CORPORATE PROFITS – AUSTRALIA

AGL eyes alternatives as Vocus off the table

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 20 : 9-Aug-19

AGL Energy has posted a 2018-19 net profit of $905m, which is 42.8 per cent lower than previously. Its underlying profit after tax rose by 2.2 per cent to $1.04bn. AGL has forecast that its profit will be within the range of $780m and $860m in 2019-20, citing factor such as lower electricity prices, higher fuel costs and the impact of an outage at its Loy Yang A generator in Victoria. Meanwhile, CEO Brett Redman says AGL remains open to expanding into the data services sector, despite abandoning a bid for Vocus Group earlier in 2019.

CORPORATES
AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, VOCUS GROUP LIMITED – ASX VOC, PERTH ENERGY PTY LTD, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Cheap money squeezes CBA

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Original article by James Eyers, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 8-Aug-19

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has posted a 2018-19 cash profit of $8.49bn, which is 4.7 per cent lower than previously; revenue was two per cent lower at $24.4bn. CEO Matt Comyn has warned that the bank’s net interest margin will fall by four basis points in 2019-20 due to the consecutive official interest rate cuts in June and July. He adds that there will be limited scope to pass on further rate cuts to customers, as many of its deposit rates are already close to zero. CBA’s cost-to-income ratio is currently 46.2 per cent, and Comyn says the aim is to reduce it to below 40 per cent over time.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PM CAPITAL LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

CBA sets banking tone with profit pressure

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 5-Aug-19

The consensus of analysts polled by Bloomberg is that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will post a 2018-19 cash profit of $8.76bn, which would be seven per cent lower than previously. Jonathan Mott of UBS estimates that CBA has about $5bn in excess capital after completing the sale of Colonial First State Global Asset Management. He says that rather than announcing a special dividend, the bank should retain some capital until the outcome of the New Zealand Capital Review is known. Mott recently downgraded his recommendation on CBA’s stock to ‘sell’. AMP and Suncorp are among the other companies that will issue earnings reports in coming days.

CORPORATES
COMMOTION SYSTEMS, BLOOMBERG LP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, RECKON LIMITED – ASX RKN, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ORD MINNETT GROUP LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Rio warns aluminium on thin ice

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Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 2-Aug-19

Rio Tinto has posted an underlying after-tax profit of $US4.9bn for the first half of 2019, and underlying EBITDA of $US10.25bn. The result was underpinned by its iron ore division, whose underlying EBITDA was 33 per cent higher than previously at $US7.5bn. Meanwhile. CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques has warned that the future of the Gladstone and Newcastle aluminium smelters will be in doubt unless action is taken to address the energy crisis on Australia’s east coast. Rio Tinto shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $US1.51 per share and a special dividend of $US0.61.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, PACIFIC ALUMINIUM PTY LTD, OYU TOLGOI LLC

Little room for error as reporting season nears

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 25 : 24-Jul-19

The consensus forecast is for S&P/ASX 200 companies outside of the resources sector to post earnings per share growth of one per cent for 2018-19. Morgans Financial expects the August 2019 reporting season to generally exceed expectations, due primarily to the fact that earnings forecasts have been downgraded so much. Andrew Tang of Morgans favours stocks such as BHP, Rio Tinto, Telstra and A2 Milk. He says Suncorp, Spark Infrastructure, Computershare and REA Group are among the stocks whose 2018-19 earnings and future guidance may disappoint the market.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, THE A2 MILK COMPANY LIMITED – ASX A2M, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, SPARK INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP – ASX SKI, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX ALL ORDINARIES INDEX

Whitehaven boss hints at hefty dividends for shareholders

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 12-Jul-19

Whitehaven Coal will post underlying earnings of $567.6m for 2018-19, according to the consensus forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg. It would be the group’s second successive record profit, with Whitehaven benefiting from the premium at which its thermal coal has traded compared with the benchmark price. MD Paul Flynn has given indications that Whitehaven will maintain its dividend payout ratio, although some analysts suggest that it may be prudent to retain some cash given its plans to develop the Vickery and Winchester South mines.

CORPORATES
WHITEHALL ASSOCIATES, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, BLOOMBERG LP, FARALLON CAPITAL PTY LTD

Editorial, marketing cut put Bauer back in black

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Original article by Lilly Vitorovich
The Australian – Page: 23 : 5-Jul-19

Magazine publisher Bauer Media Australia has posted a $6.3m net profit for 2018, following a net loss of $11.3m in 2017. Bauer Media’s revenue of $224.3m was 13.7 per cent lower than previously, and included $142.1m in revenue from magazine sales and revenue of $48.8m from advertising. Bauer’s 2018 financial report also shows that it paid $3.1m in tax for the year, compared with just $1.9m previously.

CORPORATES
BAUER MEDIA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BAUER MEDIA KG, PACIFIC MAGAZINES PTY LTD, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Metcash stands its ground as share price falls

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 25-Jun-19

Grocery wholesaler Metcash has posted a net profit of $192.8m for the year to 30 April, following a loss of $148.2m previously. The group’s underlying profit was three per cent lower at $210.3m, but revenue increased by 1.8 per cent to $12.7bn. CEO Jeff Adams says Metcash is confident that its restructuring program, which includes further cost reductions, will pay off. Metcash shares fell 9.8 per cent on 24 June, closing at $2.84.

CORPORATES
METCASH LIMITED – ASX MTS, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Gas price cut needed to save Gibson Island

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 21-May-19

Incitec Pivot has posted a 2018-19 underlying net profit of $41.9m, compared with $147.1m previously. The company has warned that its fertiliser plant at Gibson Island in Queensland will close by the end of 2019 unless action is taken to address the issue of high gas prices. CEO Jeanne Johns says it will not be viable to keep the plant open until 2022 unless gas prices fall. She has declined to comment on whether the federal government should use the Australian Domestic Gas Security Mechanism to restrict gas export volumes in 2019 and 2020.

CORPORATES
INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, ENERGYQUEST PTY LTD

Westpac profit plunges 22pc as costs mount

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 7-May-19

Westpac has posted a 2018-19 interim net profit of $3.296bn, which is 22 per cent lower than previously. The result was marred by provisions of $617m associated with Westpac’s customer remediation program. Westpac’s costs increased by one per cent to $5.04bn, although costs fell by three per cent when compensation and restructuring costs are excluded. Meanwhile, net income was down 10 per cent at $9.979bn for the half-year. CEO Brian Hartzer expects house prices to bottom in late 2019 or early 2020.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CLIME ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE