STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

OZ Minerals spruiks faster, cheaper Carrapateena plan

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 &18 : 7-Oct-15

OZ Minerals has indicated that developing the Carrapateena copper and gold deposit on a much smaller scale than originally planned is its preferred option. OZ estimates that it could reduce the cost of developing the mine to about $A1bn by focusing on higher-grade ore at the shallowest depths. A feasibility study in 2014 had estimated that the original plan for a block cave mine would cost about $A2.98bn. CEO Andrew Cole has stressed that three options for the project remain under consideration.

CORPORATES
OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, KKR AND COMPANY LP, ARGONAUT SECURITIES PTY LTD, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, PANAUST LIMITED, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM

Amaysim pushes for 1m subscribers

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Oct-15

Australian-listed mobile telephone reseller Amaysim currently boasts 718,000 mobile subscribers, but it aims to lift this to one million in the next four years. However, it had originally aimed to achieve this by 2015. The telco also believes that its customer support systems are robust enough to handle about two million subscribers. Amaysim is also expected to diversify its operations in coming years by expanding into electricity and gas retailing.

CORPORATES
AMAYSIM AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX AYS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SIMYO GMBH, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, KOGAN MOBILE PTY LTD, ISPONE PTY LTD, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED

Vocus and M2 merger to create $3b titan

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 29-Sep-15

Geoff Horth will become CEO of the merged M2 Group and Vocus Communications, which will rank as the fourth-biggest telco in Australia and the third-largest in New Zealand. Horth is currently CEO of M2, whose board has endorsed the $A3bn merger proposal. M2 owns the Dodo and iPrimus brands, which may allow Vocus to revive its plan to build its own fibre-to-basement service for apartment buildings. The merger is subject to approval by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

CORPORATES
M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, VOCUS COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX VOC, DODO INTERNET PTY LTD, IPRIMUS, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, NBN CO LIMITED, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, COMMANDER COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED, AAPT LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Branch numbers are on the wane as digital banking gains popularity

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 24-Sep-15

Alan Shields, the MD of advisory firm RFI, expects the trend for banks to reduce branch numbers to continue. Figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show that Westpac cut its branches by 48 to 1,237 in 2014-15. The ANZ Bank reduced branch numbers by 19 to 751, while National Australia Bank closed two branches. The Commonwealth Bank opened one branch in 2014-15.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RETAIL FINANCE INTELLIGENCE PTY LTD

Baby Bunting plans growth spurt to double in size after ASX float

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 23-Sep-15

Infant supplies retailer Baby Bunting currently has 33 stores, but the group is planning an aggressive expansion following its proposed $A52m IPO. Shares will be offered at $A1.40 apiece, with proceeds of the float to be used to reduce Baby Bunting’s debt. CEO Matt Spencer forecasts that pre-tax earnings will top $A16.3m in 2015-16, with sales of $A218.6 million. The baby goods market is estimated to be worth $A2.3bn.

CORPORATES
BABY BUNTING PTY LTD

Lion takes up myth busting to put fizz back into beer

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Sep-15

Lion CEO Stuart Irvine says consumers widely believe that beer contains a lot of sugar and preservatives, but he notes that the sugar content is actually just 0.1 per cent. The Japanese-owned brewing giant will launch a $A10m marketing campaign during the 2015-16 summer to promote the low sugar content of beer, as part of its strategy to arrest a decline in sales of mainstream beer. Lion is also adding nutrition information to the packaging of its beer brands.

CORPORATES
LION PTY LTD, KIRIN HOLDINGS COMPANY LIMITED, CARLTON AND UNITED BREWERIES, SABMILLER PLC, PETALUMA LIMITED, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, CROSER WINES, INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PLATINUM CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX PMC, TOOHEYS BREWING COMPANY PTY LTD, J BOAG & SON LIMITED, CASTLEMAINE PERKINS LIMITED

NBN rival TPG Telecom not backing down

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 23-Sep-15

Australian-listed TPG Telecom has posted 2014-15 EBITDA of $A484.5m, which is 33 per cent higher than usual. Revenue rose by 31 per cent in the year to 31 July 2015, to $A1.27bn, while net profit also grew by 31 per cent. Meanwhile, executive chairman David Teoh says the group will keep rolling out its fibre-to-the-basement network to apartment buildings, and it may market the service under its TPG and iiNet brands. TPG intends to discontinue some of its smaller ISP brands.

CORPORATES
TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, NBN CO LIMITED, INTERNODE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, WESTNET PTY LTD, NETSPACE, ADAM INTERNET PTY LTD, TRANSACT (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE WEALTH MANAGEMENT, NEXTGEN PTY LTD, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, WASHINGTON H SOUL PATTINSON AND COMPANY LIMITED – ASX SOL

Woolworths to spend $65m on fresh look

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 21-Sep-15

Australian-listed Woolworths will respond to customer complaints by spending $A65m on upgrading its supermarkets, including new shopping trolleys, in-store signage and shelving. The head of the group’s supermarkets division, Dave Chambers, says shopper have frequently complained about poor customer service and stock not being available. Woolworths is also undertaking daily customer surveys and using data analytics to improve its stores.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, COLES GROUP LIMITED, IGA, ALDI STORES SUPERMARKETS PTY LTD, COSTCO WHOLESALE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE QUANTIUM GROUP PTY LTD, PROGRESSIVE ENTERPRISES HOLDINGS LIMITED, FOODTOWN SUPERMARKETS LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

NAB intensifies pitch for Clydesdale float

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 24 : 16-Sep-15

National Australia Bank (NAB) CFO Craig Drummond has not ruled out a trade sale for the UK’s Clydesdale Bank if a suitable offer is made, but he says a demerger and partial IPO remains the preferred option. NAB shareholders will be offered up to 80 per cent of shares in Clydesdale if the previously outlined plan proceeds. Clydesdale CEO David Duffy is confident that so-called "challenger banks" such as Clydesdale can compete with the major UK banks, particularly in sectors such as retail banking and retail and lending to small business.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, BANCO SABADELL, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CBA EQUITIES LIMITED

Spanish ‘interest’ won’t derail NAB Clydesdale float

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 11-Sep-15

There is speculation that Spain-based Sabadell may be a potential buyer of the UK’s Clydesdale Bank, which is being sold by National Australia Bank (NAB). The Spanish bank has previously paid Stg1.7bn for TSB Bank. NAB plans to offload Clydesdale via an IPO and the sale of shares directly to its own stockholders, and NAB sources say this has not changed. CEO Andrew Thorburn indicated in August 2015 that investors would be updated on the sale process in October.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, YORKSHIRE BANK PLC, BANCO SABADELL, TSB BANK LIMITED, LLOYDS BANKING GROUP PLC, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED