Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
CBA-owned mortgage broker Aussie Home Loans flunked an internal risk audit in December, documents tendered to the financial services royal commission have revealed. The CBA’s group audit and assurance team gave Aussie a “red rating” in its report, dated December 11, 2017. It found that “controls are not appropriate for the risks being managed”. “There are a significant number of issues that require immediate attention.” Issues raised by the audit team included brokers not complying with responsible lending rules, and the governance of broker behaviour. Aussie’s management also earned a “marginal” rating because it was too slow to deal with issues raised in a previous audit. That audit, in 2015, also gave Aussie a red rating — although over different issues. The commission has been hearing evidence about the poor state of Aussie’s oversight of brokers, four of whom have been convicted of fraud offences after submitting loans based on dodgy documents or false information.
Freedom Foods Group Ltd (FNP):
Freedom Foods is tapping the market for $200 million through UBS to fund growth. Funds are being raised through a three-for-29 accelerated non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer and placement. Shares for the placement are being sold at $4.80 each, a 2.4 per cent discount to the last closing dividend adjusted share price of $4.92. The Perich Group, which owns 58.2 per cent of Freedom, has committed to take up its full entitlement and sub-underwrite the entitlement offer. Freedom Foods is a diversified food company operating in the health and wellness sector through brand including So Natural and Australia’s Own.
Premier Investments Limited (PMV):
Premier Investments is up 5.4 per cent today after the retailer lifted its first-half net profit and dividend payout. The firm's net profit for the 26 weeks ended January 27 rose 9.36 per cent to $78.6 million. Revenue for the period was up 6.82 per cent to $634.4 million. An interim dividend of 29¢ per share, fully franked, will be payable on May 15. This is higher than the 26¢ paid a year ago. Stationery brand Smiggle again was the star performer for the group. with record global sales of $170.7 million in the half, up 26.7 per cent. The unit's performance was underpinned by the opening of 35 new stores and strong like-for-like sales growth. Over 60 per cent of Smiggle sales were from outside of Australia. Sales at high-end sleepwear outlet Peter Alexander jumped 15 per cent to $114.4 million with strong total and like-for-like sales growth in Australia and New Zealand.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government could be headed for international arbitration, after the Rio subsidiary that owns the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine filed a formal notice of dispute against the developing nation. The dispute relates to Mongolia's recent claim for $US155 million in taxes that the government believes were not paid between 2013 and 2015, and it comes after months of rising tensions between Rio and the developing nation.
Vicinity Centres Re Ltd (VCX):
Shoppers spent nearly $2 billion at giant Melbourne shopping centre Chadstone last year, making it the highest turnover centre in the country as the largest fortress malls defy the retail gloom. Top-tier centres scooped a ranking of the highest-selling and most productive malls in Australia, although other locations saw a drop-in productivity amid a challenging retail environment, the Shopping Centre News Big Guns 2018 Report showed. Retail landlords have been remixing their centres to include eateries, massage parlours and experiences that can’t be bought online as they deal with the dual headwinds of sluggish wages growth and a shift to online shopping.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES):
Conglomerate Wesfarmers said that it intends to demerge its Coles supermarket division. The deal is expected to create a top30 company that will be listed on the ASX, Wesfarmers said. The new firm's strong cash generation is expected to underpin dividend payouts with an earnings profile that will be resilient through the economic cycle, the firm said. Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said that the group is repositioning to target a higher capital weighting toward businesses with strong future earnings growth prospects. Wesfarmers intends to retain a 20 per cent stake in the demerged business and expects the transaction to complete in 2019. It also named Metcash executive Stephen Cain as the next managing director of Coles, replacing John Durkan who will step down.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says he now has the more youthful but still highly experienced top leadership team together to take the company through its next phase of growth and construction after announcing a new chief operating officer. A former colleague of Mr Coleman at ExxonMobil in Indonesia, Meg O'Neill, was named on Friday as the West Australian oil and gas producer's new chief operations officer, taking over from Mike Utsler, who will depart in May. The changeover is the latest among the senior executive ranks at Woodside, which last month raised $2.5 billion in equity to fuel the next stage of expansion, including the development of the large Browse and Scarborough gas fields off the WA coast.
(Source: AIMS)
CBA-owned mortgage broker Aussie Home Loans flunked an internal risk audit in December, documents tendered to the financial services royal commission have revealed. The CBA’s group audit and assurance team gave Aussie a “red rating” in its report, dated December 11, 2017. It found that “controls are not appropriate for the risks being managed”. “There are a significant number of issues that require immediate attention.” Issues raised by the audit team included brokers not complying with responsible lending rules, and the governance of broker behaviour. Aussie’s management also earned a “marginal” rating because it was too slow to deal with issues raised in a previous audit. That audit, in 2015, also gave Aussie a red rating — although over different issues. The commission has been hearing evidence about the poor state of Aussie’s oversight of brokers, four of whom have been convicted of fraud offences after submitting loans based on dodgy documents or false information.
Freedom Foods Group Ltd (FNP):
Freedom Foods is tapping the market for $200 million through UBS to fund growth. Funds are being raised through a three-for-29 accelerated non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer and placement. Shares for the placement are being sold at $4.80 each, a 2.4 per cent discount to the last closing dividend adjusted share price of $4.92. The Perich Group, which owns 58.2 per cent of Freedom, has committed to take up its full entitlement and sub-underwrite the entitlement offer. Freedom Foods is a diversified food company operating in the health and wellness sector through brand including So Natural and Australia’s Own.
Premier Investments Limited (PMV):
Premier Investments is up 5.4 per cent today after the retailer lifted its first-half net profit and dividend payout. The firm's net profit for the 26 weeks ended January 27 rose 9.36 per cent to $78.6 million. Revenue for the period was up 6.82 per cent to $634.4 million. An interim dividend of 29¢ per share, fully franked, will be payable on May 15. This is higher than the 26¢ paid a year ago. Stationery brand Smiggle again was the star performer for the group. with record global sales of $170.7 million in the half, up 26.7 per cent. The unit's performance was underpinned by the opening of 35 new stores and strong like-for-like sales growth. Over 60 per cent of Smiggle sales were from outside of Australia. Sales at high-end sleepwear outlet Peter Alexander jumped 15 per cent to $114.4 million with strong total and like-for-like sales growth in Australia and New Zealand.
Rio Tinto Limited (RIO):
Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government could be headed for international arbitration, after the Rio subsidiary that owns the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine filed a formal notice of dispute against the developing nation. The dispute relates to Mongolia's recent claim for $US155 million in taxes that the government believes were not paid between 2013 and 2015, and it comes after months of rising tensions between Rio and the developing nation.
Vicinity Centres Re Ltd (VCX):
Shoppers spent nearly $2 billion at giant Melbourne shopping centre Chadstone last year, making it the highest turnover centre in the country as the largest fortress malls defy the retail gloom. Top-tier centres scooped a ranking of the highest-selling and most productive malls in Australia, although other locations saw a drop-in productivity amid a challenging retail environment, the Shopping Centre News Big Guns 2018 Report showed. Retail landlords have been remixing their centres to include eateries, massage parlours and experiences that can’t be bought online as they deal with the dual headwinds of sluggish wages growth and a shift to online shopping.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES):
Conglomerate Wesfarmers said that it intends to demerge its Coles supermarket division. The deal is expected to create a top30 company that will be listed on the ASX, Wesfarmers said. The new firm's strong cash generation is expected to underpin dividend payouts with an earnings profile that will be resilient through the economic cycle, the firm said. Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said that the group is repositioning to target a higher capital weighting toward businesses with strong future earnings growth prospects. Wesfarmers intends to retain a 20 per cent stake in the demerged business and expects the transaction to complete in 2019. It also named Metcash executive Stephen Cain as the next managing director of Coles, replacing John Durkan who will step down.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says he now has the more youthful but still highly experienced top leadership team together to take the company through its next phase of growth and construction after announcing a new chief operating officer. A former colleague of Mr Coleman at ExxonMobil in Indonesia, Meg O'Neill, was named on Friday as the West Australian oil and gas producer's new chief operations officer, taking over from Mike Utsler, who will depart in May. The changeover is the latest among the senior executive ranks at Woodside, which last month raised $2.5 billion in equity to fuel the next stage of expansion, including the development of the large Browse and Scarborough gas fields off the WA coast.
(Source: AIMS)
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