COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

Iron ore set to deliver profits before earnings’ slide bites

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 28-Jul-14

Higher export volumes and cost-cutting will ensure that Australian-listed iron ore producers deliver good full-year results in the August 2014 reporting season. However, the sector faces challenges in the 2014-15 fiscal year, including expectations of continued weakness in the iron ore price. This will offset further growth in export volumes, with companies whose sole focus is iron ore likely to be hardest hit. Stuart Howe of Bell Potter notes that iron ore producers may continue to pay strong dividends

CORPORATES
BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY. BUREAU OF RESOURCES AND ENERGY ECONOMICS, FORMOSA

BHP surge sets stage for buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 24-Jul-14

BHP Billiton expects its iron ore output for 2014-15 to top 245 million tonnes, after production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for 2013-14 rose to about 225 million tonnes. Most analysts had forecast that output for 2014-15 will be around 230 million tonnes. Glyn Lawcock of UBS says the upbeat production forecast could prompt BHP to reveal a share buyback program when its 2013-14 financial results are released in August 2014

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP|UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD|RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO|FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG|VALE SA|DEUTSCHE BANK AG|PENGANA CAPITAL LIMITED

PwC revenue soars after client overhaul

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 19 : 23-Jul-14

Luke Sayers, CEO of the Australian operations for global accounting group PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), has announced revenue growth of 7% to $A1.57bn for 2013-14. The healthy demand for its services among existing clients was supplemented by the strong contribution of the Booz & Company consulting firm, acquired during the year and now known as Strategy&. Sayers also noted that PwC is creating a new unit for digital change management advice, as part of a four-year restructuring push

CORPORATES
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS|BOOZ AND COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED|MGI MELBOURNE PTY LTD

PNG project pumps up Oil Search

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Jul-14

Peter Botten, MD of Australian-listed Oil Search, on 22 July 2014 issued its output data for the second quarter of calendar 2014. Production was up 120% to 3.69 million barrels of oil equivalent, mainly due to the first shipments by the $US19bn ($A20bn) Papua New Guinea LNG project in which the energy group partners Santos and lead operator ExxonMobil. Oil Search’s revenue also rose some 100% to reach $US339.7m in the three months. On the day its stock closed $A0.04 higher at $A9.54

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH|SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO|PAPUA NEW GUINEA LNG PROJECT|EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION|DEUTSCHE BANK AG|INTEROIL CORPORATION|TOTAL SA

Buyback may go on hold as iron ore earnings fall

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 21-Jul-14

Analyst Paul Taggart says Credit Suisse expects any capital management initiatives at BHP Billiton to be deferred until August 2015 at the earliest. There has been ongoing anticipation of a stock buyback by the Australian-listed mining company. However, the iron ore price has contracted by nearly 25 per cent in 2014. The resources group’s 2014-15 earnings may fall by up to 14 per cent. BHP will issue its quarterly production results on 23 July 2014

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Woodside lifts output target

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 18-Jul-14

Australian-listed Woodside Petroleum produced 23.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in the second quarter of 2014, while sales were 24.8 per cent higher at $US1.67bn. There was an 8.7 per cent increase in output at the Pluto LNG project. Woodside now expects full-year output to be within the range of 89 million to 94 million barrels of oil equivalent

CORPORATES
WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Rio, FMG ramp up production rates

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 19 : 17-Jul-14

Both Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group on 16 July 2014 announced promising output data for the quarter ending 30 June, with Rio even ahead of forecasts. Iron ore production at its operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia was up 11% year-on-year to reach 73.1 million tonnes. Fortescue meanwhile has achieved an annualised iron ore shipments figure of 155 million tonnes. However the price per tonne in the three months was a fifth below the benchmark price, at just $US82

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Iluka silent on Kenmare tilt

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 18 : 17-Jul-14

Australian-listed Iluka Resources has issued its production data for the quarter ending 30 June 2014, but the report did not make any mention of its takeover bid for UK-based Kenmare Resources. Iluka had recently been unveiled by the UK media as the suitor in a planned $A780m acquisition of Kenmare, which is attractive due to its Moma mineral sands mine in Mozambique. Iluka shares on 16 July closed 4% higher at $A8.53, as the output figures showed a year-on-year increase for zircon, rutile and synthetic rutile of 5.9% to 252,000 tonnes

CORPORATES
ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX ILU, KENMARE RESOURCES PLC, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, M&G INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Northern Star shares shine as Jundee kicks in

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Jul-14

The stock of Northern Star Resources (NST) on 9 July 2014 closed $A0.185 higher at $A1.505. It is edging back to the all-time high of $A1.57 set in early 2013, as investors react to news of surprisingly good output data. The production of the gold mining group for the quarter ending 30 June 2014 was 115,819 ounces, compared with the forecast range of 80,000 to 90,000. The figure will soon be boosted further by the recent purchase of the Jundee mine in Western Australia. The rising gold price, up $US9 an ounce to $US1,325 for the day, also helped

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, OCEANA GOLD LIMITED, BARRICK GOLD OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION

Tobacco firms suck in $2.2b payday

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Jul-14

Aggressive price increases ahead of the adoption of plain packaging laws allowed tobacco companies to post profit increases of 30 per cent in 2013-14. In the last five years, the profits of the three biggest cigarette makers have climbed by over 100 per cent, to $A2.2 billion. British American Tobacco Australasia, Philip Morris Australia and Imperial Tobacco Australia have resisted increased excise, plain packaging and a drop in smoker numbers via cost-cutting and price rises

CORPORATES
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO AUSTRALASIA LIMITED, PHILIP MORRIS (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, IMPERIAL TOBACCO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, THE CANCER COUNCIL VICTORIA, RETAIL TOBACCO TRADERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY