COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

Revived Vodafone sets its sights on small business growth

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 20-May-15

Vodafone Hutchison Australia increased its revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2015, which is the first time since 2010 that the telco’s revenue has risen. CFO James Marsh is upbeat about Vodafone’s outlook, forecasting that revenue and customer numbers will continue to increase. He says the telco will seek to build a greater share of the small and medium enterprise market, while it also hopes to re-enter the wholesale mobile services sector.

CORPORATES
VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, VODAFONE GROUP PLC, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, HUTCHISON WHAMPOA LIMITED, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, STAN, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, SPOTIFY LIMITED

Myer sales improve in third quarter but investors cautious

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 28 : 14-May-15

Myer Holdings has reported sales of $A661.8m for the third quarter of 2014-15, which is 2.4 per cent higher than previously. Same-store sales were 1.7 per cent higher, and total sales for the first three quarters were 1.7 per cent higher at $A2.42bn. The general consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg is that Myer will post a 2014-15 net profit of $A77m. Myer shares closed 10 per cent higher at $A1.55 on 13 May 2015.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

SABMiller’s dry spell in beer market

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 14-May-15

The Asia-Pacific division of SABMiller has reported EBITDA of $US768m for the year to 31 March 2015, which is nine per cent lower than previously, while profit margins declined from 21.4 per cent to 19.9 per cent. The global beverages group’s sales in Australia fell by two per cent, with sales of premium brands rising and its key brands losing ground.

CORPORATES
SABMILLER PLC, FOSTER’S GROUP LIMITED, LION PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, COMMONWEALTH SECURITIES LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, BWS – BEER WINE SPIRITS, DAN MURPHY’S, LIQUORLAND (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, VINTAGE CELLARS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, BLUETONGUE BREWERY PTY LTD

Bupa nips at Medibank’s heels

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 12-Mar-15

Bupa Australia has reported a pre-tax profit of $A517m for calendar 2014, which is 20.1 per cent higher than previously. Premiums revenue was up 8.4 per cent at $A5.3bn, while its gross margin rose from 13.6 per cent to 14.6 per cent. Bupa Health Services MD Hisham El Ansary says the group’s premiums are lower than those of rival health insurers, adding that Bupa aims to ensure that its products are affordable and offer the best value to consumers

CORPORATES
BUPA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, DENTAL CORPORATION PTY LTD

CCA chief determined to bring back its fizz

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

Coca-Cola Amatil has posted a 2014 underlying net profit of $A375.5m, which is 25.3 per cent lower than previously. EBIT was 21.8 per cent lower at $A651.5m and sales were down 1.9 per cent at $A4.94bn. CEO Alison Watkins is upbeat about the group’s outlook in 2015, citing factors such as cost savings and new product launches. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.22 per share

CORPORATES
COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, THE COCA-COLA COMPANY, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ASAHI BREWERIES LIMITED, PEPSICO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SCHWEPPES AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MOUNT FRANKLIN NATURAL

Woolies’ supermarket growth revised

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Original article by Sue Mitchell, Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 11-Feb-15

Shares in Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group have risen by 15 per cent so far in 2015. However, the listed property trust has reported that growth in sales at supermarkets in its shopping centres slowed to 4.2 per cent in the December 2014 quarter. Some analysts believe that this may have implications for the sales growth of grocery giants Coles and Woolworths, which will report their results later in February

CORPORATES
SHOPPING CENTRES AUSTRALASIA PROPERTY GROUP – ASX SCP, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD

Aldi liquor and food sales beat Coles, Woolies

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 16 : 21-Jan-15

The Australian arm of German grocery retailer Aldi has posted food and liquor sales of $A6bn for calendar 2014, which is 13 per cent higher than previously. Supermarket rivals Coles and Woolworths achieved sales growth of 4.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively. Aldi Australia opened 25 stores in 2014, and now boasts 366. MD Tom Daunt notes that Aldi has a market share of about 11 per in the eastern states, and says its expansion into South Australia and Western Australia could eventually lift this to around 15 per cent

CORPORATES
ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, ALDI EINKAUF GMBH & CO OHG, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Woodside flags cuts, write-downs

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 16-Jan-15

Woodside Petroleum has reported total sales of $US1.76bn for the final three months of 2014, while sales for the full year were 22.5 per cent higher at $US7.08bn. The oil and gas producer has warned of the potential for asset write-downs of between $US250m and $US400m as a result of the decline in the crude oil price. Woodside also expects to scale back its capital expenditure in 2015. Its shares closed 1.35 per cent lower at $A35.06 on 15 January

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, MITSUBISHI CORPORATION, PLATYPUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, PAVILION ENERGY PTE LTD, TEMASEK HOLDINGS (PTE) LTD, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, ORGANISATION OF PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, APACHE CORPORATION

Gerry Harvey upbeat on retail sales outlook

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Original article by Carrie LaFrenz
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 15-Jan-15

Citigroup’s Craig Woolford estimates that Australian retailers generally enjoyed same-store sales growth of 2-3 per cent during the 2014 Christmas and New Year period. Harvey Norman recorded strong growth in sales, according to chairman Gerry Harvey, and he is optimistic about the group’s prospects for 2015. Harvey Norman shares closed $A0.23 higher at $A3.69 on 14 January, and Merrill Lynch has upgraded its share price target to $A4

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INCU PTY LTD, SUPER RETAIL GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUL, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, PETER ALEXANDER SLEEPWEAR PTY LTD, JUST JEANS PTY LTD, PORTMANS PTY LTD, SMIGGLE PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, NET-A-PORTER.COM LIMITED, MR PORTER

Lot release ‘too slow in NSW’

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 26-Nov-14

Brickworks MD Lindsay Partridge believes that the limited supply of land for residential development is contributing to the rising cost of homes in New South Wales. He has urged the State Government to accelerate the release of new housing lots, arguing that it should be making 10 times more lots available than at present. Meanwhile, Brickworks achieved 14 per cent growth in revenue year-on-year in the first quarter of 2014-15

CORPORATES
BRICKWORKS LIMITED – ASX BKW, CIMB SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD