SHARE PRICES – AUSTRALIA

Treasury thirsty for acquisitions

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Aug-14

Treasury Wine Estates has posted a 2013-14 full-year net loss of $A100.9m. EBITS of $A193m was not enough to offset provisioning worth $A280.6m for impaired assets. EBITS in the Australasian operations fell 31.5% to $A75.1m, and that for the US division was down 7% at $A80m once foreign exchange rate fluctuations were taken into account. On 21 August 2014 the stock closed $A0.13 lower at $A5.20, also the offer price in rival takeover bids by private equity firms TPG Capital and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts with Rhone Capital. CEO Mike Clarke said the company wants to expand in the US premium wines segment

CORPORATES
TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, KKR AND COMPANY LP, RHONE CAPITAL LLC, TPG CAPITAL LP, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, ROSEMOUNT ESTATES PTY LTD, LINDEMANS WINES PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Fairfax eyes more cuts in the race to stem revenue bleed

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Aug-14

Fairfax Media has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit of $A224.4m post-tax, after a 2012-13 loss of $A15.5m. Excluding abnormal gains from the divestment of the Stayz and InvestSmart businesses, the operating earnings were up 1.8% to reach $A306.4m. Revenue in the newspapers division was down 9.2% to $A803.2m, and that of the radio assets 6% to $A103.8m. However at the Domain property wed site unit it grew 15.5% to $A146.6m. CEO Greg Hywood signalled further cost reductions, and investors pushed Fairfax shares $A0.06 higher to a close of $A0.94 on 14 August 2014

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, STAYZ PTY LTD, INVESTSMART FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, HANCOCK PROSPECTING PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Telstra ready to splash cash

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Original article by Mitchell Bingemann
The Australian – Page: 17 : 15-Aug-14

Telstra has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit of $A4.28bn, on a revenue rise of 3.4% to $A25.1bn. The best result in close to 10 years comes as the Australian-listed telco invests in new acquisitions to boost its footprint in the media content sector, after offloading the CSL mobile telephony asset in Hong Kong. The final distribution is up $A0.005 to $A0.15, for a 12-month payout of $A0.295. CEO David Thodey also announced a stock repurchasing scheme worth $A1bn, and on 14 August 2014 the shares closed at a price of $A5.56 last witnessed in 2002

CORPORATES
TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, OOYALA INCORPORATED, HONG KONG CSL LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SENSIS PTY LTD, PLATINUM EQUITY HOLDINGS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

It’s not a bubble, says CBA

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 14-Aug-14

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has posted a record cash profit of $A8.68bn for the 2013-14 financial year. The banking major wrote about $A12bn worth of new home loans during the year, and its mortgage book is now worth nearly $A400bn. It has benefited from low interest rates, which in turn has prompted a sharp rise in house prices, but CBA has downplayed concerns about a housing bubble. CBA shares closed 0.9 per cent lower at $A80.96 on 13 August 2014, although the stock has gained 8.6 per cent in the last year

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Drop in tablet sales proves a bitter pill for JB Hi-Fi

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Original article by Bridget Carter
The Australian – Page: 19 : 12-Aug-14

Electronic goods retailer JB Hi-Fi has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit increase of 10.3% to $A128.4m, as had been tipped. Turnover grew 5.3% to reach $A3.48bn, and was up 2% on a like-for-like basis. However the company also conceded that revenue declined 5.5% year-on-year during the month of July 2014, as consumers bought fewer tablet computers. CEO Richard Murray said new devices would compensate for this during the course of 2014-15. The 12-month distribution is $A0.84, up 16.7%, and on 11 August the stock fell $A1.53 to close at $A17.84.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, JB HI-FI HOME, MOELIS AND COMPANY

Lynas shares slide as fears mount over debt burden

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Original article by Sarah-Jane Tasker
The Australian – Page: 18 : 1-Aug-14

The stock of Australian-listed rare earths group Lynas Corporation closed 17% lower at $A0.17 on 31 July 2014. The market reacted to concerns that the company may struggle to make a repayment of $US35m ($A37.5m) on its debt by the 30 September deadline, as well as to data in its output report for the June quarter. While Lynas unveiled an increase of 117% year-on-year to 1,882 tonnes in shipments from its Malaysian plant, the price achieved fell by over $US4 to $US18.25 a kilogram

CORPORATES
LYNAS CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX LYC, SOJITZ CORPORATION, JAPAN OIL GAS AND METALS NATIONAL CORPORATION, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Navitas marked down after uni setback

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Original article by Julie Hare
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Jul-14

Navitas has announced a 2013-14 full-year net profit drop of 31% to $A51.6m, on revenue of $A878.2m. The earnings per share declined 31% as well, to $A0.137. On 28 July 2014 the stock lost $A0.14 to close at $A4.98. In early July it had fallen steeply from $A7.75 to $A4.68, on news the higher education enrolment services provider had lost its contract with Macquarie University. Navitas CEO Rod Jones says the company predicts improve trading conditions once the Australian Government’s full deregulation of university course fees becomes law

CORPORATES
NAVITAS LIMITED – ASX NVT, MACQUARIE UNIVERSITY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 100 INDEX, EDITH COWAN UNIVERSITY, MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS, CURTIN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF APPLIED PSYCHOLOGY PTY LTD, SAE INSTITUTE PTY LTD

Investors weary from IPO oversupply

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 17-Jul-14

Monash IVF, Mantra Group and 3P Learning are among the Australian stocks that have underperformed since their sharemarket float in recent months. Simon Conn of Investors Mutual attributes this to factors such as the high level of IPO activity and the fact that many of these floats are businesses that have been sold by private equity groups. However, Gary Nicholson of Ernst & Young rejects suggestions of "deal fatigue" among investors

CORPORATES
MONASH IVF GROUP LIMITED – ASX MVF, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, 3P LEARNING LIMITED – ASX 3PL, SMARTGROUP CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX SIQ, ASALEO CARE LIMITED – ASX AHY, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, ERNST AND YOUNG, PENGANA EMERGING COMPANIES FUND, OC FUNDS MANAGEMENT

3P Learning flunks first day on ASX – down 14pc

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Original article by Paul Smith, Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 & 26 : 10-Jul-14

The initial public offering of 3P Learning on 9 July 2014 was a disappointment. Stock in the Mathletics and Reading Eggs educational software provider had been issued at $A2.50, but opened at $A2.39 before closing at just $A2.15. The 14% drop compared with one of 1.1% for the S&P/ASX 200 Index for the day. The float had been the second-largest ever in the Australian technology sector, and the eighth-largest overall for calendar 2014 so far. CEO Tim Power says 3P will concentrate on further expansion and innovation rather than the ups and downs of its share price

CORPORATES
3P LEARNING LIMITED – ASX 3PL, FREELANCER LIMITED – ASX FLN, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, GDI PROPERTY GROUP – ASX GDI, COVER-MORE GROUP LIMITED – ASX CVO, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, HYPERION ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Northern Star shares shine as Jundee kicks in

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Original article by Matt Chambers
The Australian – Page: 20 : 10-Jul-14

The stock of Northern Star Resources (NST) on 9 July 2014 closed $A0.185 higher at $A1.505. It is edging back to the all-time high of $A1.57 set in early 2013, as investors react to news of surprisingly good output data. The production of the gold mining group for the quarter ending 30 June 2014 was 115,819 ounces, compared with the forecast range of 80,000 to 90,000. The figure will soon be boosted further by the recent purchase of the Jundee mine in Western Australia. The rising gold price, up $US9 an ounce to $US1,325 for the day, also helped

CORPORATES
NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, EVOLUTION MINING LIMITED – ASX EVN, RESOLUTE MINING LIMITED – ASX RSG, OCEANA GOLD LIMITED, BARRICK GOLD OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NEWMONT MINING CORPORATION