STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

IFM ready to snap up oil assets

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-15

IFM Investors CEO Brett Himbury has indicated that the group is looking to invest in Australian oil and gas pipeline assets. Potential acquisitions could include the Gladstone LNG pipeline in Queensland and the Australia Pacific LNG pipeline, which may both be put on the market. IFM recently missed out on the sale of BG’s gas pipeline in Queensland, which will be acquired by APA Group

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, GLADSTONE LNG PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA PACIFIC LNG LIMITED, BG GROUP PLC, APA GROUP – ASX APA, DUET GROUP – ASX DUE, FREEPORT LNG DEVELOPMENT LP, QIC LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, CHINA INVESTMENT CORPORATION

Glencore takes aim at iron ore giants

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 5-Mar-15

Glencore will reduce its coal production in Australia by 15 million tonnes in 2015. CEO Ivan Glasenberg says the decision to reduce output by around 15 per cent was made because the group does not want to be seen to have forced coal prices lower due to oversupply. Glasenberg has previously criticised BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto for expanding their iron ore production at a time prices have fallen sharply

CORPORATES
GLENCORE PLC, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, VALE SA

Besieged Vocation crashes to $273m loss

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 3-Mar-15

Australian-listed Vocation has posted a 2014-15 interim loss of $A273m, following a loss of $A4m for the first half of 2013-14. The latest result was marred by impairment charges totalling $A241m. The vocational education provider has also been affected by a downturn in enrolments, and is seeking to offload some of its assets. Revenue rose by 9.3 per cent to $A57.7m

CORPORATES
VOCATION LIMITED – ASX VET, LEARNING VERVE PTY LTD, CUSTOMER SERVICE INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, BAWM GROUP PTY LTD, ENDEAVOUR COLLEGE OF NATURAL HEALTH, AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, 333 CAPITAL PTY LTD, KORDA MENTHA AND COLLEAGUES PTY LTD, LAUREATE INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES

I’m not going anywhere: Holleran

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Original article by Dominic White
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 2-Mar-15

Southern Cross Media Group’s share of the radio market fell from 34.3 per cent to 27.5 per cent year-on-year in the December 2014 quarter. CEO Rhys Holleran is confident that the group can rebuild market share by the end of 2015, saying a priority will be to turn around the struggling 2Day FM network. He has also downplayed speculation that he could step down, and stresses that the media group is not actively pursuing merger discussions at present

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, 2DAY FM AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, KIIS1065, AUSTRALIAN RADIO NETWORK PTY LTD, APN NEWS AND MEDIA LIMITED – ASX APN, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PACIFIC BRANDS LIMITED – ASX PBG, MANTRA GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTR, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, LION PTY LTD, IBM AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTEREO GROUP LIMITED, ALLAN GRAY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

IFM to invest in international equities

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 2-Mar-15

IFM Investors will expand into international shares, as part of its growing push to diversify beyond Australian asset classes. CEO Brett Himbury argues that the nation’s superannuation system needs to reduce its focus on the local sharemarket, noting that many of the group’s clients already have exposure to offshore equities. IFM began investing in overseas infrastructure assets several years ago

CORPORATES
IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, MAGELLAN FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX MFG, PLATINUM ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX PTM

Billabong still has long wave to ride

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Original article by Sue Mitchell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 27-Feb-15

Australian-listed Billabong International has posted a 2014-15 interim net profit of $A25.7m, following a $A126.3m loss for the first half of 2013-14. The surfwear group’s EBIT from continuing operations was 4.9 per cent lower at $A42.81m. Billabong has flagged an increase in annual capital expenditure in the next few years, with an upgrade of its supply-chain systems and the implementation of an omni-channel retail platform

CORPORATES
BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LIMITED – ASX BBG, SURF DIVE N SKI AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SURFECTION PTY LTD, BEACH CULTURE INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD, WEST 49 INCORPORATED, RVCA

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

Xero soars and eyes US listing

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 & 28 : 26-Feb-15

Australian-listed online accounting software developer Xero has received a $NZ132.9 million ($A127.6 million) investment from US firm Accel Partners. Xero CEO Rod Drury said the company will seek a US listing at the end of 2015. Its shares rose sharply on 25 February, closing 27.8 per cent higher at $A22.60

CORPORATES
XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, ACCEL PARTNERS, ATLASSIAN SOFTWARE SYSTEMS PTY LTD, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, MATRIX CAPITAL PTY LTD

DP World plots efficiency through automation

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Original article by Jenny Wiggins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 25-Feb-15

DP World’s global CEO Mohammed Sharaf has ruled out selling its 25 per cent stake in its Australian subsidiary. The group sold 75 per cent of DP World Australia to Citi Infrastructure Investors in 2010. Meanwhile, DP World Australia CEO Paul Scurrah says the group is working on a business case for automating its Sydney container port, following the automation of its terminal in Brisbane

CORPORATES
DP WORLD AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, DP WORLD, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, PATRICK CORPORATION LIMITED, MARITIME UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, CITI INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTORS LLC

BHP defies price crashes

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 25-Feb-15

BHP Billiton has posted 2014-15 interim underlying earnings of $US5.4bn ($A6.9bn, which is 31 per cent lower than previously. The group’s earnings were hit by the sharp decline in the price of iron ore and crude oil. Meanwhile, BHP intends to reduce its capital expenditure by $US3.8bn in 2014-15 and 2015-16. Shareholders will receive an interim dividend of $A0.62 per share, and CEO Andrew Mackenzie says that maintaining its dividend payout ratio is one of the group’s priorities

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, NIKKO ASSET MANAGEMENT GROUP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, ATLAS IRON LIMITED – ASX AGO, BC IRON LIMITED – ASX BCI, ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, SOUTH32 LIMITED