COMPANY RESULTS – AUSTRALIA

Earnings jump sees CBA eye buybacks

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 13-May-21

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has posted unaudited cash earnings from continuing operations of $2.4bn for the March quarter, compared with about $1.3bn for the same period in 2020. CBA’s common equity tier one ratio was 12.7 per cent at the end of the quarter, well above the regulatory requirement of 10.5 per cent. CBA has more than $10bn of excess capital, and CEO Matt Comyn says its capital management plans are likely to be a key focus for investors when its full-year earnings are released in August. Brett Le Mesurier of Velocity Trade expects CBA to return up to $12bn to investors in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years via a share buyback

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, VELOCITY TRADE LIMITED

Record production in sight for BHP

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 16 : 22-Apr-21

BHP’s quarterly activities report shows that it shipped 66 million tonnes of iron ore from the Pilbara in the March quarter. This compares with 70.8 million tonnes in the December quarter and 68.5 million tonnes during the first three months of 2020. However, the fall in export volumes had been flagged by BHP in early 2021. The resources giant will only need to ship 73.1 million tonnes in the June quarter to exceed its 2019-20 export total of 283.3 million tonnes. BHP’s full-year profits will be boosted by the continued strength of the iron ore price, which has reached a 10-year high of $US189.61 a tonne.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

Amazon tops $1bn sales but still in red

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 15 : 9-Feb-21

Digital giant Amazon has advised that its Australian arm posted a loss of $3.8m in 2020, following a $2.5m loss previously. However, Amazon Australia boasted total sales of $1.12bn in 2020, compared with just $562.1m in 2019. The company’s online stores recorded sales totalling $511m, while its subscription services’ sales rose from $35.4m to $90m. Amazon entered the local market in late 2017, and it now employs nearly 1,000 people in Australia.

CORPORATES
AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED

The Agency to defy debt claim with sales jump

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Jan-21

Real estate group The Agency has reported revenue of $29.1 million for its latest first half, with the result being a record for the company. Unaudited EBITDA for the half came in at $1.6 million, excluding government benefits like JobKeeper, while the company recorded positive operating cashflow of $1.54 million. The record revenue result came just days after a creditor sought to place The Agency in administration over a disputed fee of $385,000.

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Smaller loss may not spare embattled Lytton refinery

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Original article by Lachlan Moffet Gray
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-Jan-21

Ampol will still undertake a review of its Lytton refinery in Brisbane, despite the facility posting a lower-than expected loss for 2020. The refinery’s loss for the calendar year was $20m lower than the consensus forecasts of analysts, at $145m on a replacement cost of sales operating profit basis. The refinery produced 3.469 billion litres of fuel during 2020, compared with 5.8 billion litres in 2019. Ampol has cautioned that the economic outlook in 2021 remains uncertain due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on demand for fuel.

CORPORATES
AMPOL LIMITED – ALD

CBA profits cut despite growth in lending

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Nov-20

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has reported a cash profit of $1.8bn for the September quarter, which is 16 per cent lower than previously. Household deposits increased by $15.8bn during the first three months of 2020-21, while mortgage lending increased by $5.6bn. CBA has advised that its net interest margin was lower than in the second half of 2019-20, primarily due to the impact of lower interest rates. CBA has also reported a sharp fall in the number of deferred loans since the end of the September quarter.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Westpac resumes dividend as profits plummet 62pc

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 3-Nov-20

Westpac announced on 2 November that it had recorded a full-year cash profit of $2.608 billion, down 62 per cent. Cash earnings by its consumer bank unit were down 12 per cent to $2.7 billion, while earnings by its business bank unit declined by 62 per cent to $734 million. Impairments for bad and doubtful debts were raised by $2.2 billion to $6.2 billion, while Westpac will pay a pay a fully franked final dividend of $0.31 per share on 18 December.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

It’s money in the till as Ritchies’ profit doubles

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 3-Nov-20

Independent supermarket retailer Ritchies has advised that its pre-tax profit for the 12 months ending June rose 98 per cent to $37.7 million. Net profit was up 79 per cent to $24.9 million, while sales increased by 14.7 per cent to $1.25 billion. CEO Fred Harrison said COVID-19 had helped bring about its better result, but he believes Ritchies was already on the improve before the pandemic hit. Harrison reaffirmed that he had no plans to exercise a put option to sell Ritchies to grocery, liquor and hardware wholesaler Metcash, which owns 26 per cent of Ritchies.

CORPORATES
RITCHIES STORES PTY LTD, METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS

ANZ warns of $528m profit hit

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 28-Oct-20

The ANZ Bank has advised that its financial results for the second half of 2019-20 will be marred by an after-tax charge of $528m. This includes a $188m charge associated with its customer remediation program and a $138m hit with regard to its software amortisation policy. ANZ will release its full-year results on 29 October. Westpac and National Australia Bank also recently indicated that their upcoming full-year results will include writedowns and impairment charges in the second half.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Dividend doubt as Westpac flags profit hit

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 27-Oct-20

Westpac has advised that its financial results for the second half of 2019-20 will be marred by $1.22bn worth of write-downs and impairment charges. This includes a $406m write-down of its life insurance business and a $415m increase in provision for its settlement with Austrac for breaching anti-money laundering laws. Westpac will also incur an additional $104m in costs associated with its customer remediation program. UBS expects Westpac to pay a final dividend of $0.35 per share, after withholding its interim payout due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD