NEWS CORP(NWS):
News Corp Australia has struck a commercial printing arrangement with Fairfax Media as part of a historic deal between the two publishers to tackle costs. After prolonged talks lasting several years, News Corp and Fairfax Media have put rivalries aside to tackle costs in a media market under siege from the Facebook and Google digital advertising duopoly. The Australian’s publisher News Corp Australia will provide seven-day printing services to Fairfax in NSW and Queensland. Fairfax will print some publications for News Corp out of its North Richmond plant. A deal to share facilities and minimising truck route duplication is designed to make the print newspaper more sustainable in the long term and help accelerate the newsroom’s digital transformation. Newspapers have been in a race against time to grow their digital revenues and cut costs to make up for the collapse of print advertising. Still, heightened interest in quality journalism is driving reader-ship and digital -subscriber growth. Big newspapers around the world have reported increases in subscriptions and -audiences online, and even the long-suffering stocks of publishers are rallying.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
The elimination of single-use plastic bags from the nation’s supermarkets, which has led to shopper confusion, angst, frustration and the odd scuffle for what the experts believe will be little environmental benefit, is starting to damage sales for leading chains Woolworths and Coles. Bryan Raymond, a retail analyst at US investment bank Citi also said neither of the supermarkets had handled the switch to multi-use bags very well, with both forced to stretch out the trial period for their offer of free shopping bags to customers to cope with the abolition of plastic bags from the nation’s many thousands of supermarket stores. Following a deluge of complaints flowing from the removal of single-use plastic bags from Woolworths and Coles this month, also known as ‘plastic bag rage’, both chains have been forced to continue to offer free bags to shoppers instead of charging them 15 cents while they have also had to have extra staff at the check out to help bewildered shoppers.
South32 (S32):
South32 reported record production from its Australian manganese operations, as it lifted output of the steel ingredient to take advantage of better prices. The mining company (S32) today reported manganese ore production increased by 10 per cent in the year through June, to 5.5 million tonnes. Manganese alloy output was 11 per cent higher on the year-earlier period, at 244,000 tonnes, it said. South32 in a statement said it adjusted production levels “as we continued to take advantage of stronger demand and pricing.” The miner also reported a 20 per cent rise in nickel production, to 43,800 tonnes, but said aluminium production was flat at 983,000 tonnes and that metallurgical and energy coal output fell. South32 said it is now separately managing the South Africa energy coal unit it wants to offload, and that it will outline the “meaningful” cost savings from doing so in its fiscal-year earnings report next month. “We are actively reshaping our portfolio and are now managing South Africa Energy Coal as a stand-alone business, allowing us to simplify the group, lower overhead costs and fundamentally change the way we work,” said chief executive Graham Kerr. In its earnings result, the company also expects to record a one-time redundancy and restructuring charge of about $US60 million — roughly $US40 million post-tax — that is mainly tied to lay-offs following a simplification of the group structure and a voluntary redundancy program at its Illawarra Metallurgical Coal division.
Santos Ltd (STO):
Santos recorded a strong rise in half-year sales revenue as a jump in energy prices more than offset a hit to liquefied natural gas production from a big earthquake in Papua New Guinea and planned shutdowns in Australia. Production was 5.1 per cent lower for the first six months of the year at 28 million barrels of oil equivalent, although it rebounded 2.9 per cent in the second quarter as the PNG LNG gas-export operation in Papua New Guinea resumed output after the quake and aftershocks that struck the country in February. Despite the lost output from Exxon Mobil Corp’s PNG LNG plant, in which Santos has a stake, the Australian company said revenue for the six months rose by 16 per cent to $US1.68 billion thanks to a 37 per cent jump in the average realised oil price as well as an increase in oil sales for the period. The oil and gas producer (STO) said it was sticking with targeted output for the full year of between 55 million and 58 million barrels and sales volumes of 72 million-76 million barrels. Weeks after rejecting another takeover approach, Santos last month flagged plans to resume dividend payments about two years after freezing them to concentrate on cutting a debt burden and fending against the slump in oil prices. With the sale of assets in Asia and Queensland in the last quarter, the company continues to chip away at debt it said had fallen to $US2.4 billion by the end of June.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Higher prices and an increase in liquefied natural gas production helped to drive an increase in Woodside Petroleum’s sales revenue over the first half of the year. The oil and gas producer (WPL) said revenue was 27 per cent higher at $US2.39 billion for the six months, against $US1.88 billion a year earlier, as sales volumes increased a little over 7 per cent to almost 44 million barrels of oil equivalent and the average realised price for LNG and oil rose. Rising LNG output from existing operations in Western Australia and the ramp up of volumes from Chevron Corp’s recently-opened Wheatstone LNG venture helped push up Woodside’s share of production for the half year 5 per cent to 44.3 million barrels equivalent. Woodside has previously forecast output this year of between 85 million and 90 million barrels, after an 11 per cent decline last year to 84.4 million.
Aurizon Holdings Ltd (AZJ):
The competition regulator has taken the unusual step of launching legal action against Aurizon and Pacific National for alleged anti-competitive agreements. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking the companies to court for allegedly reaching an understanding in 2017 for Aurizon to exit its intermodal business via asset sales and closures, lessening competition in the market. “The effect of the understanding was that Aurizon would stop competing with Pacific National to supply intermodal and steel rail line-haul services throughout Australia,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims. Aurizon (AZJ) had maintained it was losing money on the interstate intermodal business. The regulator also alleged Pacific National’s planned acquisition of Aurizon’s Queensland intermodal business and Acacia Ridge Terminal, and an agreement for Pacific National to operate the interstate side of the Acacia Ridge Terminal, “would separately each have the likely effect of substantially lessening competition”. The ACCC said it would ask the Federal Court to stop Pacific National from acquiring the assets and for fiscal penalties.
(Source: AIMS）
News Corp Australia has struck a commercial printing arrangement with Fairfax Media as part of a historic deal between the two publishers to tackle costs. After prolonged talks lasting several years, News Corp and Fairfax Media have put rivalries aside to tackle costs in a media market under siege from the Facebook and Google digital advertising duopoly. The Australian’s publisher News Corp Australia will provide seven-day printing services to Fairfax in NSW and Queensland. Fairfax will print some publications for News Corp out of its North Richmond plant. A deal to share facilities and minimising truck route duplication is designed to make the print newspaper more sustainable in the long term and help accelerate the newsroom’s digital transformation. Newspapers have been in a race against time to grow their digital revenues and cut costs to make up for the collapse of print advertising. Still, heightened interest in quality journalism is driving reader-ship and digital -subscriber growth. Big newspapers around the world have reported increases in subscriptions and -audiences online, and even the long-suffering stocks of publishers are rallying.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
The elimination of single-use plastic bags from the nation’s supermarkets, which has led to shopper confusion, angst, frustration and the odd scuffle for what the experts believe will be little environmental benefit, is starting to damage sales for leading chains Woolworths and Coles. Bryan Raymond, a retail analyst at US investment bank Citi also said neither of the supermarkets had handled the switch to multi-use bags very well, with both forced to stretch out the trial period for their offer of free shopping bags to customers to cope with the abolition of plastic bags from the nation’s many thousands of supermarket stores. Following a deluge of complaints flowing from the removal of single-use plastic bags from Woolworths and Coles this month, also known as ‘plastic bag rage’, both chains have been forced to continue to offer free bags to shoppers instead of charging them 15 cents while they have also had to have extra staff at the check out to help bewildered shoppers.
South32 (S32):
South32 reported record production from its Australian manganese operations, as it lifted output of the steel ingredient to take advantage of better prices. The mining company (S32) today reported manganese ore production increased by 10 per cent in the year through June, to 5.5 million tonnes. Manganese alloy output was 11 per cent higher on the year-earlier period, at 244,000 tonnes, it said. South32 in a statement said it adjusted production levels “as we continued to take advantage of stronger demand and pricing.” The miner also reported a 20 per cent rise in nickel production, to 43,800 tonnes, but said aluminium production was flat at 983,000 tonnes and that metallurgical and energy coal output fell. South32 said it is now separately managing the South Africa energy coal unit it wants to offload, and that it will outline the “meaningful” cost savings from doing so in its fiscal-year earnings report next month. “We are actively reshaping our portfolio and are now managing South Africa Energy Coal as a stand-alone business, allowing us to simplify the group, lower overhead costs and fundamentally change the way we work,” said chief executive Graham Kerr. In its earnings result, the company also expects to record a one-time redundancy and restructuring charge of about $US60 million — roughly $US40 million post-tax — that is mainly tied to lay-offs following a simplification of the group structure and a voluntary redundancy program at its Illawarra Metallurgical Coal division.
Santos Ltd (STO):
Santos recorded a strong rise in half-year sales revenue as a jump in energy prices more than offset a hit to liquefied natural gas production from a big earthquake in Papua New Guinea and planned shutdowns in Australia. Production was 5.1 per cent lower for the first six months of the year at 28 million barrels of oil equivalent, although it rebounded 2.9 per cent in the second quarter as the PNG LNG gas-export operation in Papua New Guinea resumed output after the quake and aftershocks that struck the country in February. Despite the lost output from Exxon Mobil Corp’s PNG LNG plant, in which Santos has a stake, the Australian company said revenue for the six months rose by 16 per cent to $US1.68 billion thanks to a 37 per cent jump in the average realised oil price as well as an increase in oil sales for the period. The oil and gas producer (STO) said it was sticking with targeted output for the full year of between 55 million and 58 million barrels and sales volumes of 72 million-76 million barrels. Weeks after rejecting another takeover approach, Santos last month flagged plans to resume dividend payments about two years after freezing them to concentrate on cutting a debt burden and fending against the slump in oil prices. With the sale of assets in Asia and Queensland in the last quarter, the company continues to chip away at debt it said had fallen to $US2.4 billion by the end of June.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Higher prices and an increase in liquefied natural gas production helped to drive an increase in Woodside Petroleum’s sales revenue over the first half of the year. The oil and gas producer (WPL) said revenue was 27 per cent higher at $US2.39 billion for the six months, against $US1.88 billion a year earlier, as sales volumes increased a little over 7 per cent to almost 44 million barrels of oil equivalent and the average realised price for LNG and oil rose. Rising LNG output from existing operations in Western Australia and the ramp up of volumes from Chevron Corp’s recently-opened Wheatstone LNG venture helped push up Woodside’s share of production for the half year 5 per cent to 44.3 million barrels equivalent. Woodside has previously forecast output this year of between 85 million and 90 million barrels, after an 11 per cent decline last year to 84.4 million.
Aurizon Holdings Ltd (AZJ):
The competition regulator has taken the unusual step of launching legal action against Aurizon and Pacific National for alleged anti-competitive agreements. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking the companies to court for allegedly reaching an understanding in 2017 for Aurizon to exit its intermodal business via asset sales and closures, lessening competition in the market. “The effect of the understanding was that Aurizon would stop competing with Pacific National to supply intermodal and steel rail line-haul services throughout Australia,” said ACCC chairman Rod Sims. Aurizon (AZJ) had maintained it was losing money on the interstate intermodal business. The regulator also alleged Pacific National’s planned acquisition of Aurizon’s Queensland intermodal business and Acacia Ridge Terminal, and an agreement for Pacific National to operate the interstate side of the Acacia Ridge Terminal, “would separately each have the likely effect of substantially lessening competition”. The ACCC said it would ask the Federal Court to stop Pacific National from acquiring the assets and for fiscal penalties.
(Source: AIMS）
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