Accent Group Ltd (AX1):
Athlete Foot’s brand owner Accent Group has vowed to avoid “lazy, discount-driven retailing” as it delivered a record full-year profit thanks to a boost in online sales. Unveiling an underlying full-year net profit for the year up 17.9 per cent to nearly $47.1 million, chief executive Daniel Agostinelli said the result confirmed the company has the right strategies to capitalise on future opportunities. “Going forward, we intend to continue our strategy of avoiding lazy, discount-fuelled retailing, and instead drive profitable sustainable sales and margin growth through a world class omnichannel offering, best in class websites and fulfilment infrastructure, exciting and innovative store environments and the magic of our instore customer experience,” he said.
Adairs Ltd (ADH):
Housewares and bed linen retailer Adairs believes it has returned to a growth trajectory after delivering more fashionable products that its customers want. The company also reaped rewards from its loyalty club keeping shoppers returning to its stores, as it announced a 45.4 per cent lift in full-year net profit to $30.6 million. There was further good news provided in a trading update for the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year, highlighting that Adairs’ strong trading through 2018 had spilt into the new year, with the first seven weeks of trade generating like-for-like sales growth of 5.4 per cent. With its business looking like it had finally turned the corner after a horror run on the sharemarket since it listed in 2015, Adairs said it was tipping sales of $345m-$360m in the 2019 fiscal year and pre-tax earnings of between $47.5m and $51.5m.
AMP Ltd (AMP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Two big financial institutions already battered by the banking royal commission, AMP and Commonwealth Bank, are set for another stint under the microscope in a session focusing on insurance that kicks off in a fortnight. It is not clear which aspect of AMP’s life insurance business is to be examined, but in late June the Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched legal action against it for allowing financial planners to churn client policies, earning them higher commissions. CBA last year sold the insurance division to be probed by the commission, CommInsure, to Hong Kong’s AIA Group for $3.8 billion. The hearings are likely to focus on CommInsure’s use of out-ofdate medical definitions for conditions such as heart attacks and its attitude towards paying out benefits. CommInsure was last year investigated by ASIC after media reports alleging that in addition to using outdated medical definitions it sold worthless insurance and dragged its heels on payouts. ASIC said its investigation of CommInsure was hamstrung by the current exemption for claims handling in life insurance from the Corporations Act.
BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP):
BHP’s giant Jansen potash mine in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, where the company has approved $US3.9 billion ($5.3bn) of pre-mining spending, looks even further off after the miner pushed back forecasts for when the world will need more of the fertiliser. But BHP has started discussions with potential minority partners in the hope it can claw back some early value from the huge potash deposit. In its full-year report last week, BHP said that while demand forecasts had not changed and prices had been strengthening, it was now expecting “demand outstripping supply by the mid-to-late 2020s”. This is back from a forecast a year earlier that it would happen in the mid-2020s as more intensive farming drove higher demand. BHP is about to finish digging a pair of kilometre-deep shafts to access the Jansen deposit. But there is no sense of when mining could start, after BHP last August made an about-face on plans floated three months earlier to target 2018 approval of a $US4.8bn first stage that would have seen production start in 2023.
Big Un Ltd (BIG):
The ASX-listed online video outfit Big Un has appointed voluntary administrators just weeks after its auditor raised doubts over whether the company could continue as a going concern. Administrators Nell Cussen and Matthew Donnelly of Del-oitte were appointed to Big Un on Friday afternoon. In July Big Un posting its long-delayed half-year accounts showing losses of $52.2 million. At the time the company, which once boasted a market capitalisation of more than $200m, was revealed as having a $31.5m shortfall in working capital.
Blackmores Ltd (BKL):
Shares in natural health company Blackmores leapt more than 10 per cent in early trade after it delivered a 19 per cent lift in full-year profit to $70 million, thanks to strong demand from China. The company (BKL), which sells a range of vitamin, minerals, herbal and nutritional supplements across 17 markets, said that sales to China were up 22 per cent on the prior year to $143m. “China continues to be a significant opportunity for Blackmores and in addition to our Alibaba agreement, last week we signed a strategic co-operation with NetEase Kaola,” chief executive Richard Henfrey said.
Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX):
Transport fuel supplier Caltex Australia said its first-half net profit rose by 45 per cent, and it’s considering the sale of a significant stake in some freehold gas stations. Caltex (CTX), which supplies a range of fuels and lubricants and operates a chain of petrol stations across Australia, reported a net profit of $383 million in the six months through June, up from $265 million a year earlier - just short of Caltex’s June guidance of $385m to $405m. The result included inventory gains totalling $87 million after tax. Measured on a replacement-cost basis, Caltex said earnings totalled $296 million compared to $294 million the year before. That was at the lower end of recent guidance of $295m to $315m.
Cash Converters International Ltd (CCV):
Cash Converters International has posted a full-year net profit of $22.5 million, a gain of 9.1 per cent. The result was built on strong momentum in its burgeoning motor vehicle financing arm, which reported a maiden profit for the year, and strong trading at its network of franchise stores, which helped counter falling earnings at its core personal finance and lending divisions. The retail pawnbroker and short-term lender said yesterday sales had fallen 4 per cent to $260.345m. It comes after a torrid year for the finance group, including paying a $650,000 penalty after reaching an agreement with the corporate regulator over collections practices. The company yesterday announced the surprise resignation of chief executive Mark Reid who only joined the company in November 2015 to lead the turnaround and restructuring of the group.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
The competition to buy Victoria’s land titles and registry business has been won by the superannuation fund First State, ousting Macquarie Group in the final stages of the contest by agreeing to pay $2.86 billion for the government owned asset. The Australian’s DataRoom learned that the price paid for the asset was more than $2.8bn. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews unveiled the 40-year concession following a competitive tender process.
Michael Hill International Ltd (MHJ):
Michael Hill boss Phil Taylor is gearing up to sell fine jewellery online and he plans to do it before someone else does. “We don’t want someone else to come along and disrupt the industry, we want to sort of do it ourselves,” Mr Taylor told The Australian. His comments came after the jewellery retailer delivered a sharply lower full-year net profit, hit by one-off costs in relation to closures in its loss-making Emma & Roe and US businesses, which amounted to $25.5 million.
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (RWC):
Reliance Worldwide is on the lookout for further bolt-on acquisitions even as it works to integrate the British-based John Guest business it spent $1.2 billion on just three months ago. But investors nervous about its growth prospects and the potential impact of US import duties were quick to abandon the plumbing supplies group following the release of its 2018 results yesterday, in a move that saw Reliance’s share price crash 19 per cent in early trade to a low of $5.03.
Specialty Fashion Group Ltd (SFH):
Specialty Fashion Group has reaffirmed its intention to start paying dividends again over the coming year after trimming its full-year loss by 22.4 per cent to $6.97 million. Specialty (SFH), which in May sold its Katies, Millers, Crossroads, Autograph and Rivers brands to focus solely on plus-size women’s apparel chain City Chic, says revenue for the 12 months to July 1 fell 6.5 per cent to $752 million but sales have since grown during the first seven weeks of the new financial year. The $31m in cash from the sale of the five brands helped Specialty pay off its debt and end the year cash-positive, and the company plans to rollout stand-alone City Chic stores while reducing the number of concessions.
(Source: AIMS)
Athlete Foot’s brand owner Accent Group has vowed to avoid “lazy, discount-driven retailing” as it delivered a record full-year profit thanks to a boost in online sales. Unveiling an underlying full-year net profit for the year up 17.9 per cent to nearly $47.1 million, chief executive Daniel Agostinelli said the result confirmed the company has the right strategies to capitalise on future opportunities. “Going forward, we intend to continue our strategy of avoiding lazy, discount-fuelled retailing, and instead drive profitable sustainable sales and margin growth through a world class omnichannel offering, best in class websites and fulfilment infrastructure, exciting and innovative store environments and the magic of our instore customer experience,” he said.
Adairs Ltd (ADH):
Housewares and bed linen retailer Adairs believes it has returned to a growth trajectory after delivering more fashionable products that its customers want. The company also reaped rewards from its loyalty club keeping shoppers returning to its stores, as it announced a 45.4 per cent lift in full-year net profit to $30.6 million. There was further good news provided in a trading update for the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year, highlighting that Adairs’ strong trading through 2018 had spilt into the new year, with the first seven weeks of trade generating like-for-like sales growth of 5.4 per cent. With its business looking like it had finally turned the corner after a horror run on the sharemarket since it listed in 2015, Adairs said it was tipping sales of $345m-$360m in the 2019 fiscal year and pre-tax earnings of between $47.5m and $51.5m.
AMP Ltd (AMP) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Two big financial institutions already battered by the banking royal commission, AMP and Commonwealth Bank, are set for another stint under the microscope in a session focusing on insurance that kicks off in a fortnight. It is not clear which aspect of AMP’s life insurance business is to be examined, but in late June the Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched legal action against it for allowing financial planners to churn client policies, earning them higher commissions. CBA last year sold the insurance division to be probed by the commission, CommInsure, to Hong Kong’s AIA Group for $3.8 billion. The hearings are likely to focus on CommInsure’s use of out-ofdate medical definitions for conditions such as heart attacks and its attitude towards paying out benefits. CommInsure was last year investigated by ASIC after media reports alleging that in addition to using outdated medical definitions it sold worthless insurance and dragged its heels on payouts. ASIC said its investigation of CommInsure was hamstrung by the current exemption for claims handling in life insurance from the Corporations Act.
BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP):
BHP’s giant Jansen potash mine in Canada’s Saskatchewan province, where the company has approved $US3.9 billion ($5.3bn) of pre-mining spending, looks even further off after the miner pushed back forecasts for when the world will need more of the fertiliser. But BHP has started discussions with potential minority partners in the hope it can claw back some early value from the huge potash deposit. In its full-year report last week, BHP said that while demand forecasts had not changed and prices had been strengthening, it was now expecting “demand outstripping supply by the mid-to-late 2020s”. This is back from a forecast a year earlier that it would happen in the mid-2020s as more intensive farming drove higher demand. BHP is about to finish digging a pair of kilometre-deep shafts to access the Jansen deposit. But there is no sense of when mining could start, after BHP last August made an about-face on plans floated three months earlier to target 2018 approval of a $US4.8bn first stage that would have seen production start in 2023.
Big Un Ltd (BIG):
The ASX-listed online video outfit Big Un has appointed voluntary administrators just weeks after its auditor raised doubts over whether the company could continue as a going concern. Administrators Nell Cussen and Matthew Donnelly of Del-oitte were appointed to Big Un on Friday afternoon. In July Big Un posting its long-delayed half-year accounts showing losses of $52.2 million. At the time the company, which once boasted a market capitalisation of more than $200m, was revealed as having a $31.5m shortfall in working capital.
Blackmores Ltd (BKL):
Shares in natural health company Blackmores leapt more than 10 per cent in early trade after it delivered a 19 per cent lift in full-year profit to $70 million, thanks to strong demand from China. The company (BKL), which sells a range of vitamin, minerals, herbal and nutritional supplements across 17 markets, said that sales to China were up 22 per cent on the prior year to $143m. “China continues to be a significant opportunity for Blackmores and in addition to our Alibaba agreement, last week we signed a strategic co-operation with NetEase Kaola,” chief executive Richard Henfrey said.
Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX):
Transport fuel supplier Caltex Australia said its first-half net profit rose by 45 per cent, and it’s considering the sale of a significant stake in some freehold gas stations. Caltex (CTX), which supplies a range of fuels and lubricants and operates a chain of petrol stations across Australia, reported a net profit of $383 million in the six months through June, up from $265 million a year earlier - just short of Caltex’s June guidance of $385m to $405m. The result included inventory gains totalling $87 million after tax. Measured on a replacement-cost basis, Caltex said earnings totalled $296 million compared to $294 million the year before. That was at the lower end of recent guidance of $295m to $315m.
Cash Converters International Ltd (CCV):
Cash Converters International has posted a full-year net profit of $22.5 million, a gain of 9.1 per cent. The result was built on strong momentum in its burgeoning motor vehicle financing arm, which reported a maiden profit for the year, and strong trading at its network of franchise stores, which helped counter falling earnings at its core personal finance and lending divisions. The retail pawnbroker and short-term lender said yesterday sales had fallen 4 per cent to $260.345m. It comes after a torrid year for the finance group, including paying a $650,000 penalty after reaching an agreement with the corporate regulator over collections practices. The company yesterday announced the surprise resignation of chief executive Mark Reid who only joined the company in November 2015 to lead the turnaround and restructuring of the group.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
The competition to buy Victoria’s land titles and registry business has been won by the superannuation fund First State, ousting Macquarie Group in the final stages of the contest by agreeing to pay $2.86 billion for the government owned asset. The Australian’s DataRoom learned that the price paid for the asset was more than $2.8bn. Victorian premier Daniel Andrews unveiled the 40-year concession following a competitive tender process.
Michael Hill International Ltd (MHJ):
Michael Hill boss Phil Taylor is gearing up to sell fine jewellery online and he plans to do it before someone else does. “We don’t want someone else to come along and disrupt the industry, we want to sort of do it ourselves,” Mr Taylor told The Australian. His comments came after the jewellery retailer delivered a sharply lower full-year net profit, hit by one-off costs in relation to closures in its loss-making Emma & Roe and US businesses, which amounted to $25.5 million.
Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (RWC):
Reliance Worldwide is on the lookout for further bolt-on acquisitions even as it works to integrate the British-based John Guest business it spent $1.2 billion on just three months ago. But investors nervous about its growth prospects and the potential impact of US import duties were quick to abandon the plumbing supplies group following the release of its 2018 results yesterday, in a move that saw Reliance’s share price crash 19 per cent in early trade to a low of $5.03.
Specialty Fashion Group Ltd (SFH):
Specialty Fashion Group has reaffirmed its intention to start paying dividends again over the coming year after trimming its full-year loss by 22.4 per cent to $6.97 million. Specialty (SFH), which in May sold its Katies, Millers, Crossroads, Autograph and Rivers brands to focus solely on plus-size women’s apparel chain City Chic, says revenue for the 12 months to July 1 fell 6.5 per cent to $752 million but sales have since grown during the first seven weeks of the new financial year. The $31m in cash from the sale of the five brands helped Specialty pay off its debt and end the year cash-positive, and the company plans to rollout stand-alone City Chic stores while reducing the number of concessions.
(Source: AIMS)
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