CORPORATE PROFITS – AUSTRALIA

Rio’s chance to reward investors with jump in returns

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 1-Aug-17

Rio Tinto is widely tipped to post a 2017 interim underlying profit of $US4.12bn ($A5.16bn), compared with $US1.56bn previously. Market watchers also anticipate that Rio will lift its interim dividend from $US0.45 per share to $US1.18, with the prospect of a full-year payout of $US2.50 per share. Paul Hissey of RBC Capital Markets forecasts that a special dividend will boost Rio Tinto’s interim payout to $US1.42 a share. However, Glyn Lawcock of UBS expects the interim dividend to be $US0.93.

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RBC CAPITAL MARKETS, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, GLENCORE PLC, VALE SA, GREAT BRITAIN. SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE

Looking to profits to solve economy’s jumbled puzzle

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 25-Jul-17

PM Capital’s Uday Cheruvu says the August 2017 earnings season will be more important than usual given that business confidence seems to be improving but consumer confidence remains subdued. Cheruvu adds that capital expenditure intentions will also be a key metric in the upcoming reporting season, suggesting that building materials group in particular may increase capex. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs says companies whose earnings could exceed expectations include BlueScope Steel, Crown Resorts, Telstra and South32.

CORPORATES
PM CAPITAL LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BRAVURA SOLUTIONS LIMITED.- ASX BVS, COSTA GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX CGC, SKYCITY ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SKC, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL, THE STAR ENTERTAINMENT GROUP LIMITED – ASX SGR, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, ADAIRS LIMITED – ASX ADH, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH

Ore lift backs BHP ‘surprise’ on dividend

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 : 20-Jul-17

Citigroup expects BHP Billiton to post an underlying profit of $US6.76bn for 2016-17, compared with $US1.22bn previously. BHP’s activities report for the June 2017 quarter shows that it produced 268 million tonnes of iron ore in Western Australia during 2016-17, while copper output at the Olympic Dam mine in South Australia fell 16 per cent to 166,000 tonnes. Strike action at the Escondida copper mine in Chile resulted in annual output falling to 772,000 tonnes, but output of up to 1.23 million tonnes is expected in 2017-18.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, MINERA ESCONDIDA LIMITADA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED

Westpac eyes business lending to fill the gap

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Original article by James Eyers, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 15 : 9-May-17

Westpac issued its 2016-17 interim financial results on 8 May 2017, recording a cash profit of $A4.02 billion, up three per cent on the previous corresponding period. Business credit and housing credit grew by 3.4 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively, while cash earnings from its business bank increased by one per cent. Cash earnings from its BT Financial wealth unit declined by 11 per cent, while its interim dividend remained unchanged.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

LVR loans aren’t bad: Genworth

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Original article by Alice Uribe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 4-May-17

Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia has posted a statutory net profit of $A52.2m for the March 2017 quarter, down from $A67.3m for the same period in 2016. Meanwhile, CEO Georgette Nicholas notes that mortgages with high loan-to-value ratios can be appropriate, provided there is sufficient oversight. Nicholas adds that loans with high LVRs are often essential for first-home buyers, and she warns that a crackdown on such loans may prompt people to seek higher-risk loans.

CORPORATES
GENWORTH MORTGAGE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX GMA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

ANZ shares pummelled by ‘lower for longer’ outlook

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 3-May-17

The ANZ Bank has posted a 2016-17 interim cash profit of $A3.4bn, which is 23 per cent higher than previously. However, most analysts had expected a half-year profit of between $A3.5bn and $A3.8bn. CEO Shayne Elliott is confident that ANZ can outperform its rivals in terms of profit growth, but he says the low-growth environment means it no longer expects revenue growth to outpace that of rival banks. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.80 per share.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE RESEARCH EQUITIES, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Banks set for earnings boost from rate hikes

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Original article by James Frost, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 1-May-17

The ANZ Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank will release their 2016-17 interim results in early May 2017, while the Commonwealth Bank will release a trading update for the third quarter of its financial year. The "big four" banks are forecast to post a combined interim cash profit of around $A16bn. Earnings are expected to have been bolstered by the banks’ recent moves to lift their interest rates for investor and interest-only home loans. Citigroup forecasts that the rate rises will boost earnings per share by up to two per cent in 2017.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK MALAYSIA BERHAD, STANDARD CHARTERED BANK PLC, DNR CAPITAL PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Fears grow of pullback in iron ore prices

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 22 : 8-Mar-17

Australian iron ore miners’ earnings have been boosted by the recent spike in the price of the steel input to more than $US90 per tonne, but Evans & Partners analyst Andrew Hines warns that the rally is not sustainable. He forecasts that the iron ore price will fall from its current level to around $US45 in the second half of 2017, which will in turn hit the profits and share prices of BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group. Credit Suisse and UBS recently upgraded their iron ore price forecasts for 2017.

CORPORATES
EVANS AND PARTNERS PTY LTD, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, VEDANTA RESOURCES PLC, MOUNT GIBSON IRON LIMITED – ASX MGX

Bullish BHP shoots the lights out

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 22-Feb-17

BHP Billiton has posted a 2016-17 interim underlying profit of $US3.244bn ($A4.226bn). The result was driven by factors such as strong gains in the price of iron ore and coking coal, and further cost reductions. Analysts had expected BHP’s underlying profit to be around $A3bn. BHP’s Western Australian iron ore operations achieved 47 per cent growth in underlying EBITDA, to $US4.16bn. Shareholders will receive a half-year dividend of $US0.40 per share.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

South32 saves cash for future growth

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 24 : 17-Feb-17

Australian-listed South32 has posted a 2016-17 interim net profit of $US620m ($A804m), compared with a loss of $US1.7bn previously. The BHP Billiton spin-off has a net cash position of $US859m, and CEO Graham Kerr says the group will not keep excess capital on its balance sheet in the long-term. Shareholders will receive an inaugural interim dividend of $US0.036 per share, although Macquarie had anticipated a payout of $A0.045. South32 shares eased $A0.05 on 16 February 2017, closing at $A2.62.

CORPORATES
SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MORGANS FINANCIAL LIMITED, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION