CAPITAL INVESTMENTS – AUSTRALIA

Signs of life in corporate investment: RBA

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Original article by David Rogers, James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 28 : 14-Nov-17

The Reserve Bank’s deputy governor Guy Debelle has told the UBS Australasia Conference that business investment outside of Australia’s mining sector has been stronger than official figures suggest in the last several years. He said the services sector in particular has recorded strong growth in capital investment, while there has also been an increase in public investment in infrastructure. Meanwhile, Debelle noted that a rise in the cash rate will be dependent on an increase in wages and inflation.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Gold exploration spending needs to double, report finds

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 16-Oct-17

Australia’s gold production totalled 9.7 million ounces in 2016, but a report from Minex Consulting warns that a big rise in exploration expenditure is needed to avert a sharp downturn in production within five years. The Office of the Chief Economist is also bearish about the outlook for the nation’s gold sector, forecasting that the value of gold exports will fall to $A17.1bn in 2017-18 and $A16.9bn in 2018-19. This compares with around $A18bn in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
MINEX CONSULTING PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ECONOMIST, LIBERAL PARTY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Corporates finally ramp up capex

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-Sep-17

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that private-sector companies anticipate capital expenditure of $A101.8bn in 2017-18. This is 17.6 per cent higher than had been forecast three months ago, and compares with analysts’ expectations of $A95.9bn. The figures also show that there was an 0.8 per cent increase in capex during the final quarter of 2016-17. Telstra and Santos are among the companies that have recently announced plans for increased capex in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, PERENNIAL VALUE MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

‘Don’t throw away growth for dividends’

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Original article by Andrew White, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 31-Aug-17

Data from Credit Suisse shows that 60 per cent that have a 30 June balance data increased their dividend payout in the August 2017 reporting season, while 31 per cent reduced their dividends. Perennial Value Management MD John Murray has welcomed the decision of some companies to increase their capital expenditure rather than returns to shareholders. Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson notes that the increase in capex during the current reporting season is the strongest since 2007.

CORPORATES
PERENNIAL VALUE MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, SKYCITY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SKC, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, APA GROUP – ASX APA

Pratt chases super money to fuel Visy’s $2b Australian expansion

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 24-Aug-17

Visy Industry has revealed plans to expand its Australian cardboard packaging and paper recycling operations at a cost of $A2bn over the next decade. Executive chairman Anthony Pratt will seek financial support from superannuation funds to finance the massive expansion, which he forecasts will generate some 5,000 jobs. Visy will increase its investment in clean energy plants, with the aim of eventually generating about 50 per cent of its electricity it uses. Visy’s US arm Pratt Industries announced a $US2bn investment in its business earlier in 2017.

CORPORATES
VISY INDUSTRIES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PRATT INDUSTRIES (USA) INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

Gold mining M&A too expensive: CEOs

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 24 : 9-Aug-17

Gold Fields CEO Nick Holland says the South Africa-based company has ramped up spending on exploration to almost $A100m a year, citing factors such as a dearth of acquisition opportunities in the gold sector and the high cost of gold assets. He adds that exploration budgets had been slashed globally in recent years, while a number of gold assets in Australia are likely to reach the end of their mine life in coming years. Evolution Mining and Saracen Mineral Holdings are among the Australian-listed companies that are increasing their exploration programs.

CORPORATES
GOLD FIELDS LIMITED, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, SARACEN MINERAL HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SAR, ST BARBARA LIMITED – ASX SBM, DIGGERS AND DEALERS FORUM, GOLD ROAD RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GOR, RIVERSGOLD LIMITED

Woodside chief flags $6bn LNG overhaul

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 21 : 21-Jul-17

Woodside Petroleum’s production in the June 2017 was 3.3 per cent lower than the March quarter, at 20.7 million barrels of oil equivalent. Sales revenue was 3.1 per cent lower at $US867m. The downturn has been attributed to scheduled maintenance work at the Pluto LNG project and an unplanned outage at the Karratha LNG plant. Meanwhile, Woodside has proposed investing an additional $US5bn ($A6bn) in the Karratha plant to keep it operational for another two decades and use it to process third-party gas.

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BP PLC, CHEVRON CORPORATION, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION

Gas explorers respond to PM’s demands

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 17 : 6-Jun-17

New data shows that Australian gas producers spent $A118.5m on onshore gas exploration during the March 2017 quarter, which is 20 per cent higher than previously. However, expenditure on offshore oil and gas ­exploration fell to $A221.8m, which is the lowest level since late 2005. Spending on mineral exploration rose to its highest level in two years, although the gold sector’s expenditure fell by nearly 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, PETROCHINA COMPANY LIMITED, QUEENSLAND GAS COMPANY LIMITED, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Maintenance boom for resources

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Original article by Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Dec-16

BIS Shrapnel forecasts that Australia’s resources sector will increase expenditure on maintenance work by 52 per cent over the next five years, to $A10bn. Adrian Hart of BIS says this will include both expenditure that has been deferred and spending on new assets. He adds that there could be some consolidation in the mining services sector as a result. The oil and gas sector is expected to account for the bulk of the increased expenditure on maintenance activity.

CORPORATES
BIS SHRAPNEL PTY LTD, PROGRAMMED MAINTENANCE SERVICES LIMITED – ASX PRG, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, WORLEYPARSONS LIMITED – ASX WOR, MONADELPHOUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX MND, UGL LIMITED – ASX UGL, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

Capex still in free fall, but signs of life emerge

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 32 : 8-Dec-16

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that mining companies reduced their investment in new projects by 10.6 per cent in the September 2016 quarter. The sector’s capital expenditure has fallen for 14 consecutive quarters. However, this may lead to an undersupply of such commodities, which in turn could prompt renewed capex. There are already indications of an upturn in greenfields exploration and IPO activity in the minerals sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, ASSOCIATION OF MINING AND EXPLORATION COMPANIES, METALICITY LIMTED – ASX MCT, PANORAMIC RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX PAN, CITIGROUP PTY LTD