AGL Energy Ltd (AGL):
AGL Energy has brought forward plans for a $250 million Victorian LNG terminal as it braces for an expected 2021 domestic gas supply crunch, declaring the shortage and associated price hikes could be worse if bad weather restricts growing wind and solar power supply. In documents submitted to the Victorian government this week, AGL said it wanted the Crib Point import terminal, 65km southeast of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, operating in the first half of 2020. AGL also disputed recent Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts that the east coast gas market would be oversupplied throughout next decade.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ALL):
Poker machine giant Aristocrat’s foray into digital gaming isn’t growing as quickly as expected according to Credit Suisse. The broker pushed out its sales growth ‘step up’ for Aristocrat’s digital business as its new apps were seemingly constrained by falling Heart of Vegas revenue. Adding to that, it said a lower AUD/USD assumption would drive up D&D and interest expense - downgrading its earnings per share expectations to 6pc for FY18 and 1-4pc for FY19-21. “Our DCF-based target price remains A$35.00 while our downgrades represent a delay in the development of digital revenue rather than a forecast shortfall. Moreover, Aristocrat is likely to be quite under-levered by end-FY19 and value-adding acquisitions in the digital arena may drive the share price,” it said. Aristocrat shares dropped as much as 3pc to $28.2 in trade on Friday, last at $28.63.
Dimerix Ltd (DXB):
Australian drug developer Dimerix is recruiting patients for a kidney disease trial its chief medical officer says puts it on the radar of big pharma and one the company hopes will delay the need for -dialysis. Dimerix is the only Australia-based company running clinical trials in the area of chronic kidney disease and it has launched two new trials to test its treatment, DMX-200, in diabetic kidney disease and a rare condition called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. Dr Packham said the potential market in the US was “astronomical”. He said if Dimerix was a US company its market cap — purely on the basis of the previous trial results on diabetics — would be 10 times higher. He said a positive result from the new trial would be significant for the company, which he said would be viewed as a takeover target by large pharmaceutical companies.
Investa Office Fund (IOF):
Investa has moved to adjourn its unitholder meeting convened to consider its Blackstone takeover proposal, in order to weigh up a higher bid from Oxford Properties Group. Oxford lobbed a $5.60 per share offer for IOF, trumping Blackstone’s $5.52 offer. A unitholder meeting had been scheduled for next Monday, but the Investa board today said it would seek judicial advice to adjourn it in order to determine whether the Oxford proposal could become a binding proposal capable of acceptance.
New Hope Corporation Limited (NHC):
New Hope has advised its net profit for the year is anticipated within the range of $248 million and $253m. Ahead of the announcement of its results next week, New Hope said it was likely to record non-regular items after tax of approximately $103m, relating to an impairment from its Colton exploration program. After those items, it said its net profit after tax would be between $145m to $150m. New Hope shares jumped on the news, last up 3.59pc at $3.74.
Poseidon Nickel Ltd (POS):
The corporate watchdog has again locked horns with billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, this time to prevent him potentially taking control of Poseidon Nickel by underwriting a $75 -million equity raising to restart two mines near Kalgoorlie. Yesterday, Poseidon revealed the Australian Securities & -Investments Commission had applied to the Takeovers Panel to stop the company issuing shares on the grounds Mr Forrest’s -private company Squadron -Resources could take control of Poseidon. Squadron, through Petra Capital, has agreed to underwrite a $68.8m entitlement offer. It has an 18 per cent stake in Poseidon, boosted from 12 per cent through a separate $5.8m placement as part of the raising. If no other shareholders participate in the entitlement offer, Squadron’s share of Poseidon would rise to 61 per cent.
Primary Health Care Limited (PRY):
Primary Health Care has been forced to offer a pay rises of up to 20 per cent to the 600 workers in its Victorian pathology division after the Fair Work Commission intervened in an 11-year workplace dispute. Pathology workers who went on strike in August last year have also been awarded significant increases in allowances, and backpay after a decision by the Commission's full bench. The Fair Work Commission terminated industrial action in August 2017 after the Victorian government intervened in the industrial dispute, raising concerns about its threat to community welfare. In a statement to the market on Friday Primary said that before any mitigation strategies the decision had the potential to drag down its underlying net profit in 2018-19 by $4.5 million. "Importantly, the company aims to fully offset the impact through a range of mitigation strategies," Primary said.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH):
Virgin Australia boss John Borghetti has suffered a $2.5 million annual pay cut as a result of failing to achieve key performance measures. The chief executive who has announced his intention to leave the airline by January 2020, pocketed $4.015 million for the 2018 financial year, compared with $6.5m last year. It follows Virgin Australia’s annual loss of $653m, its sixth in succession and $470m down on the previous year. But the underlying before tax profit was $109m, up from a $3.7m loss in 2017. The main difference in Mr Borghetti’s salary this year, was a reduction in the cash bonus from $1.8m to $1.26m, and the loss of any long term incentive payment which last year delivered him an extra $2.19m.
Viva Energy Group Ltd (VEA), AND Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Supermarket giant Woolworths may find it tough convincing shareholders to back the float of its $2 billion petrol station portfolio, when recently listed rival Viva Energy continues to trade below its IPO price. Fund managers will no doubt be using that fact as a bargaining tool when it comes to buying shares in the Woolworths petrol station business, as they will with the low earnings multiple that Caltex now trades at. Woolworths plans to ramp up its fuel convenience retail offering at the same time as Caltex, raising concerns among some of cannibalisation in the market. Woolworths is pitching the petrol station business as one of Australia’s leading fuel and convenience retailing networks, with 534 sites, fuel sales volumes of 3.6 billion litres and annual revenue of $4.8bn.
(Source: AIMS)
AGL Energy has brought forward plans for a $250 million Victorian LNG terminal as it braces for an expected 2021 domestic gas supply crunch, declaring the shortage and associated price hikes could be worse if bad weather restricts growing wind and solar power supply. In documents submitted to the Victorian government this week, AGL said it wanted the Crib Point import terminal, 65km southeast of Melbourne on the Mornington Peninsula, operating in the first half of 2020. AGL also disputed recent Australian Energy Market Operator forecasts that the east coast gas market would be oversupplied throughout next decade.
Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ALL):
Poker machine giant Aristocrat’s foray into digital gaming isn’t growing as quickly as expected according to Credit Suisse. The broker pushed out its sales growth ‘step up’ for Aristocrat’s digital business as its new apps were seemingly constrained by falling Heart of Vegas revenue. Adding to that, it said a lower AUD/USD assumption would drive up D&D and interest expense - downgrading its earnings per share expectations to 6pc for FY18 and 1-4pc for FY19-21. “Our DCF-based target price remains A$35.00 while our downgrades represent a delay in the development of digital revenue rather than a forecast shortfall. Moreover, Aristocrat is likely to be quite under-levered by end-FY19 and value-adding acquisitions in the digital arena may drive the share price,” it said. Aristocrat shares dropped as much as 3pc to $28.2 in trade on Friday, last at $28.63.
Dimerix Ltd (DXB):
Australian drug developer Dimerix is recruiting patients for a kidney disease trial its chief medical officer says puts it on the radar of big pharma and one the company hopes will delay the need for -dialysis. Dimerix is the only Australia-based company running clinical trials in the area of chronic kidney disease and it has launched two new trials to test its treatment, DMX-200, in diabetic kidney disease and a rare condition called Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis. Dr Packham said the potential market in the US was “astronomical”. He said if Dimerix was a US company its market cap — purely on the basis of the previous trial results on diabetics — would be 10 times higher. He said a positive result from the new trial would be significant for the company, which he said would be viewed as a takeover target by large pharmaceutical companies.
Investa Office Fund (IOF):
Investa has moved to adjourn its unitholder meeting convened to consider its Blackstone takeover proposal, in order to weigh up a higher bid from Oxford Properties Group. Oxford lobbed a $5.60 per share offer for IOF, trumping Blackstone’s $5.52 offer. A unitholder meeting had been scheduled for next Monday, but the Investa board today said it would seek judicial advice to adjourn it in order to determine whether the Oxford proposal could become a binding proposal capable of acceptance.
New Hope Corporation Limited (NHC):
New Hope has advised its net profit for the year is anticipated within the range of $248 million and $253m. Ahead of the announcement of its results next week, New Hope said it was likely to record non-regular items after tax of approximately $103m, relating to an impairment from its Colton exploration program. After those items, it said its net profit after tax would be between $145m to $150m. New Hope shares jumped on the news, last up 3.59pc at $3.74.
Poseidon Nickel Ltd (POS):
The corporate watchdog has again locked horns with billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest, this time to prevent him potentially taking control of Poseidon Nickel by underwriting a $75 -million equity raising to restart two mines near Kalgoorlie. Yesterday, Poseidon revealed the Australian Securities & -Investments Commission had applied to the Takeovers Panel to stop the company issuing shares on the grounds Mr Forrest’s -private company Squadron -Resources could take control of Poseidon. Squadron, through Petra Capital, has agreed to underwrite a $68.8m entitlement offer. It has an 18 per cent stake in Poseidon, boosted from 12 per cent through a separate $5.8m placement as part of the raising. If no other shareholders participate in the entitlement offer, Squadron’s share of Poseidon would rise to 61 per cent.
Primary Health Care Limited (PRY):
Primary Health Care has been forced to offer a pay rises of up to 20 per cent to the 600 workers in its Victorian pathology division after the Fair Work Commission intervened in an 11-year workplace dispute. Pathology workers who went on strike in August last year have also been awarded significant increases in allowances, and backpay after a decision by the Commission's full bench. The Fair Work Commission terminated industrial action in August 2017 after the Victorian government intervened in the industrial dispute, raising concerns about its threat to community welfare. In a statement to the market on Friday Primary said that before any mitigation strategies the decision had the potential to drag down its underlying net profit in 2018-19 by $4.5 million. "Importantly, the company aims to fully offset the impact through a range of mitigation strategies," Primary said.
Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd (VAH):
Virgin Australia boss John Borghetti has suffered a $2.5 million annual pay cut as a result of failing to achieve key performance measures. The chief executive who has announced his intention to leave the airline by January 2020, pocketed $4.015 million for the 2018 financial year, compared with $6.5m last year. It follows Virgin Australia’s annual loss of $653m, its sixth in succession and $470m down on the previous year. But the underlying before tax profit was $109m, up from a $3.7m loss in 2017. The main difference in Mr Borghetti’s salary this year, was a reduction in the cash bonus from $1.8m to $1.26m, and the loss of any long term incentive payment which last year delivered him an extra $2.19m.
Viva Energy Group Ltd (VEA), AND Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Supermarket giant Woolworths may find it tough convincing shareholders to back the float of its $2 billion petrol station portfolio, when recently listed rival Viva Energy continues to trade below its IPO price. Fund managers will no doubt be using that fact as a bargaining tool when it comes to buying shares in the Woolworths petrol station business, as they will with the low earnings multiple that Caltex now trades at. Woolworths plans to ramp up its fuel convenience retail offering at the same time as Caltex, raising concerns among some of cannibalisation in the market. Woolworths is pitching the petrol station business as one of Australia’s leading fuel and convenience retailing networks, with 534 sites, fuel sales volumes of 3.6 billion litres and annual revenue of $4.8bn.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments