COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

Fairfax ‘reviews’ its papers

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Original article by Jake Mitchell
The Australian – Page: 23 : 11-Aug-16

Fairfax Media has posted a 2015-16 net loss of $A893.5m, following a profit of $A83.2m in 2014-15. The latest result was marred by a $A1bn writedown in the value of its newspapers. The listed media group’s underlying net profit was 7.6 per cent lower at $A132.5m, and revenue fell by 0.6 per cent to $A1.83bn. CEO Greg Hywood says the company will consider all options for its publishing businesses, adding that the Australian Community Media regional newspapers business is under review.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY MEDIA PTY LTD, DOMAIN.COM.AU, PLATINUM EQUITY HOLDINGS, SENSIS PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, GRESHAM PARTNERS LIMITED, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Elliott steadies the ship at ANZ

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 21 & 25 : 10-Aug-16

The ANZ Bank has posted a cash profit of $A5.2bn for the nine months to 30 June 2016, which is three per cent lower than previously. ANZ’s earnings for the June 2016 quarter were below expectations at around $A1.7bn, while bad debt charges rose to $A482m during the quarter. Meanwhile, CEO Shayne Elliott has defended the banks’ decision to pass on only part of the 25 basis point reduction in the cash rate to home loan customers and increase the interest rates on some term deposits.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

REA banks on property snoops to fuel global push

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 21 : 10-Aug-16

Australian-listed REA Group has posted a 2015-16 net profit of $A214m, which is 16 per cent higher than previously. The real estate listings business recorded revenue growth of 20 per cent, to $A629.8m, while EBITDA rose by 22 per cent to $A347.3m. CEO Tracey Fellows expects a plan to combine the property listings of REA’s realestate.com.au with those of Move to boost the group’s revenue.

CORPORATES
REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, MOVE INCORPORATED, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU

CBA to hand down bumper $9.5bn profit

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 21 & 24 : 8-Aug-16

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is tipped to post a 2015-16 cash profit of $A434m on 8 August 2016, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia is expected to report a full-year profit of $A9.5bn on 10 August. Scott Manning of JP Morgan says margins are likely to remain a significant focus for the banking major. However, the Reserve Bank does not expect banks’ margins to be adversely affected by recent moves to lift some term deposit interest rates while failing to pass on the full reduction in the cash rate to home loan and business customers.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, MERLON CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, FIRST OIL PLC

Seven earnings plunge but Worner bets on old media comeback

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 19 : 3-Aug-16

Shares in Seven West Media and Nine Entertainment Company fell sharply on 2 August 2016, after the former issued a profit warning. Seven has advised that its underlying EBIT for 2016-17 will be 15-20 per cent lower than previously, citing factors such as a slowdown in the advertising market and the rising cost of sports broadcasting rights. Meanwhile, Seven has booked a net profit of $184.3m for the year to 25 June 2016, following a loss of $A1.89bn in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, 7PRODUCTIONS, 7WONDER, 7BEYOND, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Beach ponders acquisition within next six months

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 29-Jul-16

Beach Energy has reported that the lower crude oil price resulted in its 2015-16 sales falling by 23.3 per cent, to $A558 million. Full-year production totalled 9.66 barrels of oil equivalent. The group posted sales revenue of $A16.6m for the June quarter, and production for the period rose by 13 per cent to 2.7 million. Beach has also advised that it expects capital expenditure to be within the range of $A180m to $A200m in 2016-17, while it aims to finalise an acquisition in the next six months.

CORPORATES
BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, DRILLSEARCH ENERGY LIMITED, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Samarco dam disaster swells BHP’s exceptional items bill

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 29-Jul-16

BHP Billiton has advised that its 2015-16 financial accounts will include an additional $US1bn worth of impairment charges associated with the Samarco iron ore tailings dam disaster in Brazil. Exceptional items in the resources giant’s full-year accounts are expected to top $US7b ($A9.4bn). BHP’s Samarco joint venture partner, Vale, has also revealed significant impairment charges as a result of the disaster. Resumption of production at Samarco is now unlikely to begin until 2017.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SAMARCO MINERACAO SA, VALE SA, SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE (BRAZIL)

Dividends back at Newcrest

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 21 : 26-Jul-16

Australian-listed Newcrest Mining produced 598,037 ounces of gold during the June 2016 quarter, compared with 636,521 ounces in the March quarter. Full-year output was at the lower end of its guidance of between 2.4 million and 2.6 million ounces. However, the group slashed its net debt by 27 per cent to $A2.1bn in 2015-16, prompting some analysts to forecast that it will pay a dividend for the first time since 2013.

CORPORATES
NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

Lynas hits quarterly revenue record

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Original article by Daniel Palmer
The Australian – Page: 32 : 19-Jul-16

Australian-listed Lynas Corporation has reported sales of $A196.1m for 2015-16, compared with $A148.6m previously. The rare earths producer’s full-year result was boosted by record sales in the fourth quarter, with gross sales revenue for the period rising by 27 per cent to $A55.9m. Lynas shares closed $A0.008 higher at $A0.084 on 18 July 2016.

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC

Woolies hit by ratings downgrade

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 32 : 5-May-16

Standard & Poor’s has reduced the long-term credit rating of Woolworths from "BBB+" to " BBB". S&P had previously downgraded the Australian retail giant’s credit rating in August 2015. Rival ratings agency Moody’s will also review its "Baa2" rating on the stock, having downgraded it from "Baa1" in March 2016. The bearish sentiment follows Woolworths’ disappointing financial results for the March quarter. Analysts in turn have reduced their earnings forecasts for 2016 and 2017.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, STANDARD AND POOR’S CORPORATION, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BIG W DISCOUNT STORES, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD