Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
ANZ is set to receive $800 million from IOOF in the sale of part of its Pensions and Investments business and Aligned Dealer Groups. In an update lodged to markets today, the bank said it had entered into a non-binding term sheet for the sale, what was first announced in October last year. Under the agreement, ANZ will receive an initial payment of $800 million from IOOF, equivalent to approximately 82 per cent of the economic interest in ANZ’s P&I business. “There is no capital benefit until final completion of the remaining P&I businesses expected towards the end of the first half of 2019,” it said.
Beach Energy Ltd (BPT):
Beach Energy logged a jump in sales revenue in the final quarter of its financial year, boosted by higher prices and a lift in oil and gas volumes. Revenue totaled $471 million Australian dollars in the three months through June, up 20 per cent on the prior quarter and more than three times the revenue of a year earlier, before the addition of a bundle of oil and gas assets in Australia. Production was 10pc higher quarter-overquarter at 7.23 million barrels of oil equivalent, and sales volumes up 12pc to 7.6 million barrels, the energy company said. Earlier this month, Beach sharply increased its estimate of reserves and resources following a review of the portfolio of oil and gas assets it bought from Origin Energy in a A$1.5 billion deal that was completed at the end of January. The acquisition increased Beach’s exposure to Australia’s tight east-coast gas market and widened its geographic footprint in the country.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
BHP has fired the starter’s gun on a new mini-boom in mining by launching construction of its $US3.6 billion ($4.85bn) South Flank iron ore project, which will sprawl across a 200sq km swathe of Pilbara red earth. With final government approvals secured only in recent days, BHP said yesterday it would begin work straight away on a mine it predicted would become the biggest it had ever built when measured by annual production. Speaking after turning the first sod at the mine alongside West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, BHP minerals boss Mike Henry said the investment represented a “big vote of confidence” in the state. He said about 85 per cent of spending on the South Flank project would be awarded to companies based in Australia. BHP has started looking for about 2500 people to build the mine.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG):
Fortescue Metals Group held iron-ore shipments broadly steady in fiscal 2018, and forecast similar exports in the year ahead while focusing on bolstering margins with the type of ore it sells. The world’s No. 4 iron-ore exporter said it shipped 170 million tonnes of the steelmaking commodity in the year through June, in line with its annual target and in line with prior-year shipments of 170.4 million tonnes. Fortescue said it expects to ship 165 million-173 million tonnes this fiscal year, “with a focus on optimizing margins and meeting market demand in product mix and volumes”. The price gap between high iron-content ore and lower iron-content ore -- the type Fortescue sells -- has widened sharply in the past two years because of a shift in China’s more-profitable steel sector toward bigger, greener mills, which run better on higher-grade ore.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group boss Nicholas Moore, one of Australia’s highest paid executives, has announced his retirement after more than 10 years in the role, passing the baton to Shemara Wikramanayake. Ms Wikramanayake is currently the head of Macquarie’s $470 billion asset management division. Mr Moore announced he was stepping down ahead of today’s annual general meeting in Sydney, 10 years after he took over from previous chief executive Allan Moss. He will step down as CEO and managing director at the end of November, after delivering Macquarie’s first-half results and completing the usual investor roadshow with Ms Wikramanayake, the Sydney-based company (MQG) said. Ms Wikramanayake joined Macquarie in 1987 and worked with Mr Moore in the company’s corporate services operations and then in helping establish the Macquarie Capital unit. She was appointed head of Macquarie Asset Management in 2008, when Mr Moore became CEO.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group investors will be keenly watching whether the investment bank upgrades its earnings guidance today or delivers an update on its seemingly non-existent share buyback. The annual meeting will be held in Sydney and will be a closely watched event. Last year, Macquarie emphasised news that the board had approved a $1 billion share buyback to deliver shareholders a reward of sorts for sticking with the bank through its up-and-down financial performance. However, the bank has spent exactly zero on buying back its own stock since then and the announcement by chairman Peter Warne and chief executive Nicholas Moore in October is starting to look disingenuous. ASX listing rules state that a company that stops a buyback — even in the case of not starting one — has to flag its decision to the market. Given Macquarie has yet to do that, then it should be assumed it intends to embark on a buyback at some point. But it seems time is running out. ASIC rules dictate that a buyback has to start within 12 months of its announcement, so Macquarie has until October to proceed.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
National Australia Bank has been forced to refund $67 million to customers who were charged hundreds of dollars in fees for the opportunity to access a financial adviser — even if they didn’t use the adviser’s services. NAB today said it would be refunding customers for the so-called “plan service fee” after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission raised concerns the bank’s wealth arm, MLC, did not tell customers they could opt out of the automatic fee once they left the “business super” product to a “personal super” account after they left their job. More than 300,000 customers will be refunded an average of $220 per person, with the bank repaying people wrongly charged fees back to 2012. That totals more than $67 million. The issue affected customers of MLC’s masterkey personal super (MKPS) product, which is steered by NAB’s trustee NULIS. NULIS will be appearing at the royal commission’s upcoming round of hearings into the $2.6 trillion superannuation industry. Fees charged to customers for no service is expected to be one of the areas the royal commission will examine during the proceedings.
Newcrest Mining Limited (NCM):
Gold output from Newcrest Mining was down 1 per cent on a year earlier but at the high end of its lowered target range after a dam spill at a large Australian mine. The miner said it produced 2.35 million ounces of gold in the year through June, at the high end of its production target of 2.25 to 2.35 million ounces set in April and only 2pc shy of an earlier forecast of 2.4-2.7 million. Newcrest had to suspend its Cadia gold operation in eastern Australia in March because part of a tailings dam wall collapsed. Cadia is one of Newcrest’s biggest mines, accounting for roughly one quarter of group gold production the prior fiscal year. Copper output was 78,000 tonnes, above April guidance of 70,000 to 75,000 tonnes and 3pc below a prior target of 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes, the miner said.
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC) & Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ):
Two of Australia’s oldest media companies, Nine Entertainment and Fairfax, are merging to create a new $4.2 billion broadcasting and publishing company in the largest deal since the shake up of nation’s cross-media ownership laws. In a deal announced today, Nine shareholders will own 51.1 per cent of the combined entity with Fairfax shareholders owning the remaining 48.9 per cent. The new business will be led by Nine’s current Chief Executive Officer, Hugh Marks and three current Fairfax directors will be invited to join the board. Nine chairman Peter Costello will chair the new company. The merged business will be valued at $4.2 billion which includes the value of the debt. The assets will include Nine’s free-to-air television network, a portfolio of high growth digital businesses, including Domain, Stan and 9Now, as well as Fairfax’s mastheads and radio interests through Macquarie Media.
(Source: AIMS)
ANZ is set to receive $800 million from IOOF in the sale of part of its Pensions and Investments business and Aligned Dealer Groups. In an update lodged to markets today, the bank said it had entered into a non-binding term sheet for the sale, what was first announced in October last year. Under the agreement, ANZ will receive an initial payment of $800 million from IOOF, equivalent to approximately 82 per cent of the economic interest in ANZ’s P&I business. “There is no capital benefit until final completion of the remaining P&I businesses expected towards the end of the first half of 2019,” it said.
Beach Energy Ltd (BPT):
Beach Energy logged a jump in sales revenue in the final quarter of its financial year, boosted by higher prices and a lift in oil and gas volumes. Revenue totaled $471 million Australian dollars in the three months through June, up 20 per cent on the prior quarter and more than three times the revenue of a year earlier, before the addition of a bundle of oil and gas assets in Australia. Production was 10pc higher quarter-overquarter at 7.23 million barrels of oil equivalent, and sales volumes up 12pc to 7.6 million barrels, the energy company said. Earlier this month, Beach sharply increased its estimate of reserves and resources following a review of the portfolio of oil and gas assets it bought from Origin Energy in a A$1.5 billion deal that was completed at the end of January. The acquisition increased Beach’s exposure to Australia’s tight east-coast gas market and widened its geographic footprint in the country.
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP):
BHP has fired the starter’s gun on a new mini-boom in mining by launching construction of its $US3.6 billion ($4.85bn) South Flank iron ore project, which will sprawl across a 200sq km swathe of Pilbara red earth. With final government approvals secured only in recent days, BHP said yesterday it would begin work straight away on a mine it predicted would become the biggest it had ever built when measured by annual production. Speaking after turning the first sod at the mine alongside West Australian Premier Mark McGowan, BHP minerals boss Mike Henry said the investment represented a “big vote of confidence” in the state. He said about 85 per cent of spending on the South Flank project would be awarded to companies based in Australia. BHP has started looking for about 2500 people to build the mine.
Fortescue Metals Group Limited (FMG):
Fortescue Metals Group held iron-ore shipments broadly steady in fiscal 2018, and forecast similar exports in the year ahead while focusing on bolstering margins with the type of ore it sells. The world’s No. 4 iron-ore exporter said it shipped 170 million tonnes of the steelmaking commodity in the year through June, in line with its annual target and in line with prior-year shipments of 170.4 million tonnes. Fortescue said it expects to ship 165 million-173 million tonnes this fiscal year, “with a focus on optimizing margins and meeting market demand in product mix and volumes”. The price gap between high iron-content ore and lower iron-content ore -- the type Fortescue sells -- has widened sharply in the past two years because of a shift in China’s more-profitable steel sector toward bigger, greener mills, which run better on higher-grade ore.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group boss Nicholas Moore, one of Australia’s highest paid executives, has announced his retirement after more than 10 years in the role, passing the baton to Shemara Wikramanayake. Ms Wikramanayake is currently the head of Macquarie’s $470 billion asset management division. Mr Moore announced he was stepping down ahead of today’s annual general meeting in Sydney, 10 years after he took over from previous chief executive Allan Moss. He will step down as CEO and managing director at the end of November, after delivering Macquarie’s first-half results and completing the usual investor roadshow with Ms Wikramanayake, the Sydney-based company (MQG) said. Ms Wikramanayake joined Macquarie in 1987 and worked with Mr Moore in the company’s corporate services operations and then in helping establish the Macquarie Capital unit. She was appointed head of Macquarie Asset Management in 2008, when Mr Moore became CEO.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group investors will be keenly watching whether the investment bank upgrades its earnings guidance today or delivers an update on its seemingly non-existent share buyback. The annual meeting will be held in Sydney and will be a closely watched event. Last year, Macquarie emphasised news that the board had approved a $1 billion share buyback to deliver shareholders a reward of sorts for sticking with the bank through its up-and-down financial performance. However, the bank has spent exactly zero on buying back its own stock since then and the announcement by chairman Peter Warne and chief executive Nicholas Moore in October is starting to look disingenuous. ASX listing rules state that a company that stops a buyback — even in the case of not starting one — has to flag its decision to the market. Given Macquarie has yet to do that, then it should be assumed it intends to embark on a buyback at some point. But it seems time is running out. ASIC rules dictate that a buyback has to start within 12 months of its announcement, so Macquarie has until October to proceed.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
National Australia Bank has been forced to refund $67 million to customers who were charged hundreds of dollars in fees for the opportunity to access a financial adviser — even if they didn’t use the adviser’s services. NAB today said it would be refunding customers for the so-called “plan service fee” after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission raised concerns the bank’s wealth arm, MLC, did not tell customers they could opt out of the automatic fee once they left the “business super” product to a “personal super” account after they left their job. More than 300,000 customers will be refunded an average of $220 per person, with the bank repaying people wrongly charged fees back to 2012. That totals more than $67 million. The issue affected customers of MLC’s masterkey personal super (MKPS) product, which is steered by NAB’s trustee NULIS. NULIS will be appearing at the royal commission’s upcoming round of hearings into the $2.6 trillion superannuation industry. Fees charged to customers for no service is expected to be one of the areas the royal commission will examine during the proceedings.
Newcrest Mining Limited (NCM):
Gold output from Newcrest Mining was down 1 per cent on a year earlier but at the high end of its lowered target range after a dam spill at a large Australian mine. The miner said it produced 2.35 million ounces of gold in the year through June, at the high end of its production target of 2.25 to 2.35 million ounces set in April and only 2pc shy of an earlier forecast of 2.4-2.7 million. Newcrest had to suspend its Cadia gold operation in eastern Australia in March because part of a tailings dam wall collapsed. Cadia is one of Newcrest’s biggest mines, accounting for roughly one quarter of group gold production the prior fiscal year. Copper output was 78,000 tonnes, above April guidance of 70,000 to 75,000 tonnes and 3pc below a prior target of 80,000 to 90,000 tonnes, the miner said.
Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (NEC) & Fairfax Media Limited (FXJ):
Two of Australia’s oldest media companies, Nine Entertainment and Fairfax, are merging to create a new $4.2 billion broadcasting and publishing company in the largest deal since the shake up of nation’s cross-media ownership laws. In a deal announced today, Nine shareholders will own 51.1 per cent of the combined entity with Fairfax shareholders owning the remaining 48.9 per cent. The new business will be led by Nine’s current Chief Executive Officer, Hugh Marks and three current Fairfax directors will be invited to join the board. Nine chairman Peter Costello will chair the new company. The merged business will be valued at $4.2 billion which includes the value of the debt. The assets will include Nine’s free-to-air television network, a portfolio of high growth digital businesses, including Domain, Stan and 9Now, as well as Fairfax’s mastheads and radio interests through Macquarie Media.
(Source: AIMS)
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