COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

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

Newcrest hit by power prices, Cadia damage

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Original article by Peter Ker, Tess Ingram
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 28-Apr-17

Newcrest Mining has warned that full-year gold production for 2016-17 is likely to be at the lower end of its guidance. Newcrest has also indicated that its Cadia gold mine in New South Wales is unlikely to return to full capacity for some time following an earthquake. Meanwhile, the company has advised of an increase of about 90 per cent in the base price it will pay for electricity at Cadia under a new supply agreement for 2017-18. Newcrest says it will seek a better supply deal.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS

Japan Post takes axe to Toll jobs

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Original article by Damon Kitney
The Australian – Page: 17 & 26 : 27-Apr-17

Toll Holdings has shed about 300 jobs at its head office so far in 2017, and the transport and logistics group has revealed plans to axe an additional 1,700 positions over the next year. Toll’s Australian division, which employs about 25,000 people, is expected to bear the brunt of the job cuts. Toll will implement a restructuring program after parent company Japan Post flagged a $US3.6bn ($A4.8bn) writedown of the business and advised that 2017 EBIT is likely to be well below expectations. Japan Post paid $A6.5bn for Toll in 2015.

CORPORATES
TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, JAPAN POST COMPANY LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, LINFOX PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, LION-DAIRY AND DRINKS PTY LTD

Iron ore discounts take toll on Atlas

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 20 : 19-Apr-17

Iron ore miner Atlas Iron achieved an average price of $A62 per tonne in the March 2017 quarter, which is well below the average benchmark index price for the period. The company was affected by rising Chinese demand for higher grade ore, which widened the gap between the benchmark price and the lower-grade ore produced by Atlas. Adverse weather conditions in the Pilbara also resulted in Atlas’s shipments falling to 3.2 million tonnes, down from four million tonnes for the same period in 2016.

CORPORATES
ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, THE STEEL INDEX LIMITED

Miners’ $8.3b revenue jump to lift profits

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 5-Jan-17

Australia’s biggest listed mining companies are believed to have recorded a rise of $US6 billion (($A8.3 billion)) in combined revenues because of higher commodity prices. Analysts expect BHP Billiton to announce in February 2017 that revenues for the six months to 31 December 2016 rose 20 per cent to $US19.1 billion. Rio Tinto is likely to buy back shares worth $US2 billion.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC

Roy Morgan Research – 75 Years collecting, analysing and interpreting accurate information!

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Dec-16

Roy Morgan Research Ltd Directors are pleased to report the company has returned to profitability during 2016, both in Australia and overseas, and the start of 2017 is continuing in the same way. Shareholders have been advised that the consolidated profit for the financial year to June 30, 2016 was $3,045,000 compared with a loss for the year ended June 30, 2015 of $2,337,000 and a loss of $7,858,000 for 2014. EBITDA (Earnings before interest, income tax, depreciation, and amortisation) for the financial year to June 30, 2016 was $3,946,000 compared with a negative EBITDA of $1,784,000 for 2015 and a negative EBITDA of $6,644,000 for 2014. Directors expect Roy Morgan Research Ltd profit for the full year to June 30, 2017 to be near $5.5 million with EBITDA in excess of $6 million.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED

Iron ore price hits Hancock profits

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 11-Nov-16

Hancock Prospecting has revealed that its revenue fell from more than $A2bn in 2014-15 to $A1.72bn in 2015-16, while its net profit from operations was 33 per cent lower at $A443m. Hancock Prospecting has attributed the revenue and earnings deficit to a fall in the iron ore prices during the financial year. The group also notes that construction of the Roy Hill iron project resulted in its total debt rising to $A8.9bn.

CORPORATES
HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, ROY HILL IRON ORE PTY LTD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, HOPE DOWNS IRON ORE PTY LTD

Seven earnings to fall up to 20pc

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Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 10-Nov-16

Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes says broadcasting licence fees and government subsidies for TV production are more important issues than proposed reforms to cross-media ownership laws. Meanwhile, the 2016 AGM has been told that Seven’s underlying EBIT for 2016-17 could be up to 20 per cent lower than previously, as the advertising market remains subdued. Macquarie Group expects a two per cent decline in the TV advertising market in 2016-17.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Banks stare at low growth as pressures rise

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 19 : 9-Nov-16

The combined cash earnings of Australia’s four major banks fell by 2.5 per cent in 2015-6, to $A29.6bn. They recorded net interest income growth of 5.5 per cent, to $A60.3bn, but non-interest income was down 3.1 per cent at $A23.5bn. Michael Rowland of KPMG says the banks are facing a number of headwinds, including the prospect of lower growth in revenue and return on equity, growing competition and an increase in regulatory costs.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, ERNST AND YOUNG