STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

Packer bid to unlock Crown value

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Original article by James Thomson, Perry Williams, John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 16-Jun-16

The board of Crown Resorts has proposed to restructure the Australian-listed company. The new corporate structure involves the creation of an international holding company which will hold Crown’s stakes in Melco Crown, a US casino and hotel, the Nobu restaurant chain, British casino operator Aspers and Caesars Growth Partners. Crown Resorts will retain its existing local assets, which include casinos and hotels in Melbourne and Perth, the Barangaroo project in Sydney, Betfair Australasia, and stakes in Crownbet and the Ellerston resort in New South Wales. A listed property trust will also be created.

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, MELCO CROWN ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED, ALON, NOBU, CAESARS GROWTH PARTNERS, ASPERS, BETFAIR AUSTRALASIA PTY LTD, CROWNBET PTY LTD, CROWN TOWERS, CONSOLIDATED PRESS HOLDINGS LIMITED

O’Keefe ready to ride iron ore’s upswing

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Original article by Brian Robins
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 23 : 13-Jun-16

Champion Iron chairman Michael O’Keefe hopes the iron ore group can replicate the success he had at coal producer Riversdale Mining, which Rio Tinto bought for $A4bn during the resources boom. Champion Iron was created via the merger of Australian-listed Mamba Minerals and Canada’s Champion Mines. The group paid $C10.5m for the Bloom Lake iron ore project, which boasts 66 per cent iron. In contrast, most Australian iron ore has an iron content of 62 per cent or less. O’Keefe has targeted late 2017 for the first shipment from Bloom Lake.

CORPORATES
CHAMPION IRON LIMITED – ASX CIA, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, RIVERSDALE MINING LIMITED, CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INCORPORATED, IRON ORE COMPANY OF CANADA

Low prices knock sense into producers

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 10-Jun-16

There is growing recognition among Australian energy groups of the need to continue reducing costs, amid sustained weakness in the crude oil price and a growing oversupply in the LNG market. Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher has suggested greater collaboration among rival LNG groups and has raised the possibility of LNG infrastructure being owned by independent operators rather than producers. Meanwhile, Woodside Petroleum CEO Peter Coleman has acknowledged that the LNG projects in Queensland have cost much more than originally budgeted.

CORPORATES
SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, NOVA SYSTEMS, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY, CLOUGH LIMITED, McKINSEY AND COMPANY, CB&I INCORPORATED, SHELL COMPANY OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

BHP tunes up Olympic Dam but timing slightly off

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 27-May-16

BHP Billiton will hire an additional 120 workers at its Olympic Dam copper and uranium mine in South Australia. The resources group intends to expand underground mining at Olympic Dam, with plans to increase copper production from 200,000 tonnes in 2015-16 to 230,000 tonnes in 2020-21. BHP eventually aims to lift annual production to 280,000 tonnes. However, the long-term goal of 450,000 tonnes per annum will depend on the use of heap leaching technology, which is currently being trialled.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP

Good Guys sees earnings surge if IPO proceeds

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 24-May-16

Consumer electronics retailer The Good Guys has appointed three lead managers to handle a potential IPO, which is expected to raise up to $A900m. However, chairman Andrew Muir is retaining options such as a trade sale. The Good Guys boasts 100 stores, and Muir aims to complete the purchase of 56 joint venture stores by the end of 2015-16. The group has forecast pro forma EBITDA of $A85m for the financial year.

CORPORATES
THE GOOD GUYS, THE MUIR ELECTRICAL COMPANY PTY LTD, JJB SPORTS, STEINHOFF INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BAIN CAPITAL LLC, TPG CAPITAL LP, KKR AND COMPANY LP

Coal upstart tips more deals

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 19-May-16

Stanmore Coal MD Nick Jorss says the listed group is considering further acquisitions in the coal sector, as a number of large players look to divest assets. Stanmore bought the Isaac Plains coking coal mine in Queensland from Vale and Sumitomo in mid-2015. Stanmore has resumed production at the mine and will target annual output of 1.1 million tonnes a year, compared with 2.8 million annually when the mine was mothballed in 2014.

CORPORATES
STANMORE COAL LIMITED – ASX SMR, VALE SA, SUMITOMO CORPORATION, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ANGLO AMERICAN PLC, PEABODY ENERGY CORPORATION, ARROW ENERGY LIMITED

Gage Roads returns to its crafty roots

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 17-May-16

Australian-listed Gage Roads Brewing will supply private-label beers to Woolworths for at least another three years, although volumes will be reduced. Gage Roads will seek to offset this by increasing its production of craft beers. MD John Hoedemaker forecasts that these products will account for about 70 per cent of its sales by 2021, compared with 13 per cent in 2015 and 28 per cent so far in 2016.

CORPORATES
GAGE ROADS BREWING COMPANY LIMITED – ASX GRB, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, LION PTY LTD, BYRON BAY BEER COMPANY, ASAHI BREWERIES LIMITED, MOUNTAIN GOAT BEER PTY LTD

Westfield Corp will still call Australia home

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 13-May-16

US-focused Westfield Corporation has ruled out shifting its primary listing from the Australian sharemarket to the US, although the group will consider a dual-listed structure. Chairman Frank Lowy says the board decided that there would be minimal benefit from relocating Westfield’s primary listing at present, and said he does not intend to retire from the board. Meanwhile, Westfield has advised that specialty retail sales at its shopping centres rose by 4.4 per cent in the year to March 2016.

CORPORATES
WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG

Companies need to come up with growth strategies

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 13-May-16

Many Australian-listed companies have prioritised dividend yields in recent years, rather than investing in growth strategies. However, Macquarie Securities’ Jason Todd believes that investors are poised to reward companies that pursue growth via strategies such as acquisitions and capital expenditure. He identifies a number of stocks that could benefit from a growth strategy, including Transurban Group, Wesfarmers, Amcor, Carsales.com, CSL and Orora.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE SECURITIES PTY LTD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, CARSALES.COM LIMITED – ASX CAR, CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, ORORA LIMITED – ASX ORA, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, INCITEC PIVOT LIMITED – ASX IPL, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC

BHP plan to unlock $70bn hits right note

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Original article by Barry FitzGerald
The Australian – Page: 22 : 12-May-16

BHP Billiton’s base value is in line with its market capitalisation of $A98bn. CEO Andrew Mackenzie has told a mining conference in the US that the resources giant could increase its base value by $A70bn via a combination of its existing portfolio of assets and productivity improvements. He says this growth trajectory can be achieved even if there is no significant upturn in commodity prices. BHP shares closed $A0.72 higher at $A18.55 on 11 May 2016.

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD