Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ):
ANZ has today announced changes to the contract for sale of its Pensions and Investments business to IOOF, allowing it more time for the P&I independent trustee to separately consider the transfer of the business. It comes as the transaction, first announced in October 2017, came under scrutiny following APRA regulatory action against IOOF in December. “The contract amendment allows us to continue the work to separate our wealth businesses, while also allowing the P&I Independent Trustee appropriate time to consider its consent to that acquisition,” ANZ deputy chief Alexis George said. The sale of its OnePath Life to Zurich Financial Services Australia can happen independently of the IOOF deal and is expected in the first half of this year.
Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX):
Caltex Australia has appointed former Rio Tinto exec Matthew Halliday as chief financial officer after the resignation of Simon Hepworth after 23 years with the company. Mr Halliday has been lured from a 20-year career with Rio, where he held the role of CFO in several divisions including Energy, Coal and most recently Aluminium where he was based in Montreal, Canada. “Matthew has significant executive experience managing complex, global and transformative finance and commercial issues. His experience in M&A, capital management, joint ventures and transformation sets him up well to make a positive contribution to the delivery of the Caltex strategy,” Caltex chief Julian Segal said. The new exec will work with incumbent Mr Hepworth through a transition phase and commence in the role on April 15.
Clearview Wealth Ltd (CVW):
ClearView Wealth non-executive director David Brown has had a criminal fraud charge against him dropped by a court in Papua New Guinea. In an ASX statement on Monday, ClearView (CVW) said the charge by the PNG National Fraud & AntiCorruption Directorate “was dismissed” by the Waigani District Court. Mr Brown was arrested last year and charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud by the National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate. ClearView’s shares have slumped 39 per cent in the past 12 months to 90c, weighed on by revelations made during the royal commission and a decision by Japan’s Sony Life not to pursue the acquisition of a majority stake in the company.
Hub24 Ltd (HUB):
Fresh from hitting the $10 billion funds under administration milestone, investment and super platform HUB24 has posted a record $1.5 billion in net inflows for the December quarter. In a note to the market, HUB24 said it was the highest quarter to date, up 167.4pc on the previous corresponding period, to put it in second place overall for quarterly net flows ahead of the incumbents, mostly banks. Just last week the group announced it had surged to $10 billion funds under administration as customers move away from the big banks and AMP in the wake of the financial services royal commission. HUB last traded at $12.27.
Mirrabooka Investments Ltd (MIR), Clearview Wealth Ltd (CVW):
Listed investment company Mirrabooka has posted a 16.2 per cent slide in its December half profit as surging values for small and medium cap stocks at the beginning of the new financial year eventually crumbled to turn sharply negative. The first major listed investment company to report its earnings for the upcoming half-year reporting season, Mirrabooka said its equities portfolio was down 6.6 per cent for the period as it sold off or trimmed holdings where it believed valuations were excessive while it also added new stocks to its portfolio.As a consequence of the Royal Commission and the collapse of insurer ClearView Wealth’s share price it was removed from the Mirrabooka portfolio.
Navitas Ltd (NVT):
Navitas shares have jumped as much as 15.3 per cent in early trading after a consortium of suitors including former director Rod Jones and BGH Capital lobbed a sweetened takeover bid this morning. The board of the education group has unanimously recommended shareholders accept the $5.825 per share offer, trumping the previous offer of $5.50 rejected in November. Shares are trading up 8.37 per cent to $5.31 - and as high as $5.65.
Reject Shop Ltd (TRS):
Billionaire packaging mogul Raphael Geminder has hit back at his takeover target The Reject Shop following its trading update yesterday which reconfirmed its already lowered profit outlook and stated that sales had held up during Christmas, demanding the struggling retailer disclose its actual sales performance for the holiday period. Allensford, the investment vehicle Mr Geminder is using for his $78 million bid for The Reject Shop, this morning said today that Monday’s trading update provided a first half net profit after tax figure in isolation, was incomplete and had no detail on first half sales or costs. “Furthermore, as stated in TRS’s Target’s Statement released in December 2018, the first half NPAT guidance did not make an allowance for any potential asset impairment. In order for TRS shareholders to be fully informed when making a decision in relation to Allensford’s offer, it is imperative for the TRS board to disclose whether an asset impairment is imminent and the extent of any such impairment.”
WAM Capital Ltd (WAM):
Wilson Asset Management has flagged a difficult year ahead, as the fund manager booked a slide in gross assets across its listed investment companies for the month of December amid waning market sentiment and heightened volatility. Given the cautious outlook, the company’s chair and chief investment officer Geoff Wilson said all of its listed investment companies are holding high levels of cash to manage risk and ensure liquidity. The WAM Capital investment portfolio, which focusses on small to mid-cap Australian companies, decreased 3.7 per cent in December with gross assets dropping to $1.24 billion, down from $1.31bn in November. The portfolio was down 2 per cent for the financial year to date as at December 31. WAM last at $2.23.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), Gale Pacific Limited (GAP):
The first cracks in consumer spending could be starting to emerge after Wesfarmers downgraded Kmart’s sales forecast, with its women’s apparel category particularly squeezed over Christmas. The surprise sales and profit warning from Wesfarmers yesterday for both Kmart and Target comes after outdoor adventure wear and equipment retailer Kathmandu became the first to confess that trading was subdued over the summer. Consumer durables group Gale Pacific, which owns a popular range of shade cloths and gazebos, also admitted to a slump in sales.
(Source: AIMS)
ANZ has today announced changes to the contract for sale of its Pensions and Investments business to IOOF, allowing it more time for the P&I independent trustee to separately consider the transfer of the business. It comes as the transaction, first announced in October 2017, came under scrutiny following APRA regulatory action against IOOF in December. “The contract amendment allows us to continue the work to separate our wealth businesses, while also allowing the P&I Independent Trustee appropriate time to consider its consent to that acquisition,” ANZ deputy chief Alexis George said. The sale of its OnePath Life to Zurich Financial Services Australia can happen independently of the IOOF deal and is expected in the first half of this year.
Caltex Australia Ltd (CTX):
Caltex Australia has appointed former Rio Tinto exec Matthew Halliday as chief financial officer after the resignation of Simon Hepworth after 23 years with the company. Mr Halliday has been lured from a 20-year career with Rio, where he held the role of CFO in several divisions including Energy, Coal and most recently Aluminium where he was based in Montreal, Canada. “Matthew has significant executive experience managing complex, global and transformative finance and commercial issues. His experience in M&A, capital management, joint ventures and transformation sets him up well to make a positive contribution to the delivery of the Caltex strategy,” Caltex chief Julian Segal said. The new exec will work with incumbent Mr Hepworth through a transition phase and commence in the role on April 15.
Clearview Wealth Ltd (CVW):
ClearView Wealth non-executive director David Brown has had a criminal fraud charge against him dropped by a court in Papua New Guinea. In an ASX statement on Monday, ClearView (CVW) said the charge by the PNG National Fraud & AntiCorruption Directorate “was dismissed” by the Waigani District Court. Mr Brown was arrested last year and charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud by the National Fraud & Anti-Corruption Directorate. ClearView’s shares have slumped 39 per cent in the past 12 months to 90c, weighed on by revelations made during the royal commission and a decision by Japan’s Sony Life not to pursue the acquisition of a majority stake in the company.
Hub24 Ltd (HUB):
Fresh from hitting the $10 billion funds under administration milestone, investment and super platform HUB24 has posted a record $1.5 billion in net inflows for the December quarter. In a note to the market, HUB24 said it was the highest quarter to date, up 167.4pc on the previous corresponding period, to put it in second place overall for quarterly net flows ahead of the incumbents, mostly banks. Just last week the group announced it had surged to $10 billion funds under administration as customers move away from the big banks and AMP in the wake of the financial services royal commission. HUB last traded at $12.27.
Mirrabooka Investments Ltd (MIR), Clearview Wealth Ltd (CVW):
Listed investment company Mirrabooka has posted a 16.2 per cent slide in its December half profit as surging values for small and medium cap stocks at the beginning of the new financial year eventually crumbled to turn sharply negative. The first major listed investment company to report its earnings for the upcoming half-year reporting season, Mirrabooka said its equities portfolio was down 6.6 per cent for the period as it sold off or trimmed holdings where it believed valuations were excessive while it also added new stocks to its portfolio.As a consequence of the Royal Commission and the collapse of insurer ClearView Wealth’s share price it was removed from the Mirrabooka portfolio.
Navitas Ltd (NVT):
Navitas shares have jumped as much as 15.3 per cent in early trading after a consortium of suitors including former director Rod Jones and BGH Capital lobbed a sweetened takeover bid this morning. The board of the education group has unanimously recommended shareholders accept the $5.825 per share offer, trumping the previous offer of $5.50 rejected in November. Shares are trading up 8.37 per cent to $5.31 - and as high as $5.65.
Reject Shop Ltd (TRS):
Billionaire packaging mogul Raphael Geminder has hit back at his takeover target The Reject Shop following its trading update yesterday which reconfirmed its already lowered profit outlook and stated that sales had held up during Christmas, demanding the struggling retailer disclose its actual sales performance for the holiday period. Allensford, the investment vehicle Mr Geminder is using for his $78 million bid for The Reject Shop, this morning said today that Monday’s trading update provided a first half net profit after tax figure in isolation, was incomplete and had no detail on first half sales or costs. “Furthermore, as stated in TRS’s Target’s Statement released in December 2018, the first half NPAT guidance did not make an allowance for any potential asset impairment. In order for TRS shareholders to be fully informed when making a decision in relation to Allensford’s offer, it is imperative for the TRS board to disclose whether an asset impairment is imminent and the extent of any such impairment.”
WAM Capital Ltd (WAM):
Wilson Asset Management has flagged a difficult year ahead, as the fund manager booked a slide in gross assets across its listed investment companies for the month of December amid waning market sentiment and heightened volatility. Given the cautious outlook, the company’s chair and chief investment officer Geoff Wilson said all of its listed investment companies are holding high levels of cash to manage risk and ensure liquidity. The WAM Capital investment portfolio, which focusses on small to mid-cap Australian companies, decreased 3.7 per cent in December with gross assets dropping to $1.24 billion, down from $1.31bn in November. The portfolio was down 2 per cent for the financial year to date as at December 31. WAM last at $2.23.
Wesfarmers Ltd (WES), Gale Pacific Limited (GAP):
The first cracks in consumer spending could be starting to emerge after Wesfarmers downgraded Kmart’s sales forecast, with its women’s apparel category particularly squeezed over Christmas. The surprise sales and profit warning from Wesfarmers yesterday for both Kmart and Target comes after outdoor adventure wear and equipment retailer Kathmandu became the first to confess that trading was subdued over the summer. Consumer durables group Gale Pacific, which owns a popular range of shade cloths and gazebos, also admitted to a slump in sales.
(Source: AIMS)
Latest comments