in the coking coal price. Stanmore will employ about 150 people at the mine, which it bought from Vale and Sumitomo for just $A1 earlier in 2015. The company has targeted April 2016 to commence production.

CORPORATES
STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, VALE SA, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, FELIX RESOURCES LIMITED, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, EXCEL COAL LIMITED, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

BHP should slash dividend by half: analyst

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 17-Dec-15

Paul McTaggart of Credit Suisse says BHP Billiton should drop its commitment to a progressive dividend policy and reduce its annual payment of $US1.24 per share by 50 per cent. Credit Suisse recently downgraded its earnings forecasts for BHP in both 2015-16 and 2016-17, and McTaggart says the lower earnings outlook means BHP cannot afford to keep its dividend payout at the current level.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Domino’s soars on European deals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 17-Dec-15

Australian-listed Domino’s Pizza Enterprises now expects 30 per cent growth in its 2016 underlying EBITDA and net profits. The group had only recently upgraded its earnings guidance to 25 per cent growth. It will also acquire German pizza chain Joey’s via a joint venture with UK-based Domino’s Pizza Group. Meanwhile, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises has secured long-term extensions to its master franchise rights to the Domino’s brand in several European countries.

CORPORATES
DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, DOMINO’S PIZZA GROUP PLC, DOMINO’S PIZZA INCORPORATED, JOEY’S PIZZA, PLATYPUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PIZZA SPRINT

Latest Star Wars movie to break Australia’s box office records

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Dominic White, Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 17-Dec-15

Hoyts Cinemas CEO Damian Keogh says the new "Star Wars" film could potentially be the highest-grossing film in Australia of all time. More than $A15m worth of tickets for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" were sold prior to its cinema debut, and Keogh says the film’s total box office takings could exceed $A100m. "Avatar" holds the Australian box office record, with its takings exceeding $A115m.

CORPORATES
HOYTS CINEMAS LIMITED, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, WALT DISNEY COMPANY, LUCASFILM

Apartment crunch tipped for two cities

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 16-Dec-15

A new report from the Commonwealth Bank warns of a looming apartment glut in the Melbourne and Brisbane CBDs from 2016, when a large number of apartment projects are slated for completion. The CommBank Property Insights report notes that about 80,000 apartments are under construction in Australia’s major capital cities, while an additional 117,000 have been proposed.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Qantas shares bumper profit with investors

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 16-Dec-15

Qantas expects a 2015-16 interim underlying pre-tax profit of $A875m to $A925m, compared with $A367m for the previous corresponding period. The airline has benefited from factors such as lower fuel prices, higher revenue and cost reductions in the current half-year. CEO Allan Joyce has signalled that Qantas will look at returning surplus cash to shareholders in the next several years, while Matthew Spence of Merrill Lynch expects the carrier to launch a share buyback with the release of its half-year accounts.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, JETSTAR AIRLINES PTY LTD, VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, BP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Price fall no bar to Rio plans

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 15-Dec-15

Rio Tinto will press ahead with plans to increase its low-cost iron ore production capacity by 20 million tonnes over the next few years, despite the downturn in the iron ore price. A spokesman argues that any move by Australian iron ore producers to reduce output will allow overseas rivals to gain market share at the expense of local miners. Fortescue Metals Group founder Andrew Forrest has again called for Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton to reduce their iron ore production.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, VALE SA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD

Hopes high for a better year in media

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 16 : 14-Dec-15

Data from ZenithOptimedia shows that advertising expenditure across all media is expected to reach a record $A13.4bn in Australia during calendar 2016. Meanwhile, a survey of the CEOs of 23 media companies has identified key issues for the industry in 2016. They include cross-media ownership reform, government measures to stimulate economic growth following the end of the resources boom, and the need for Australia to become more innovative.

CORPORATES
ZENITH OPTIMEDIA, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NOVA ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, IPROPERTY GROUP LIMITED – ASX IPP

No slow down in 2016 for hot M&A volumes

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 9-Dec-15

Data from Dealogic shows that mergers and acquisitions activity involving Australian companies has risen by 80 per cent so far in 2015, to $US124.9bn ($A170.9m). This includes 23 deals worth $US1bn ($A1.4bn). Alex Cartel of Deutsche Bank forecasts further growth in M&A activity in 2016, while Gareth Cope of Rothschild Australia says the country remains highly attractive to offshore investors. Meanwhile, equity capital market issuance has reached its highest level since 2009, at more than $US42bn.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NM ROTHSCHILD AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, SCEPTER PARTNERS, BROADSPECTRUM LIMITED – ASX BRS, TRANSGRID, VEDA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VED, EQUIFAX INCORPORATED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, CHEVRON CORPORATION, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, TPG CAPITAL LP, THE CARLYLE GROUP