CORPORATE PROFITS – AUSTRALIA

Pressure on dividends in bank earnings

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 2-May-16

The earnings and dividend payouts of Australia’s four major banks will come under scrutiny in the first week of May 2016, with three set to release their half-year results. Westpac is tipped to post an interim net profit of at least $A4bn, while the ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank are expected to report half-year profits of about $A3.58bn and $A3.34bn respectively. Hugh Dive of Aurora Funds Management says NAB is the most likely to reduce its dividend payout, although Mark Nathan of Arnhem Asset Management believes that all four major banks will leave dividends unchanged in the near-term.

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, AURORA FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, ARNHEM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DICK SMITH HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX DSH, ARRIUM LIMITED – ASX ARI, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION

ASX ‘likely’ to choose a local chief executive

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 15-Apr-16

ASX Limited has posted a statutory profit of $A317.4m for the first nine months of 2015-16, which is 6.2 per cent higher than previously. The stock exchange operator will shortly appoint an executive search firm to find a successor to CEO Elmer Funke Kupper. ASX chairman Rick Holliday-Smith says the highly regulated nature of the Australian market means a local candidate will probably be preferred, but he has not ruled out an offshore hire if they have the right skills and experience.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, RUSSELL REYNOLDS ASSOCIATES INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

BoQ lifts mortgage rates as profit jumps 11pc

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 8-Apr-16

The Bank of Queensland has reported an 11 per cent rise in 2015-16 interim profit to $A171 million. CEO Jon Sutton says the bank’s variable interest rates for owner-occupier home loans will be raised by 12 basis points to 5.86 per cent. Mortgage rates on investor loans will rise by 25 basis points to 6.28 per cent. The new rates will take effect in mid-April 2016.

CORPORATES
BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Healthy Sigma set for acquisitions

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 21 : 24-Mar-16

Australian-listed Sigma Pharmaceuticals has posted a 2015 net profit of $A50.5m, which is 4.3 per cent lower than previously, although revenue rose by 10 per cent to $A3.5bn. CEO Mark Hooper notes that the proportion of Sigma’s revenue from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme has fallen in recent years due to the group’s push to diversify its sources of income. He has flagged acquisitions and identified expansion into the hospital pharmacy sector as a key growth strategy.

CORPORATES
SIGMA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED – ASX SIP

Corrigan’s full circle as Qube takes ports

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Original article by Andrew White, Gretchen Friemann
The Australian – Page: 19 &20 : 16-Mar-16

Ports and rail group Asciano has recommended that shareholders accept a takeover bid led by Qube Holdings and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The $A9.05bn deal will result in Asciano being broken up, with Qube and Brookfield set to pay $A2.92bn for the Patrick container terminals business. A consortium of international investment funds will buy the bulk of Asciano’s assets, including the Pacific National rail freight business. Qube chairman Chris Corrigan was CEO of Patrick Corporation when it was acquired by Toll Holdings in 2006.

CORPORATES
ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, QUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUB, BROOKFIELD INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS LP, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, PACIFIC NATIONAL PTY LTD, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERS, CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION, GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE INVESTMENT CORPORATION PTE LTD, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, QATAR INVESTMENT AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN AMALGAMATED TERMINALS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSBIL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, NATIONAL FARMERS’ FEDERATION LIMITED

Geminder’s Pact with the market: no surprise

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Original article by Kylar Loussikian
The Australian – Page: 21 : 25-Feb-16

Pact Group has posted a 2015-16 interim underlying profit of $A45.9m, which is 10 per cent higher than previously. The packaging group’s revenue increased by eight per cent to about $A688m, and shareholders will receive a half-year dividend of $A0.10 per share. CEO Malcolm Bundey says an efficiency program generated cost savings of $A2.8m during the half-year. Pact shares closed 4.5 per cent higher at $A4.92 on 24 February 2016.

CORPORATES
PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, JALCO PTY LTD, POWER PLASTICS

Westfield posts US$2.3bn net profit in first full year

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 25-Feb-16

Australian-listed Westfield Corporation has posted a net profit of $US2.3bn ($A3.2bn) for calendar 2015. The real estate investment trust was created in 2014 via a restructuring of the Westfield Group. The US and Europe-focused Westfield has reported funds from operations of $US783.4m for 2015, which equates to $A0.377 per security.

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD

Wesfarmers regroups for customer focus

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 25-Feb-16

Wesfarmers has posted a 2015-16 interim net profit of $A1.39bn, which is 1.2 per cent lower than previously. EBIT rose by 1.6 per cent to $A2.11bn and revenue was up 4.7 per cent at $A33.5bn. The group’s retail division posted 9.2 per cent growth in earnings, but its coal operations recorded a loss of $A118m. Meanwhile, Wesfarmers will establish a department store division to house its Kmart and Target businesses, while its industrial and safety businesses will also be restructured.

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, KMART AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TARGET AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, BUNNINGS GROUP LIMITED, COLES GROUP LIMITED, BLACKWOODS, PROTECTOR ALSAFE, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, MASTERS HOME IMPROVEMENT AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Fortescue Metals looks to M&A for growth

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 25-Feb-16

Fortescue Metals Group has posted a 2015-16 interim net profit of $US319m, compared with $US331m previously. Revenue fell from $US4.8bn to $US3.3bn. CEO Nev Power says the iron ore group is open to acquisitions if appropriate opportunities become available, and it has not ruled out diversifying into other commodities. Fortescue has also signalled that it will seek to reduce its break-even price for exports to China to $US28.80 per tonne by mid-2016, but stresses that it will not try to compete with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to become the lowest-cost exporter.

CORPORATES
FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Ainsworth cashes out $473m pokies stake

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Original article by Perry Williams
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 24-Feb-16

Australian-listed poker machine maker Ainsworth Game Technology has posted a 2015-16 interim net profit of $A33.1m, which is four per cent lower than previously. Meanwhile, founder Len Ainsworth has sold his 53 per cent stake in the group to Novomatic for about $A473m. Ainsworth will remain chairman, and intends to donate some of the proceeds of the sale to philanthropic causes such as medical research.

CORPORATES
AINSWORTH GAME TECHNOLOGY LIMITED – ASX AGI, NOVOMATIC, ARISTOCRAT LEISURE LIMITED – ASX ALL, ST VINCENT’S HOSPITAL SYDNEY LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD