COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

Lihir digs in to get Newcrest on target

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 25-Jul-17

Newcrest Mining’s gold production totalled 551,815 ounces in the June 2017 quarter, compared with 598,602 ­ounces in the March quarter. However, record quarterly output of 276,230 ounces at the Lihir mine in Papua New Guinea helped offset lost output at the Cadia mine in New South Wales. Full production at Cadia is expected to resume in the September quarter, following earthquake damage in April. Meanwhile, Newcrest has applied for 40 exploration tenements in Ecuador.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, SOLGOLD PLC, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

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

Ore lift backs BHP ‘surprise’ on dividend

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Jul-17

Citigroup expects BHP Billiton to post an underlying profit of $US6.76bn for 2016-17, compared with $US1.22bn previously. BHP’s activities report for the June 2017 quarter shows that it produced 268 million tonnes of iron ore in Western Australia during 2016-17, while copper output at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia fell 16 per cent to 166,000 tonnes. Strike action at the Escondida copper mine in Chile resulted in annual output falling to 772,000 tonnes, but output of up to 1.23 million tonnes is expected in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MINERA ESCONDIDA LIMITADA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

Rio lowers iron ore production guidance

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Jul-17

Rio Tinto has advised that its iron ore output in the Pilbara is now likely to be about 330 million tonnes in calendar 2017, compared with previous guidance of between 330 million and 340 million tonnes. It has cited factors such as inclement weather and rail maintenance work for the revised production forecast. Rio Tinto’s Pilbara iron ore shipments totalled 154.3 million tonnes in the first half. Meanwhile, Citigroup expects Rio Tinto’s full-year dividend to rise from $US1.70 per share in 2016 to $US2.42 in 2017.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, COAL AND ALLIED INDUSTRIES LIMITED, YANCOAL AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX YAL, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Virgin tips positive cash flow as Velocity slows

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Original article by Michael Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 4-Jul-17

Virgin Australia released an update on its trading performance on 3 July 2017, two days prior to the launch of its new service to Hong Kong. Virgin Australia, which reported a net loss of $A69 million for the third quarter in May 2017, advised on 3 July that it will be "cash flow positive" for the full financial year. However, its forecast for EBIT growth of between two and three per cent for its Velocity frequent flyer program was down on previous forecasts.

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, VELOCITY FREQUENT FLYER PTY LTD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN

Fairfax dives as suitors vanish

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 4-Jul-17

Fairfax Media has advised that its 2016-17 EBITDA will be within the range of $A262m to $A266m, compared with $A283.3m previously. Group revenue will be six per cent lower, although the Domain property listings business has posted revenue growth of 10 per cent. Fairfax shares fell sharply on 3 July after the media group ended talks with private equity suitors TPG Capital and Hellman & Friedman. Fairfax will now proceed with the demerger of Domain before the end of 2017, although it will retain a majority stake.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, TPG CAPITAL LP, HELLMAN AND FRIEDMAN, STAN ENTERTAINMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE MEDIA LIMITED – ASX MRN, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, CCZ STATTON EQUITIES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Views diverge on Macquarie Group earnings

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 26-Jun-17

Karl Siegling of Cadence Asset Management does not think the federal and South Australian bank levies will have too great an impact on Macquarie Group’s earnings. On the issue of taxes, Morgan Stanley predicts that Macquarie will benefit from President Donald Trump’s plans to reduce US corporate taxes, while Bloomberg notes that analysts expect Macquarie to record a 2018 profit of $A2.3 billion.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CADENCE ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, QUADRANT ENERGY PTY LTD, BROOKFIELD ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, BLOOMBERG AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AMB HOLDINGS PTY LTD, NUIX PTY LTD, ENDEAVOUR ENERGY LIMITED

Kathmandu rises above gloom over Amazon effect

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 21-Jun-17

Shares in Kathmandu Holdings have gained about 40 per cent in the last 12 months. The stock has been resilient amid recent bearish investor sentiment toward listed retailers in response to the looming entry of Amazon to the Australian market. Kathmandu has benefited from cold weather in the eastern states in the lead-up to its winter sale, while it reported year-on-year growth of 11.5 per cent in same-store sales in the three months to April 2017.

CORPORATES
KATHMANDU HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX KMD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BRISCOE GROUP LIMITED, WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, BAIN AND COMPANY

Greener pastures: Lion lift sales 19pc in discount war

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Original article by Sue Neales
The Australian – Page: 20 : 6-Jun-17

Dairy processor Lion has had a good 12 months, with sales up almost 19 per cent. Lion’s brands include Pura and Dairy Farmers milk, Yoplait yoghurt, Dare flavoured milk and King Island cheese. Peter West, MD of Lion Dairy & Drinks, says its milk sales benefited from the 2016 backlash against cheap supermarket milk, while its farmgate pricing system is helping to draw farmers away from rival processors.

CORPORATES
LION-DAIRY AND DRINKS PTY LTD, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, FONTERRA BRANDS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, NEW SOUTH WALES FARMERS’ ASSOCIATION

Pilbara deluge cuts BHP output

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 1-May-17

The revenue of BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and Woodside Petroleum was slashed by about $A2.9bn in the March 2017 quarter, due to heavier than usual rainfall in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. BHP has attributed its 11 per cent downturn in iron ore production in the Pilbara to the wet season. Likewise, production at the North West Shelf LNG project was 12.7 per cent lower. Meanwhile, the State Government’s iron ore royalties are likely to have been reduced by about $A170m as a result of the adverse weather conditions.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, AUSTRALIA. BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY