Buddy Platform Ltd (BUD):
The chief executive of internet-of-things device company, Buddy Platform, says some corporate customers and building owners are cutting their energy bills by between 10 to 20 per cent using their system, as the firm raised $23 million to accelerate a global roll-out. David McLauchlan said on Monday the company was gratified by the institutional support from Australia and Asia as Buddy Platform issued 115 million new shares at 20¢ per share in an oversubscribed placement managed by Bell Potter Securities. The company had been in a trading halt on the ASX and the shares were 1¢ lower at 23¢ when they resumed trading on Monday. Buddy Platform's main product is Buddy Ohm, a real-time energy usage monitoring system which the company labels as a "Fitbit for buildings", which tracks energy usage and enables companies to make savings on electricity, gas and water bills. He said the new funds would be used to drive a much faster global roll-out than planned, with negotiations well advanced with an un-named global distribution company which would enable Buddy Ohm to expand into more than 100 new markets.
Charter Hall Group (CHC):
Funds manager Charter Hall could collect $400 million or more in performance fees over the next five years, reaping the rewards of a strong commercial property, according to JPMorgan. The forecast is well above what many in the market may be expecting, prompting the broking house to lift its rating on the listed property stock to an 'overweight'. The price target has also been increased by 70¢ to $6.30. The fees bonanza has a flow-on effect with higher cash balances, less need for external equity, higher earnings and a sustainable distribution growth over several years, according to JPMorgan's Ben Brayshaw, Richard Jones and Krzysztof Kaczmarek. The analysts expect Charter Hall to achieve positive earnings revisions of around 10 per cent in the current financial year. That estimate compares to consensus earnings growth of 2 per cent. "Charter Hall is exposed to potential 'super profits' if the trajectory of the current property cycle persists," they wrote in client note. "Case in point, if Charter Hall's average cap rate compresses 25-50 basis points, performance fees increase to $500-$600 million we estimate." Even on a more conservative estimate the listed fund manager, led by Charter Hall, is expected to pull in around $400 million in embedded performance fees.
Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN):
It’s “business as usual” for Crown casino until the Victorian regulator finishes a probe into allegations of machine rigging and money laundering, state Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz says. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation is investigating allegations by federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie that Crown tampered with poker machines at its Melbourne establishment to increase profits, and allowed gamblers to dodge money laundering laws. When asked on Monday if punters could trust Crown machines, Ms Kairouz said so far there is “no evidence whatsoever in relation to these allegations, it’s business as usual” and will not comment further until she receives the VCGLR report.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Bank is taking on the big four with a low-priced mortgage package that includes premium features competitors have had to strip out to keep down costs and rates. It comes as lenders roll-out new offers in a bid to build market share in the record breaking spring-selling season, particularly amongst coveted owner occupier, principal and interest borrowers with a deposit of between 10 and 20 per cent. Competition is also hotting up amongst lenders for rate-sensitive first time home buyers and borrowers' refinancing existing loans. Lenders capacity to offer better rates and terms to the right borrowers is being enhanced by improved lending margins, a continued squeeze on depositors and easing capital market costs. Macquarie, which earlier this year toughened underwriting standards on new loans, credit and valuations, is launching a mortgage and credit card package linked to the variable, principal and interest rate of 3.69 per cent. The loan offer retains features, such as the popular offset account, a cut in the annual package fee from $398 to $248 and credit card rate of 5.9 per cent. The annual credit card fee has been waived for Black, Platinum and Rate Saver cards.
Myer Holdings Ltd (MYR):
Solomon Lew's Premier Investments says it is considering possible legal action against Myer over the department store chain's alleged lack of disclosure. Myer's largest shareholder said in a statement on Monday it is concerned that "deficient disclosure by the board of Myer" means the market is "trading on an uninformed basis". "Premier Investments believes it was misled into outlaying more than $100 million to buy 10.8 per cent of Myer, and is being denied its request for board seats by directors who collectively own less than 0.1 per cent of the company and whose tenure has been marked by falling sales, profit, and market value," Premier said. "The situation is untenable." Premier is, therefore, carefully considering its legal and other options in order to bring about urgently needed change to ensure that Myer shares are trading in an informed market." When contacted, Premier declined to provide detail about what its legal options might be. Premier said shareholders do not have enough information to assess the performance of the socalled "New Myer" turnaround strategy, and reiterated its call for Myer to release its first-quarter sales and profit figures on Wednesday at its strategy day. Myer has previously said it has rejected Premier's request for members on its board because of a conflict of interest due to Premier's status as one of its biggest suppliers. Premier also criticised Myer's directors as having not enough skin in the game and said the current directors have been paid a total of $6.24 million in the time they've been on the board - but own only $452,000 worth of Myer shares.
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Aus P Ltd (RWC):
Plumbing products maker Reliance Worldwide Corporation says it’s on track to deliver on its financial year earnings guidance of between $145 million and $150 million. It comes after the company, which listed on the ASX in August last year, beat its prospectus forecasts in its full year result for 2017, reporting net profit up 25.9 per cent to $65.6 million. In an address to shareholders, CEO Heath Sharp said trading has met expectations year-to-date and should continue to do so as long as there is no significant change to exchange rates or cost of raw materials, including the copper price. But he did say that a move in the copper rice would probably mean a move on pricing across the market — more to come.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac Banking Corp has confirmed it will fight on in the corporate regulator's rate rigging case after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank confirmed their settlement, which will go before federal court judge Jane Jagot on November 10 to be signed-off. "The parties ASIC and ANZ have now completed the in-principle agreement of which we informed the court last week," ANZ counsel Alan Archibald QC told the court on Monday. NAB's counsel Neil Young QC also confirmed its deal, which was announced to the ASX late on Friday. "ASIC and NAB have executed a settlement agreement ... and like ANZ, your Honour, we would seek an order referring our case to another judge for the purpose of the penalty hearing," he said. But ASIC confirmed that negotiations with Westpac had so far been fruitless. "If the court pleases, that matter is proceeding your honour," Philip Crutchfield QC for ASIC told the court with the trial set to begin on Tuesday.
(Source: AIMS)
The chief executive of internet-of-things device company, Buddy Platform, says some corporate customers and building owners are cutting their energy bills by between 10 to 20 per cent using their system, as the firm raised $23 million to accelerate a global roll-out. David McLauchlan said on Monday the company was gratified by the institutional support from Australia and Asia as Buddy Platform issued 115 million new shares at 20¢ per share in an oversubscribed placement managed by Bell Potter Securities. The company had been in a trading halt on the ASX and the shares were 1¢ lower at 23¢ when they resumed trading on Monday. Buddy Platform's main product is Buddy Ohm, a real-time energy usage monitoring system which the company labels as a "Fitbit for buildings", which tracks energy usage and enables companies to make savings on electricity, gas and water bills. He said the new funds would be used to drive a much faster global roll-out than planned, with negotiations well advanced with an un-named global distribution company which would enable Buddy Ohm to expand into more than 100 new markets.
Charter Hall Group (CHC):
Funds manager Charter Hall could collect $400 million or more in performance fees over the next five years, reaping the rewards of a strong commercial property, according to JPMorgan. The forecast is well above what many in the market may be expecting, prompting the broking house to lift its rating on the listed property stock to an 'overweight'. The price target has also been increased by 70¢ to $6.30. The fees bonanza has a flow-on effect with higher cash balances, less need for external equity, higher earnings and a sustainable distribution growth over several years, according to JPMorgan's Ben Brayshaw, Richard Jones and Krzysztof Kaczmarek. The analysts expect Charter Hall to achieve positive earnings revisions of around 10 per cent in the current financial year. That estimate compares to consensus earnings growth of 2 per cent. "Charter Hall is exposed to potential 'super profits' if the trajectory of the current property cycle persists," they wrote in client note. "Case in point, if Charter Hall's average cap rate compresses 25-50 basis points, performance fees increase to $500-$600 million we estimate." Even on a more conservative estimate the listed fund manager, led by Charter Hall, is expected to pull in around $400 million in embedded performance fees.
Crown Resorts Ltd (CWN):
It’s “business as usual” for Crown casino until the Victorian regulator finishes a probe into allegations of machine rigging and money laundering, state Gaming Minister Marlene Kairouz says. The Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation is investigating allegations by federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie that Crown tampered with poker machines at its Melbourne establishment to increase profits, and allowed gamblers to dodge money laundering laws. When asked on Monday if punters could trust Crown machines, Ms Kairouz said so far there is “no evidence whatsoever in relation to these allegations, it’s business as usual” and will not comment further until she receives the VCGLR report.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Bank is taking on the big four with a low-priced mortgage package that includes premium features competitors have had to strip out to keep down costs and rates. It comes as lenders roll-out new offers in a bid to build market share in the record breaking spring-selling season, particularly amongst coveted owner occupier, principal and interest borrowers with a deposit of between 10 and 20 per cent. Competition is also hotting up amongst lenders for rate-sensitive first time home buyers and borrowers' refinancing existing loans. Lenders capacity to offer better rates and terms to the right borrowers is being enhanced by improved lending margins, a continued squeeze on depositors and easing capital market costs. Macquarie, which earlier this year toughened underwriting standards on new loans, credit and valuations, is launching a mortgage and credit card package linked to the variable, principal and interest rate of 3.69 per cent. The loan offer retains features, such as the popular offset account, a cut in the annual package fee from $398 to $248 and credit card rate of 5.9 per cent. The annual credit card fee has been waived for Black, Platinum and Rate Saver cards.
Myer Holdings Ltd (MYR):
Solomon Lew's Premier Investments says it is considering possible legal action against Myer over the department store chain's alleged lack of disclosure. Myer's largest shareholder said in a statement on Monday it is concerned that "deficient disclosure by the board of Myer" means the market is "trading on an uninformed basis". "Premier Investments believes it was misled into outlaying more than $100 million to buy 10.8 per cent of Myer, and is being denied its request for board seats by directors who collectively own less than 0.1 per cent of the company and whose tenure has been marked by falling sales, profit, and market value," Premier said. "The situation is untenable." Premier is, therefore, carefully considering its legal and other options in order to bring about urgently needed change to ensure that Myer shares are trading in an informed market." When contacted, Premier declined to provide detail about what its legal options might be. Premier said shareholders do not have enough information to assess the performance of the socalled "New Myer" turnaround strategy, and reiterated its call for Myer to release its first-quarter sales and profit figures on Wednesday at its strategy day. Myer has previously said it has rejected Premier's request for members on its board because of a conflict of interest due to Premier's status as one of its biggest suppliers. Premier also criticised Myer's directors as having not enough skin in the game and said the current directors have been paid a total of $6.24 million in the time they've been on the board - but own only $452,000 worth of Myer shares.
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Aus P Ltd (RWC):
Plumbing products maker Reliance Worldwide Corporation says it’s on track to deliver on its financial year earnings guidance of between $145 million and $150 million. It comes after the company, which listed on the ASX in August last year, beat its prospectus forecasts in its full year result for 2017, reporting net profit up 25.9 per cent to $65.6 million. In an address to shareholders, CEO Heath Sharp said trading has met expectations year-to-date and should continue to do so as long as there is no significant change to exchange rates or cost of raw materials, including the copper price. But he did say that a move in the copper rice would probably mean a move on pricing across the market — more to come.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac Banking Corp has confirmed it will fight on in the corporate regulator's rate rigging case after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank confirmed their settlement, which will go before federal court judge Jane Jagot on November 10 to be signed-off. "The parties ASIC and ANZ have now completed the in-principle agreement of which we informed the court last week," ANZ counsel Alan Archibald QC told the court on Monday. NAB's counsel Neil Young QC also confirmed its deal, which was announced to the ASX late on Friday. "ASIC and NAB have executed a settlement agreement ... and like ANZ, your Honour, we would seek an order referring our case to another judge for the purpose of the penalty hearing," he said. But ASIC confirmed that negotiations with Westpac had so far been fruitless. "If the court pleases, that matter is proceeding your honour," Philip Crutchfield QC for ASIC told the court with the trial set to begin on Tuesday.
(Source: AIMS)
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