Automotive Holdings Group Ltd (AHG):
Automative Holdings Group climbed 4.4 per cent after announcing a 2.4 per cent fall in net profit after tax to $39.9 million for the first half of 2017-18. Revenues were up by 7.5 per cent to $2.87 billion. Truck sales were particularly strong for the group, with the overall strength of the new car market in Australia also a positive. New vehicle sales of 1.19 million occurred in calendar 2017 across the industry, marking the third successive year of records being toppled. AHG revealed that finance income had fallen by $13.5 million in the first half, and insurance income had dropped by $9.2 million. But AHG was able to prune $18.1 million from total costs which included a reduction in staff, lower commission payouts and a cut in marketing spend. The company kept its first half dividend steady at 9.5¢, to be paid on April 4.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia(CBA):
The Commonwealth Bank shares edged up 0.4 per cent, it has denied 89 of 100 additional allegations made against it by Austrac late last year, when the regulator expanded its explosive case alleging mass breaches of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws. In a statement to investors, CBA also said it "categorically" denied all allegations in a shareholder class action from law firm Maurice Blackburn, which claims the bank should have told the market earlier about the risk of legal action from Austrac. The news that Austrac was taking action against CBA last August triggered a sharp slide in the bank's share price, but CBA said there had been no "price sensitive" information about the case that it should have disclosed earlier. "We consider that we have complied with our continuous disclosure obligations at all times. There was no price sensitive information about the matters raised in the Austrac proceeding that required disclosure," CBA said.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (FLT):
Flight Centre shares are up another 2.2 per cent on Friday at $56.45, after rising more than 10 per cent in the previous session when the travel firm released its latest earnings. Morgan Stanley upgraded the firm to equal weight from underweight today, setting out its reasons for doing so in a note title 'we were wrong." "Cost-out execution, reducing structural pressures, easing airfare deflation, emerging international businesses and the corporate shift lead us to upgrade," the broker said. "Given the improved earnings outlook, we think the relative valuation looks reasonable," it added.
Mcgrath Ltd (MEA):
John McGrath's former lieutenant, Geoff Lucas, has returned to take the helm of embattled real estate company McGrath. Mr Lucas was chief operating officer for eight years from 2008, helping drive the company's growth along the eastern seaboard and its transition from a private to public company. "I am delighted to welcome Geoff back to the company, as he was instrumental in building McGrath over eight years to 2016," founder and executive director John McGrath said in a statement on Friday. "Geoff has an intimate knowledge of property and the McGrath business, as well as a strong rapport with our agents, franchise partners and many industry participants." Mr Lucas takes the reins at a tumultuous time for the firm, whose CEO and board, other than Mr McGrath, left the company this month after reporting a half-year loss of $25.5 million. Mr McGrath last week appointed Kerry Stokes's former chief financial officer, Peter Lewis, as the new non-executive chairman.
Myob Group Ltd (MYO):
Accounting software provider MYOB has announced a 16.3 per cent jump in net profit after tax to $60.7 million for the year ending 31 December, 2017. Earnings grew 10.8 per cent to $189.9 million, from $171.4 million in 2016, as the company claimed its highest ever migration rate to its online cloud-based solution from users who had previously been using its desktop-installed product. Chief executive Tim Reed said the company was on track to reach 1 million paid subscribers across Australia and New Zealand by 2020, and credited MYOB's 'connected practice' vision for the growth uplift. The 'connected practice' is a suite of MYOB tools which claims to automate three major accounting practice functions - transaction processing, compliance and business advisory. Mr Reed said MYOB's 2017 acquisition of Paycorp had opened up the $1.2 billion Australian market for small business payments processing to the company. Shares were down 2.7 per cent to $3.19.
Nextdc Ltd (NXT):
NextDC was an earnings-related advancer on Friday, climbing 11.5 per cent. The data centre provider revealed that its interim profit after tax declined to $8.4 million, from $19.3 million a year ago while revenue climbed 32 per cent to $77.5 million. For the full year, the firm expects revenue in a range of $152 million and $158 million with underlying EBITDA in a range of $58 million to $62 million.
Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (SXL):
Southern Cross Austereo's half-year net profit dropped 21.2 per cent to $38.2 million, with the result hit by the divestment of its Northern NSW TV business. The company, which operates Triple M and Hit Network radio stations and has a regional television affiliation with the Nine network, said its revenue for the six months to December 31 fell 5.3 per cent to $333.3 million. The company will pay a fullyfranked interim dividend of 3.75 cents a share, unchanged from last year.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Woolworths' net profit from continuing operations rose 14.8 per cent to $902 million in the six months to the end of December, as strong sales growth in supermarkets boosted food margins and offset smaller losses from Big W. Including earnings from the fuel operations, which are still slated for sale, net profit rose 37.6 per cent to $969 million, beating consensus forecasts for a profit of around $941 million. The earnings rebound followed a 17 per cent fall in profits in the same period a year ago, when Woolworths slashed grocery prices to regain lost market share. Samestore supermarket sales rose a better-than-expected 5 per cent in the December quarter, compared with 4.9 per cent in the September quarter and 3.1 per cent in the December quarter a year ago.
(Source: AIMS)
Automative Holdings Group climbed 4.4 per cent after announcing a 2.4 per cent fall in net profit after tax to $39.9 million for the first half of 2017-18. Revenues were up by 7.5 per cent to $2.87 billion. Truck sales were particularly strong for the group, with the overall strength of the new car market in Australia also a positive. New vehicle sales of 1.19 million occurred in calendar 2017 across the industry, marking the third successive year of records being toppled. AHG revealed that finance income had fallen by $13.5 million in the first half, and insurance income had dropped by $9.2 million. But AHG was able to prune $18.1 million from total costs which included a reduction in staff, lower commission payouts and a cut in marketing spend. The company kept its first half dividend steady at 9.5¢, to be paid on April 4.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia(CBA):
The Commonwealth Bank shares edged up 0.4 per cent, it has denied 89 of 100 additional allegations made against it by Austrac late last year, when the regulator expanded its explosive case alleging mass breaches of anti-money laundering and terrorism financing laws. In a statement to investors, CBA also said it "categorically" denied all allegations in a shareholder class action from law firm Maurice Blackburn, which claims the bank should have told the market earlier about the risk of legal action from Austrac. The news that Austrac was taking action against CBA last August triggered a sharp slide in the bank's share price, but CBA said there had been no "price sensitive" information about the case that it should have disclosed earlier. "We consider that we have complied with our continuous disclosure obligations at all times. There was no price sensitive information about the matters raised in the Austrac proceeding that required disclosure," CBA said.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (FLT):
Flight Centre shares are up another 2.2 per cent on Friday at $56.45, after rising more than 10 per cent in the previous session when the travel firm released its latest earnings. Morgan Stanley upgraded the firm to equal weight from underweight today, setting out its reasons for doing so in a note title 'we were wrong." "Cost-out execution, reducing structural pressures, easing airfare deflation, emerging international businesses and the corporate shift lead us to upgrade," the broker said. "Given the improved earnings outlook, we think the relative valuation looks reasonable," it added.
Mcgrath Ltd (MEA):
John McGrath's former lieutenant, Geoff Lucas, has returned to take the helm of embattled real estate company McGrath. Mr Lucas was chief operating officer for eight years from 2008, helping drive the company's growth along the eastern seaboard and its transition from a private to public company. "I am delighted to welcome Geoff back to the company, as he was instrumental in building McGrath over eight years to 2016," founder and executive director John McGrath said in a statement on Friday. "Geoff has an intimate knowledge of property and the McGrath business, as well as a strong rapport with our agents, franchise partners and many industry participants." Mr Lucas takes the reins at a tumultuous time for the firm, whose CEO and board, other than Mr McGrath, left the company this month after reporting a half-year loss of $25.5 million. Mr McGrath last week appointed Kerry Stokes's former chief financial officer, Peter Lewis, as the new non-executive chairman.
Myob Group Ltd (MYO):
Accounting software provider MYOB has announced a 16.3 per cent jump in net profit after tax to $60.7 million for the year ending 31 December, 2017. Earnings grew 10.8 per cent to $189.9 million, from $171.4 million in 2016, as the company claimed its highest ever migration rate to its online cloud-based solution from users who had previously been using its desktop-installed product. Chief executive Tim Reed said the company was on track to reach 1 million paid subscribers across Australia and New Zealand by 2020, and credited MYOB's 'connected practice' vision for the growth uplift. The 'connected practice' is a suite of MYOB tools which claims to automate three major accounting practice functions - transaction processing, compliance and business advisory. Mr Reed said MYOB's 2017 acquisition of Paycorp had opened up the $1.2 billion Australian market for small business payments processing to the company. Shares were down 2.7 per cent to $3.19.
Nextdc Ltd (NXT):
NextDC was an earnings-related advancer on Friday, climbing 11.5 per cent. The data centre provider revealed that its interim profit after tax declined to $8.4 million, from $19.3 million a year ago while revenue climbed 32 per cent to $77.5 million. For the full year, the firm expects revenue in a range of $152 million and $158 million with underlying EBITDA in a range of $58 million to $62 million.
Southern Cross Media Group Ltd (SXL):
Southern Cross Austereo's half-year net profit dropped 21.2 per cent to $38.2 million, with the result hit by the divestment of its Northern NSW TV business. The company, which operates Triple M and Hit Network radio stations and has a regional television affiliation with the Nine network, said its revenue for the six months to December 31 fell 5.3 per cent to $333.3 million. The company will pay a fullyfranked interim dividend of 3.75 cents a share, unchanged from last year.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Woolworths' net profit from continuing operations rose 14.8 per cent to $902 million in the six months to the end of December, as strong sales growth in supermarkets boosted food margins and offset smaller losses from Big W. Including earnings from the fuel operations, which are still slated for sale, net profit rose 37.6 per cent to $969 million, beating consensus forecasts for a profit of around $941 million. The earnings rebound followed a 17 per cent fall in profits in the same period a year ago, when Woolworths slashed grocery prices to regain lost market share. Samestore supermarket sales rose a better-than-expected 5 per cent in the December quarter, compared with 4.9 per cent in the September quarter and 3.1 per cent in the December quarter a year ago.
(Source: AIMS)
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