BlueScope Steel Limited (BSL):
BlueScope Steel said it has signed a seven-year deal with Esco Pacific and Schneider Electric to source power from a new solar farm in New South Wales, equivalent to roughly 20 per cent of the steelmaker’s Australian electricity needs. BlueScope (BSL) said it has agreed to take 66 per cent of the 133 megawatts of energy generated from Esco Pacific’s 500,000-panel Finley Solar Farm, which is expected to be operational around the middle of next year. BlueScope said the deal would “help keep downward pressure on our energy costs, and will support the gradual transition to renewable energy” for its power-hungry steelmaking operations.
Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC):
Australia’s only rare earths producer, Lynas, has booked a bumper quarter ahead of its full-year results, as the company looks to increase production. In a quarterly update this morning, Lynas (LYC) said it achieved record volumes during the period, having produced 4,804 tonnes of rare earth oxide compared to 4,093 tonnes in the June quarter last year. That figure was a 17 per cent increase on the March quarter, following upgrades under the company’s Lynas NEXT project, under which Lynas is investing about $35m in capital expenditure to increase production. Invoiced sales revenue for the period was up 7 per cent to $91.7 million compared to the March quarter, due to higher production and a more favourable sales mix. At 10.28am (AEST), Lynas shares were outperforming the broader index, trading 0.93 per cent higher at $2.16. Lynas, which mines its rare earths in Western Australia and processes them in Malaysia, sells most of its output to Japanese buyers. In its update today, Lynas said it continues to benefit from strong demand in Japan and will continue to prioritise supply to that market. It said demand remains above its current capacity to supply to its customers in China and Europe.
Mirvac Group (MGR):
Mirvac chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz says the developer is "actively looking" for new Melbourne sites after raking in $454 million from selling out all 245 residences at its flagship The Eastbourne development in East Melbourne. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review after the 14-level development overlooking Fitzroy Gardens topped out this week, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said she was confident the project – which includes a 500-square-metre penthouse bought for more than $15 million – would have sold just as well had it been launched in the current market. The Bates Smart-designed The Eastbourne – a joint venture with Freemasons Victoria – is being built on the site of the former Dallas Brooks Hall and is due for completion in mid-2019. Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said local downsizers and residents were a large segment of buyers. She declined to comment on who had bought the penthouse.
OZ Minerals Limited (OZL):
Rapidly expanding copper miner OZ Minerals will retain its dedication to regular shareholder returns when it updates its capital management strategy as early as next month. OZ is in the process of spending almost $1 billion on building a new mine at South Australia’s Carrapateena deposit; is spending up to $45 million this year on exploration and project studies; and recently spent more than $200 million plus scrip buying copper junior Avanco Resources. While OZ is a single mine company, its rapidly growing portfolio of assets prompted chief financial officer Warwick Ranson to launch a review of capital management in February in a bid to determine what the company’s spending priorities should be. The review is close to completion and could go before the OZ board as early as next month, but chief executive Andrew Cole said the company’s philosophy toward rewarding shareholders would not change. OZ last updated its dividend policy in 2015 when it vowed that a minimum of 20 per cent of the net cash generated would be returned to shareholders, so long as there was not an extraordinary requirement for that money to be used elsewhere.
Transurban Group (TCL):
The NSW government does not plan to extend Monday’s bid deadline for the multi-billion-dollar WestConnex motorway, potentially poleaxing the Transurban-led consortium frontrunner, after the competition regulator asked for more time to make a ruling on its proposed deal. Senior government sources said there was an intention to press ahead with the original deadline even though it could lessen the competitive tension of the government’s latest privatisation auction. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission was due to deliver its ruling yesterday on whether Transurban could bid for a 51 per cent stake in the toll road ahead of final offers due on July 23. Instead, it has asked for a further seven weeks, until September 6, to better understand the competition issues involved. It is understood the government will allow a conditional bid to be submitted by Transurban and its partners AustralianSuper, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. However, it remains highly uncertain whether Transurban would choose to proceed with a bid under those conditions given its rival in the process, an IFM Investors-led consortium, does not face the same competition -constraints.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says the company is on track to lock in a long-awaited tolling agreement with the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project on better-than-expected terms, boosting the likelihood the huge Browse gasfields would finally be developed after decades of waiting. The Perth-based company revealed yesterday that it and its partners in the North West Shelf had agreed to non-binding key commercial terms and pricing for processing third-party gas, clearing the way for Woodside to pipe gas from Browse to the processing plant. Mr Coleman told The Australian the North West Shelf parties had agreed to a tolling fee of less than $US2 a unit, below the $US2.10 a unit flagged at the company’s investor briefing day in May. The agreed tariff would also be a big improvement on the estimated $US2.25 being charged for toll treating at US LNG terminals, which also face far greater shipping distances to key LNG markets in Asia. Mr Coleman said the alignment between Woodside and its five other partners in the North West Shelf on the tolling arrangement represented a major milestone.
Xero Limited (XRO):
Accounting software Xero has annonced a strategic alliance with US private payroll platform Gusto, to integrate its own software into its offering. The deal allows Xero to access full-service payroll in all 50 states, and will see the end of the Xero’s own in-house US payroll product, what will be a NZ$1.62 million impairment in HY19. “We have found the majority of US small businesses want a full-service payroll solution. This strategic alliance allows us to focus our investment in our payroll product and brings important financial benefits and more efficient deployment of our resources as we execute our growth strategy,” chief Steve Vamos said. The deal is likely a catalyst for XRO trade, the stock last traded at $45.30.
(Source: AIMS)
BlueScope Steel said it has signed a seven-year deal with Esco Pacific and Schneider Electric to source power from a new solar farm in New South Wales, equivalent to roughly 20 per cent of the steelmaker’s Australian electricity needs. BlueScope (BSL) said it has agreed to take 66 per cent of the 133 megawatts of energy generated from Esco Pacific’s 500,000-panel Finley Solar Farm, which is expected to be operational around the middle of next year. BlueScope said the deal would “help keep downward pressure on our energy costs, and will support the gradual transition to renewable energy” for its power-hungry steelmaking operations.
Lynas Corporation Ltd (LYC):
Australia’s only rare earths producer, Lynas, has booked a bumper quarter ahead of its full-year results, as the company looks to increase production. In a quarterly update this morning, Lynas (LYC) said it achieved record volumes during the period, having produced 4,804 tonnes of rare earth oxide compared to 4,093 tonnes in the June quarter last year. That figure was a 17 per cent increase on the March quarter, following upgrades under the company’s Lynas NEXT project, under which Lynas is investing about $35m in capital expenditure to increase production. Invoiced sales revenue for the period was up 7 per cent to $91.7 million compared to the March quarter, due to higher production and a more favourable sales mix. At 10.28am (AEST), Lynas shares were outperforming the broader index, trading 0.93 per cent higher at $2.16. Lynas, which mines its rare earths in Western Australia and processes them in Malaysia, sells most of its output to Japanese buyers. In its update today, Lynas said it continues to benefit from strong demand in Japan and will continue to prioritise supply to that market. It said demand remains above its current capacity to supply to its customers in China and Europe.
Mirvac Group (MGR):
Mirvac chief executive Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz says the developer is "actively looking" for new Melbourne sites after raking in $454 million from selling out all 245 residences at its flagship The Eastbourne development in East Melbourne. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review after the 14-level development overlooking Fitzroy Gardens topped out this week, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said she was confident the project – which includes a 500-square-metre penthouse bought for more than $15 million – would have sold just as well had it been launched in the current market. The Bates Smart-designed The Eastbourne – a joint venture with Freemasons Victoria – is being built on the site of the former Dallas Brooks Hall and is due for completion in mid-2019. Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said local downsizers and residents were a large segment of buyers. She declined to comment on who had bought the penthouse.
OZ Minerals Limited (OZL):
Rapidly expanding copper miner OZ Minerals will retain its dedication to regular shareholder returns when it updates its capital management strategy as early as next month. OZ is in the process of spending almost $1 billion on building a new mine at South Australia’s Carrapateena deposit; is spending up to $45 million this year on exploration and project studies; and recently spent more than $200 million plus scrip buying copper junior Avanco Resources. While OZ is a single mine company, its rapidly growing portfolio of assets prompted chief financial officer Warwick Ranson to launch a review of capital management in February in a bid to determine what the company’s spending priorities should be. The review is close to completion and could go before the OZ board as early as next month, but chief executive Andrew Cole said the company’s philosophy toward rewarding shareholders would not change. OZ last updated its dividend policy in 2015 when it vowed that a minimum of 20 per cent of the net cash generated would be returned to shareholders, so long as there was not an extraordinary requirement for that money to be used elsewhere.
Transurban Group (TCL):
The NSW government does not plan to extend Monday’s bid deadline for the multi-billion-dollar WestConnex motorway, potentially poleaxing the Transurban-led consortium frontrunner, after the competition regulator asked for more time to make a ruling on its proposed deal. Senior government sources said there was an intention to press ahead with the original deadline even though it could lessen the competitive tension of the government’s latest privatisation auction. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission was due to deliver its ruling yesterday on whether Transurban could bid for a 51 per cent stake in the toll road ahead of final offers due on July 23. Instead, it has asked for a further seven weeks, until September 6, to better understand the competition issues involved. It is understood the government will allow a conditional bid to be submitted by Transurban and its partners AustralianSuper, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. However, it remains highly uncertain whether Transurban would choose to proceed with a bid under those conditions given its rival in the process, an IFM Investors-led consortium, does not face the same competition -constraints.
Woodside Petroleum Limited (WPL):
Woodside Petroleum chief executive Peter Coleman says the company is on track to lock in a long-awaited tolling agreement with the North West Shelf liquefied natural gas project on better-than-expected terms, boosting the likelihood the huge Browse gasfields would finally be developed after decades of waiting. The Perth-based company revealed yesterday that it and its partners in the North West Shelf had agreed to non-binding key commercial terms and pricing for processing third-party gas, clearing the way for Woodside to pipe gas from Browse to the processing plant. Mr Coleman told The Australian the North West Shelf parties had agreed to a tolling fee of less than $US2 a unit, below the $US2.10 a unit flagged at the company’s investor briefing day in May. The agreed tariff would also be a big improvement on the estimated $US2.25 being charged for toll treating at US LNG terminals, which also face far greater shipping distances to key LNG markets in Asia. Mr Coleman said the alignment between Woodside and its five other partners in the North West Shelf on the tolling arrangement represented a major milestone.
Xero Limited (XRO):
Accounting software Xero has annonced a strategic alliance with US private payroll platform Gusto, to integrate its own software into its offering. The deal allows Xero to access full-service payroll in all 50 states, and will see the end of the Xero’s own in-house US payroll product, what will be a NZ$1.62 million impairment in HY19. “We have found the majority of US small businesses want a full-service payroll solution. This strategic alliance allows us to focus our investment in our payroll product and brings important financial benefits and more efficient deployment of our resources as we execute our growth strategy,” chief Steve Vamos said. The deal is likely a catalyst for XRO trade, the stock last traded at $45.30.
(Source: AIMS)
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