CORPORATE PROFITS – AUSTRALIA

Rio tips pay inflation as profits surge

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 20 : 8-Feb-18

Rio Tinto has posted a 2017 underlying profit of $US8.6bn ($A10.9bn), which is 69 per cent higher than previously. The full-year result was boosted by $US4.1bn due to a rise in the prices of key commodities, such as iron ore and coal. Shareholders will receive a second-half dividend of $US1.80 per share, with the full-year payout rising to a record $US2.90 per share. Meanwhile, CEO Jean-Sebastien Jacques says the strong profit growth is likely to prompt employees across Rio Tinto’s global operations to seek wage increases.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BLOOMBERG LP

Rio investors tipped for mighty big win

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Original article by Darren Gray
The Age – Page: 23 : 6-Feb-18

Rio Tinto will release its full-year results on 7 February, and Macquarie Wealth Management forecasts that it will reveal underlying earnings of $US8.88 billion, up 74 per cent, and that cash from operations will rise by 63 per cent to $US13.809 billion. Macquarie also predicts that Rio shareholders will receive a final dividend of $US1.96 per share. This would bring Rio’s total dividend payment for 2017 to $US3.06 per share.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT

Miners ride high into new profit season

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 29-Jan-18

Data from Deutsche Bank shows that Australian-listed companies are forecast to achieve earnings-per-share growth of seven per cent in 2017-18. Kogan, Noni B and Lovisa are among the companies that have upgraded their earnings forecasts ahead of the February 2018 reporting season. The outlook for resources stock in particular is good, with Macquarie Group recently upgrading its share price targets for BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and South32 on the strength of its bullish price forecasts for commodities such as iron ore and coking coal in 2018.

CORPORATES
DEUTSCHE BANK AG, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, NONI B LIMITED – ASX NBL, LOVISA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LOV, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, PINNACLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX PNI, RETAIL FOOD GROUP LIMITED – ASX RFG, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, McGRATH LIMITED – ASX MEA, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, PRICELINE PHARMACY, ORIGIN ASSET MANAGEMENT, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE. INSTITUTE OF APPLIED ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED

AFIC left behind on rising resources

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 18 : 23-Jan-18

The Australian Foundation Investment Company has posted a 2017-18 interim profit of $A136.4m, which is 15.6 per higher than previously. Its investment portfolio achieved a return of 6.9 per cent for the half-year, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 8.4 per cent. AFIC failed to benefit from a rally in small and mid-cap resources stocks, as its focus in the sector is on large-cap stocks. AFIC CEO Mark Freeman notes that elevated share price means it is hard to find stocks that are fairly valued at present.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE

Myer profit warning a present for Lew

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 20 : 15-Dec-17

Solomon Lew might be more likely to get support for his push for an extraordinary general meeting of Myer shareholders after the department store chain issued another profit warning on 14 December. Lew is Myer’s largest shareholder through Premier Investments, and he has been attacking the Myer board for some months over what he claims is its flawed business strategy. Myer’s shares fell to a record low after it revealed that sales for the last two weeks were down five per cent.

CORPORATES
MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, PREMIER INVESTMENTS LIMITED – ASX PMV, OROTONGROUP LIMITED – ASX ORL, VERTIUM ASSET MANAGEMENT, LIVE CLOTHING, LOVER

NAB wields axe despite $6.6bn profit

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 3-Nov-17

National Australia Bank has posted a 2016-17 cash profit of $A6.64bn, which is 2.5 per cent higher than previously. The earnings of its business banking division rose by 6.3 per cent to $A2.8bn in the year to September 2017, while its consumer banking and wealth division reported earnings growth of 4.3 per cent to $A1.6bn. NAB has revealed plans to slash costs by $A1bn by 2020. This will include the loss of 6,000 jobs, which equates to about 18 per cent of its workforce, although NAB also intends to recruit 2,000 people with digital and technology skills as part of its focus on automation.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, NIPPON LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Elliott wary as ANZ profit surges 18pc

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 27-Oct-17

The ANZ Bank has posted a 2016-17 cash profit of $A6.9bn, which is 18 per cent higher than previously. Revenue was one per cent lower, and CEO Shayne Elliott notes that strong competition in the banking sector is making it harder to achieve revenue growth. He adds that ANZ will continue to closely monitor its mortgage book, given the rising levels of household debt and low growth in wages. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.80 share, and a full-year payout of $A1.60.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, DIGITAL FINANCE ANALYTICS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Fees underpin Macquarie profit

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Sep-17

Macquarie Group has advised that its profit for the first half of 2017-18 will be higher than previously due to an increase in performance fees. However, the investment bank has told an investor roadshow that it expects full-year profit to be similar to its $A2.22bn result for 2016-17. Macquarie’s earnings profile has benefited from the group’s increased focus on annuity-style operations, while the group has also highlighted its risk management practices.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, HILL SAMUEL BANK

Citi tips ‘attractive’ return on stocks

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 6-Sep-17

Data from Citigroup shows that the earnings of Australian-listed companies increased by 17.8 per cent in 2016-17, although growth was just 4.3 per cent when resources stocks are excluded. Earnings are forecast to rise by 3.4 per cent overall in 2017-18, although Tony Brennan of Citigroup notes that growth could be around 10 per cent when dividends are taken into account. Meanwhile, UBS expects earnings growth of 3.5 per cent overall. Citigroup also forecasts that the S&P/ASX 200 could potentially rise by 12 per cent in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX

Kim’s bomb the bleak balance for the upbeat

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 4-Sep-17

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says there is potential for equity markets to experience a correction, although this could depend on the response to North Korea’s test of a hydrogen bomb. Meanwhile, Oliver says profit growth in Australia remains significantly lower than in the US, Europe and Japan. He anticipates GDP growth of 0.5 per cent for the quarter and 1.5 per cent growth year-on-year. A survey by Bloomberg shows that the general consensus is for GDP growth of 0.7 per cent for the quarter and 1.8 per cent for the year to June.

CORPORATES
AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB