STRATEGIC PLANNING – AUSTRALIA

BHP says acquisitions not on cards

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Original article by Amanda Saunders
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Aug-14

BHP Billiton will focus on expanding its iron ore, copper, coal and petroleum operations if the proposal to demerge its non-core assets proceeds. CEO Andrew Mackenzie says BHP will not being pursuing acquisitions, although acquisitions are likely to form a key part of the spin-off’s growth strategy. Mackenzie also says the demerger will not have any impact on BHP’s future capital management strategy. Meanwhile, BHP aims to reduce cost by a further $US3.5bn over the next three years

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP,RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED,MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG,DEUTSCHE BANK AG

Qantas frequent flyer float plan back on ice

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Original article by Michael Smith,Jamie Freed
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 21-Aug-14

The frequent flyer program of Qantas boasted underlying EBITA of $A146m for the first half of 2013-14, and now more than 10 million members. The carrier is believed to be poised to abandon plans to sell 30-40 per cent of the Qantas Loyalty business via an IPO, and a number of analysts had concerns about such a strategy. Qantas will release its full-year results on 28 August 2014, and is tipped to post a pre-tax underlying loss of $A750m

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN,QANTAS FREQUENT FLYER LIMITED,SHAW STOCKBROKING LIMITED,BT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED – ASX BTT,COLONIAL FIRST STATE GROUP LIMITED,BALANCED EQUITY MANAGEMENT PTY LTD,WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW,MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG,CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Miner’s spin-off has bumpy birth

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 20-Aug-14

BHP Billiton has reported a 2013-14 underlying profit of $US13.4bn, which is 10 per cent higher than previously but lower than most analysts had expected. Meanwhile, UK investors have responded negatively to the group’s proposal to spin off non-core assets into a new listed company. A large sell-off of the new company’s shares is expected, as UK investors are concerned by the fact that it will be listed in Australia and South Africa, rather than the UK

CORPORATES
BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, BILLITON PLC

Hoyts Group plans roadshow to market $900m float

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Jake Mitchell, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 36 : 18-Aug-14

Pacific Equity Partners will undertake an overseas roadshow to promote the proposed sharemarket float of Hoyts Group. The private equity firm paid $A440m for the cinema group in late 2007, and the IPO is expected to be worth between $A800m and $A900m. Hoyts operates 44 cinema complexes, while it also owns a DVD distribution business and the Val Morgan cinema advertising business

CORPORATES
HOYTS CINEMAS LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, VAL MORGAN AND COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, CINIPLEX, VILLAGE ROADSHOW LIMITED – ASX VRL, AMALGAMATED HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX AHD, DALIAN WANDA GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

G8 learns some lessons from ABC’s mistakes

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Original article by Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Aug-14

Listed childcare group G8 Education has posted a 2014 interim net profit of $A16.3m, which is 48 per cent higher than previously, while revenue rose by 59 per cent to $A187.2m. G8 purchased 115 childcare centres during the half-year, while another 78 are in the process of being settled. The group operates 16 separate childcare brands in Australia, and chair Jenny Hutson has ruled out adopting a single brand

CORPORATES
G8 EDUCATION LIMITED – ASX GEM, ABC LEARNING CENTRES LIMITED, COMMUNITY KIDS, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, NORTHERN STAR RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX NST, CANACCORD CAPITAL

Alinta eyes Lumo in east coast push

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Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Aug-14

New Zealand-based Infratil is divesting its Lumo Energy gas and electricity retailing business in Australia. Alinta Energy has joined Pacific Hydro and M2 Telecommunications as a potential acquirer, as the utility continues its expansion from the home market of Western Australia into the eastern states. However CEO Jeff Dimery notes that the recent over-supply of electricity due to new wind power plants means he will seek lower prices for generation assets on the market after privatisations in Queensland and New South Wales. Alinta has been owned by US private equity firm TPG Capital since the beginning of 2011

CORPORATES
ALINTA ENERGY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, INFRATIL LIMITED – ASX IFZ, LUMO ENERGY AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU, PACIFIC HYDRO LIMITED, IFM RENEWABLE ENERGY PTY LTD, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, TPG CAPITAL LP, SINGAPORE POWER LIMITED, BABCOCK AND BROWN LIMITED

Packer rolls the dice on Vegas strip

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Original article by Jessica Gardner, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 5-Aug-14

Australian-listed Crown Resorts has paid $US280m ($A301m) for a development site in Las Vegas. The group will build a casino on the 14-hectare site, which was previously the site of the New Frontier casino. Crown now has some $A6bn worth of casino projects in development, while it is also looking at $A7bn worth of projects in Australia, Japan and Sri Lanka. The new Las Vegas casino is slated for completion in 2018

CORPORATES
CROWN RESORTS LIMITED – ASX CWN, NEW FRONTIER HOTEL AND CASINO, OAKTREE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC, WYNN RESORTS LIMITED, MELCO CROWN ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED, GREENLAND HOLDING GROUP COMPANY LIMITED, ABOVE THE INDEX ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Vodafone spends $1b to lure customers

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 4-Aug-14

Vodafone Hutchison Australia CEO Inaki Berroeta says that boosting profits is the telco’s top priority in the next several years. He also notes that Vodafone has invested nearly $A1bn in its 4G network over the last year, and major rivals Telstra and Singtel Optus have similar capital investment programs. Meanwhile, Berroeta has criticised Telstra’s dominant market position and its offshore outsourcing program, noting that Vodafone has expanded its call centre operations in Tasmania

CORPORATES
VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED

iiNet says NBN key to its growth

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 1-Aug-14

The newly appointed CEO of iiNet, David Buckingham, has unveiled his plans for the group. He would like the Australian-listed ISP to expand in the business technology and mobile service markets. Buckingham also wants the company to be more active in the roll-out of the national broadband network. The company has about one million subscribers and a market capitalisation of $A1.23 billion

CORPORATES
IINET LIMITED – ASX IIN, NBN CO LIMITED, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, M2 GROUP LIMITED – ASX MTU

Vodafone’s 4G boost will rival Telstra, Optus

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Original article by David Ramli
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 30-Jul-14

Benoit Hanssen of Vodafone Hutchison Australia says the telco will transfer 50 per cent of its 850MHz radio spectrum to its 4G mobile network by the end of 2014. The remainder of this spectrum, which is currently used by Vodafone’s 3G network, will be reallocated to 4G in 2015. The move will enhance Vodafone’s ability to compete with the 4G networks of Telstra and Singtel Optus

CORPORATES
VODAFONE HUTCHISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED – ASX SGT, ERICSSON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, SAMSUNG CORPORATION, HTC CORPORATION, APPLE INCORPORATED