Adairs Limited (ADH):
Homewares retailer Adairs is the latest company to be fined by the corporate regulator over failing to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations. Adairs said it paid the $66,000 penalty, without admission of liability, relating to allegations that it failed to inform the market in the period leading up to November 2, 2016 that its forecast figures for the 2017 full financial year would be materially lower than the market consensus. This rounds off a big week in supposed breaches of the Corporations Act with the Rio Tinto accounting fraud allegations making headlines around the globe.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
Three of the big four banks are due to unveil profits totalling around $25 billion over coming weeks, with ANZ first up and likely with the best numbers in terms of profit, with analysts tipping a lift of 4.3 per cent to $3.6bn on tepid revenue growth. UBS analyst Jonathon Mott noted in a report this week that ANZ would also be the most complex of the three due to asset sales amid the revolution being led by chief Shayne “Mr Burns” Elliott. Throw in the already-reported $9.9bn CBA result and the big four banks will post profits for the last year of $34.5bn. Still, the industry is a political pariah and this morning NAB’s Andrew Thorburn and Antony Cahill were before the House Economics Committee ahead of this afternoon’s proceedings with CBA.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (API):
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries chief Richard Vincent is the latest retail leader to lash out at landlords seeking ‘‘unrealistic’’ rent rises, threatening to close or slow the rollout of new Priceline Pharmacy stores. Echoing the concerns of retailers, including Premier Investments boss Mark McInnes and Specialty Fashion chief Gary Perlstein, Mr Vincent said some landlords were still seeking rent increases of 20 per cent despite the weakest retail sales in at least four years. ‘‘Landlords need to get realistic about what’s actually happening in the market.‘‘We’re a large business made up of small retailers, all those small retailers have to make a profit year to year and they can’t afford for rents to increase as a percentage of sales, particularly with the environment getting more competitive.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
New BHP Billiton chairman Ken MacKenzie has made clear that outspoken investors would not be allowed to hijack the company's agenda. Addressing a BHP shareholder meeting for the first time in London overnight, Mr MacKenzie said he would listen to shareholders, but the board would retain control of the company's direction. Mr MacKenzie said he had met with more than 100 investors during July and August, and been challenged in many of those meetings.. "While the purpose of the tour was to listen, it was not a polling exercise," he said. "It is the role of the board as the company's stewards to listen and be responsive to our stakeholders. That is the approach I believe in. But ultimately, it is up to the board to choose the course it believes will best benefit shareholders." The comments come after a year in which some BHP shareholders have been particularly outspoken about the direction of the company, with US activist Elliott launching an aggressive campaign for change to the company's board and structure.
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG):
ASX-listed insurer IAG will stop investing in its underperforming Asian arm, but chief executive Peter Harmer says there are no plans yet to sel its core operations in the region. Mr Harmer said IAG would focus on its Australia and New Zealand markets after a fruitless 18-month search for investment opportunities in Thailand, India and Malaysia, where IAG earnings fell by more than 50 per cent in the year to June 30. "It is unlikely we will make further investments in Asia in the short term," he told AFR Weekend after the insurer's annual general meeting on Friday. "We are going to wait and see how that landscape settles, and then we may or may not. I don't want you to go away from this thinking 'oh it's only a matter of time' [before we invest again]. If it doesn't play out the right way, we may not."
MG Unit Trust Units (MGC):
Among a plethora of unknowns for bidders in the Murray Goulburn auction, perhaps the biggest area of uncertainty is yet to rear its head. Few industries seem to capture the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's attention like dairy. Treasurer Scott Morrison has had the ACCC looking into the whole dairy industry for the past 12 months, while the competition regulator singled out Murray Goulburn earlier this year claiming it had misled farmers by overstating its milk price forecast. And now it seems only a matter of time before the competition regulator is asked to weigh in on Murray Goulburn's auction. Of particular concern is which industry rival will get its hands on Murray Goulburn's share of the Victorian milk market, which is easily the biggest milk producing state in the country.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Class-action lawyers in the US have seized on fraud claims lodged against Rio Tinto this week, as Australian market regulators defended their relative inaction over the miner’s accounting of a coal impairment. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was accused of looking like a ‘‘damp squib’’ on Thursday, after regulators in Britain and US respectively fined and charged Rio over the company’s decision not to impair a Mozambique coal asset in August 2012. The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Rio’s former chief executive and chief financial officer of hiding bad news about a $US3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) Mozambique coal investment and duly misleading investors and company directors. ASIC has reviewed the same matter but has thus far taken no action against Rio, and Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said that did not reflect well on the local regulator. ‘‘I’m genuinely puzzled how the US financial regulators have been able to go so hard on this Rio Tinto fraud investigation while here in Australia our regulators appear missing in action, and I intend to pursue this thoroughly in estimates next week,’’ he said.
Rio Tinto has stepped in to help write the curriculum for government-run vocational education and training because of concerns that outdated and overly theoretical courses were not meeting the changing demands of the mining industry. Rio asked the Western Australian government if it could intervene and have a direct hand in the VET curriculum to keep pace with the rise of automation and the adoption of new technology. The company's Pilbara iron ore mines are increasingly dependent on automated drilling, trucks and trains in keeping with an industry-wide trend. The VET courses it shapes will focus on robotics, data analytics and digital inclusion education. Rio already employs 400 people at its remote operations hub in Perth and expects big changes in the skills and make up of its 20,000-strong workforce in the era of smart mining.
Super Retail Group Limited (SUL):
Super Retail Group chief Peter Birtles told fellow retailers on Thursday how the auto and sporting goods retailer planned to win in a post-Amazon world. Mr Birtles says Australian retailers, like Amazon, need to have a relentless focus on customers and to offer solutions and experiences rather than commoditised products to survive what has been described as the biggest disruption in retailing in a generation. ‘At Super Retail Group we will not win on price and product – Amazon will beat us on price and product. Where we can win is building an emotional connection with customers,’’ Mr Birtles said.‘‘We have made a deliberate decision to focus on high involvement categories where customers are looking to buy products because they use them as part of an activity they enjoy. Analysts fear ‘‘category killers’’ such as Super Retail Group, which also owns Rebel Sport, Ray’s and Supercheap Auto, will be most exposed to Amazon when it launches its full retail offer to Australia in the next few weeks or months.
Wesfarmers Limited (WES):
Wesfarmers is going back to its rural roots with the launch of a technology business aimed at farmers in Australia and overseas. Central to the workings of Wesfarmers’ start-up business, Decipher, is the world-first use of Google Earth Engine in a commercial farming service. The service is touted as a breakthrough in user-friendly, cloud-based digital mapping and data storage for farmers striving for greater efficiencies. Wesfarmers has opted for a soft launch of the Decipher platform on the east coast this week after the business grew out of less sophisticated mapping and data management tools developed by the company’s CSBP fertiliser division in Western Australia. The basic platform is available free of charge on a trial basis. Wesfarmers is gearing up for a commercial launch early next year, which will include subscription fees. The conglomerate has ambitions to market the platform overseas once it is established in Australia.
(Source: AIMS)
Homewares retailer Adairs is the latest company to be fined by the corporate regulator over failing to comply with its continuous disclosure obligations. Adairs said it paid the $66,000 penalty, without admission of liability, relating to allegations that it failed to inform the market in the period leading up to November 2, 2016 that its forecast figures for the 2017 full financial year would be materially lower than the market consensus. This rounds off a big week in supposed breaches of the Corporations Act with the Rio Tinto accounting fraud allegations making headlines around the globe.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
Three of the big four banks are due to unveil profits totalling around $25 billion over coming weeks, with ANZ first up and likely with the best numbers in terms of profit, with analysts tipping a lift of 4.3 per cent to $3.6bn on tepid revenue growth. UBS analyst Jonathon Mott noted in a report this week that ANZ would also be the most complex of the three due to asset sales amid the revolution being led by chief Shayne “Mr Burns” Elliott. Throw in the already-reported $9.9bn CBA result and the big four banks will post profits for the last year of $34.5bn. Still, the industry is a political pariah and this morning NAB’s Andrew Thorburn and Antony Cahill were before the House Economics Committee ahead of this afternoon’s proceedings with CBA.
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (API):
Australian Pharmaceutical Industries chief Richard Vincent is the latest retail leader to lash out at landlords seeking ‘‘unrealistic’’ rent rises, threatening to close or slow the rollout of new Priceline Pharmacy stores. Echoing the concerns of retailers, including Premier Investments boss Mark McInnes and Specialty Fashion chief Gary Perlstein, Mr Vincent said some landlords were still seeking rent increases of 20 per cent despite the weakest retail sales in at least four years. ‘‘Landlords need to get realistic about what’s actually happening in the market.‘‘We’re a large business made up of small retailers, all those small retailers have to make a profit year to year and they can’t afford for rents to increase as a percentage of sales, particularly with the environment getting more competitive.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
New BHP Billiton chairman Ken MacKenzie has made clear that outspoken investors would not be allowed to hijack the company's agenda. Addressing a BHP shareholder meeting for the first time in London overnight, Mr MacKenzie said he would listen to shareholders, but the board would retain control of the company's direction. Mr MacKenzie said he had met with more than 100 investors during July and August, and been challenged in many of those meetings.. "While the purpose of the tour was to listen, it was not a polling exercise," he said. "It is the role of the board as the company's stewards to listen and be responsive to our stakeholders. That is the approach I believe in. But ultimately, it is up to the board to choose the course it believes will best benefit shareholders." The comments come after a year in which some BHP shareholders have been particularly outspoken about the direction of the company, with US activist Elliott launching an aggressive campaign for change to the company's board and structure.
Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG):
ASX-listed insurer IAG will stop investing in its underperforming Asian arm, but chief executive Peter Harmer says there are no plans yet to sel its core operations in the region. Mr Harmer said IAG would focus on its Australia and New Zealand markets after a fruitless 18-month search for investment opportunities in Thailand, India and Malaysia, where IAG earnings fell by more than 50 per cent in the year to June 30. "It is unlikely we will make further investments in Asia in the short term," he told AFR Weekend after the insurer's annual general meeting on Friday. "We are going to wait and see how that landscape settles, and then we may or may not. I don't want you to go away from this thinking 'oh it's only a matter of time' [before we invest again]. If it doesn't play out the right way, we may not."
MG Unit Trust Units (MGC):
Among a plethora of unknowns for bidders in the Murray Goulburn auction, perhaps the biggest area of uncertainty is yet to rear its head. Few industries seem to capture the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's attention like dairy. Treasurer Scott Morrison has had the ACCC looking into the whole dairy industry for the past 12 months, while the competition regulator singled out Murray Goulburn earlier this year claiming it had misled farmers by overstating its milk price forecast. And now it seems only a matter of time before the competition regulator is asked to weigh in on Murray Goulburn's auction. Of particular concern is which industry rival will get its hands on Murray Goulburn's share of the Victorian milk market, which is easily the biggest milk producing state in the country.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Class-action lawyers in the US have seized on fraud claims lodged against Rio Tinto this week, as Australian market regulators defended their relative inaction over the miner’s accounting of a coal impairment. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission was accused of looking like a ‘‘damp squib’’ on Thursday, after regulators in Britain and US respectively fined and charged Rio over the company’s decision not to impair a Mozambique coal asset in August 2012. The US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Rio’s former chief executive and chief financial officer of hiding bad news about a $US3.7 billion ($4.7 billion) Mozambique coal investment and duly misleading investors and company directors. ASIC has reviewed the same matter but has thus far taken no action against Rio, and Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said that did not reflect well on the local regulator. ‘‘I’m genuinely puzzled how the US financial regulators have been able to go so hard on this Rio Tinto fraud investigation while here in Australia our regulators appear missing in action, and I intend to pursue this thoroughly in estimates next week,’’ he said.
Rio Tinto has stepped in to help write the curriculum for government-run vocational education and training because of concerns that outdated and overly theoretical courses were not meeting the changing demands of the mining industry. Rio asked the Western Australian government if it could intervene and have a direct hand in the VET curriculum to keep pace with the rise of automation and the adoption of new technology. The company's Pilbara iron ore mines are increasingly dependent on automated drilling, trucks and trains in keeping with an industry-wide trend. The VET courses it shapes will focus on robotics, data analytics and digital inclusion education. Rio already employs 400 people at its remote operations hub in Perth and expects big changes in the skills and make up of its 20,000-strong workforce in the era of smart mining.
Super Retail Group Limited (SUL):
Super Retail Group chief Peter Birtles told fellow retailers on Thursday how the auto and sporting goods retailer planned to win in a post-Amazon world. Mr Birtles says Australian retailers, like Amazon, need to have a relentless focus on customers and to offer solutions and experiences rather than commoditised products to survive what has been described as the biggest disruption in retailing in a generation. ‘At Super Retail Group we will not win on price and product – Amazon will beat us on price and product. Where we can win is building an emotional connection with customers,’’ Mr Birtles said.‘‘We have made a deliberate decision to focus on high involvement categories where customers are looking to buy products because they use them as part of an activity they enjoy. Analysts fear ‘‘category killers’’ such as Super Retail Group, which also owns Rebel Sport, Ray’s and Supercheap Auto, will be most exposed to Amazon when it launches its full retail offer to Australia in the next few weeks or months.
Wesfarmers Limited (WES):
Wesfarmers is going back to its rural roots with the launch of a technology business aimed at farmers in Australia and overseas. Central to the workings of Wesfarmers’ start-up business, Decipher, is the world-first use of Google Earth Engine in a commercial farming service. The service is touted as a breakthrough in user-friendly, cloud-based digital mapping and data storage for farmers striving for greater efficiencies. Wesfarmers has opted for a soft launch of the Decipher platform on the east coast this week after the business grew out of less sophisticated mapping and data management tools developed by the company’s CSBP fertiliser division in Western Australia. The basic platform is available free of charge on a trial basis. Wesfarmers is gearing up for a commercial launch early next year, which will include subscription fees. The conglomerate has ambitions to market the platform overseas once it is established in Australia.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments