STOCK REPURCHASING – AUSTRALIA

Caltex retains M&A firepower with modest buyback

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 24-Feb-16

Caltex Australia has posted a net profit of $A522m for calendar 2015, compared with $A20m in 2014. Underlying earnings on a replacement cost operating profit basis increased from $A795m to $A977m. However, the downturn in the crude oil price impacted on revenue, which fell from $A23.9bn previously to $A20bn. Shareholders will receive a final dividend of $A0.70 per share and a full-year payout of $A1.17, while Caltex will repurchase $A270m worth of its shares.

CORPORATES
CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, CAR NEXT DOOR PTY LTD

CSL launches $1b share buyback

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 16-Oct-15

Australian-listed CSL forecasts that its Seqirus influenza division will post revenue of $US450m and a break-even profit in 2015-16, before making a profit in 2017-18. Seqirus has been established by merging the BioCSL division with the recently acquired flu vaccines arm of Novartis. Meanwhile, CSL will repurchase some $A1bn of its shares over the next year. It will be the group’s ninth buyback in the last decade.

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, BIOCSL, SEQIRUS, NOVARTIS AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Boral launches $236m program to buy back shares

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 19-Mar-15

Australian-listed building materials group Boral has revealed plans for an on-market share buyback. The group aims to repurchase about five per cent of its shares over the next year, which could cost up to $A236m. Boral boasted cash holding of $A357m at the end of 2014, and Andrew Peros of Credit Suisse says the buyback will place the group in a strong financial position to pursue acquisitions

CORPORATES
BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, USG CORPORATION, TRANSPACIFIC INDUSTRIES GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPI

Orica launches $400m share buyback

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Original article by Tim Binsted
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 3-Mar-15

Australian-listed Orica has revealed plans for an on-market share buyback from mid-March 2016. The explosives group intends to repurchase up to $A400m worth of shares over the next 12 months, following the sale of its chemicals division to Blackstone for $A750m. The private equity firm has announced that the business will be known as Ixom. It boasts EBIT of around $A110m and revenue of $A1.2bn

CORPORATES
ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, IXOM, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LAZARD PTY LTD, FONTERRA CO-OPERATIVE GROUP LIMITED, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, SYDNEY WATER CORPORATION, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL

Nine profit takes hit as $150m buyback launched

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Original article by Dominic White, Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Feb-15

Australian-listed Nine Entertainment Company has posted a 2014-15 interim net profit of $A88.8m, which is 6.4 per cent lower than previously. The media group’s revenue fell by 1.9 per cent to $A829m. Nine Entertainment will undertake an on-market share buyback worth $A150m over the next year, but CEO David Gyngell says the group is still interested in acquisitions

CORPORATES
NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, APN OUTDOOR GROUP LIMITED – ASX APO, OOH!MEDIA LIMITED – ASX OML

Seven set for uptick

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Original article by Tess Ingram, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 26-Feb-15

Seven Group Holdings has posted a 2014-15 interim net profit of $A69.2m, which is 74 per cent lower than previously. The WesTrac division’s sales revenue was down 47 per cent at $A323m, although revenue from equipment servicing and parts sales rose by 16 per cent to $A750m. Meanwhile, Seven Group will undertake an on-market share buyback via Goldman Sachs. The group’s shares closed 11 per cent higher at $A6.85 on 25 February 2015

CORPORATES
SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, WESTRAC HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CATERPILLAR, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

BHP under pressure to lift returns

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 23-Feb-15

BHP Billiton has not reduced its dividend since 1988, and analysts generally agree that a reduced payout is unlikely when the resources giant releases its 2014-15 interim results on 24 February 2015. Paul Young of Deutsche Bank does not expect BHP to increase its dividend for at least another two years, arguing that it should focus on growth rather than improving returns to shareholders. Paul McTaggart of Credit Suisse also says a share buyback is unlikely in the next several years

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED

Fairfax unveils buyback surprise

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Original article by Max Mason, Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Feb-15

Australian-listed Fairfax Media has reported a 2014-15 interim underlying net profit of $A86m, which is 0.6 per cent lower than previously. Revenue from operations fell by 12.9 per cent to $A943.3m, while the media group will undertake an on-market share buyback over the next 12 months. It plans to repurchase up to 121 million shares, which equates to five per cent of the stock on issue

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, DOMAIN.COM.AU, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Rio Tinto leads $10b in payouts

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 13-Feb-15

Rio Tinto’s underlying earning for calendar 2014 were nine per cent lower than previously at $US9.3bn, although the result was better than analysts had expected. Rio will repurchase some $US2bn ($A2.6bn) worth of its shares, while a 12 per cent increase in its full-year dividend means a total of $US6bn ($A7.8bn) will be returned to shareholders. The resources group’s net debt has been reduced to $A12.5bn, compared with $US22bn in mid-2013

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, GLENCORE PLC, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN FOUNDATION INVESTMENT COMPANY LIMITED – ASX AFI, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT

Rio Tinto primed for $5b buyback

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 5-Jan-15

Credit Suisse’s Paul McTaggart suggests that Rio Tinto may pursue an on-market share buyback worth up to $US4bn ($A5bn). He says the resources group could potentially reveal plans for a buyback in February 2015, while Glyn Lawcock of UBS believes that any such buyback will be worth between $US2bn and $US3bn. Both mining analysts also expect Rio Tinto to increase its underlying dividend. The dividend payout ratio was 35 per cent in calendar 2013

CORPORATES
RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE