Amcor Limited (AMC):
Packaging giant Amcor is being forced by European competition regulators to sell three healthcare packaging plants operated by Bemis Company in the United Kingdom and Ireland to gain clearance for the proposed $9 billion merger of the two groups. Amcor has also foreshadowed potential divestments in the United States, where both companies have a large footprint of packaging plants, to satisfy US competition regulators. There may also be some divestments in Brazil. But the company is adamant that divestments across Europe, the US and potentially Brazil will not affect the $US180 million ($255 million) in cost synergies that Amcor is pursuing by the end of the third year. It argues the sales that will be lost from the combined company are an "immaterial proportion" of the total sales.
Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (AAC):
Australian Agricultural Company has warned that 80,000 of its Queensland cattle are on land impacted by “unprecedented” flooding with “extreme” losses forecast. The Australian-listed company revealed yesterday that the heavy rain and severe flooding throughout northwestern Queensland had severely impacted four of its 21 properties. Shares in Australia’s oldest and biggest cattle company slumped 12.2 per cent to 93 cents yesterday on news of the Queensland flood damage. AACo warned investors that the impact of the floods, combined with the impact of drought conditions on its properties in southwestern Queensland and the Barkly in the Northern Territory — where the majority of its stations are located — would have a material impact on its fiscal 2019 earnings.
Blue Sky Alternative Investments Ltd (BLA):
Blue Sky Alternative Investments says it expects to deliver a first-half before tax loss of between $28 million and $32m when it releases its first half results later this month. That figure would include about $14m in valuation adjustments and impairments, $4m to cover the reimbursement of investment trusts and about $8m in restructuring costs — up slightly from the $6m forecast in June. Blue Sky was thrown into the spotlight in March, when California-based short-seller Glaucus Research released a scathing report claiming the company had overstated the performance of investments, along with other things. Blue Sky denied the allegations. Still, shares in the company have lost more than 95 per cent of their value since March last year, when the share price was around $11.45 apiece.
Challenger Ltd (CGF):
Challenger Financial, Australia’s largest annuity provider, has blamed political uncertainty, disruption to the financial advice industry and market volatility for a plunge in first half profit. Net profit after tax for the six months through December plummeted 97 per cent to $6.1 million, down from $195.4m in the previous corresponding period. Normalised net profit before tax, which strips out investment experience and significant items, was 2 per cent lower at $270m, in line with the company’s January guidance. Shares in the company plunged more than 6 per cent in early trade before bouncing back to be trading 0.1 per cent higher at $7.84 apiece by 10.45am (AEDT).
Cooper Energy Ltd. (COE):
Cooper Energy says it is increasingly confident it will deliver its $355 million Sole gas project under budget ahead of what it says will be a transformational year for the company. Adelaide-based Cooper yesterday said Sole, in Victoria’s Gippsland Basin, was 88 per cent complete and is expected to produce its first gas in June, ahead of its first schedule sales in July. Managing director David Maxwell said the company remained in negotiations with existing and new customers over 18 petajoules of gas production expected out of Sole between July 2019 and June 2020. The update came as Cooper announced a net loss after tax of $12.6 million for the first half. Shares in Cooper closed 1 per cent higher to 50c each yesterday, its highest close in five years.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group maintained its profit guidance in a trading update on Tuesday, highlighting the improved performance of its markets-facing businesses and the conclusion of asset sales. "Macquarie currently expects an increase of up to 15 per cent in the FY19 result compared with the FY18 result," the company said in an ASX statement. "Trading conditions were satisfactory with significant realisations across the group in the December 2018 quarter," chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake said. The commodities and global markets business and the Macquarie Capital business are both "significantly up" for the December 2018 quarter versus December 2017. Macquarie Capital has sold its 21.8 per cent interest in Quadrant Energy, and its 23.9 per cent interest in PEXA, or the online property transfer company Property Exchange Australia.
Reckon Limited (RKN):
Accounting software player Reckon’s boss Sam Allert says the company can still carve out a piece of the market, despite the dominance of Xerox, a reinvigorated MYOB and the growing presence of US giant Intuit. Reckon, which missed out on selling its accounting practice software (APS) to MYOB last year, has been written off by many in the market as a viable player market. However, Mr Allert said affordability is Reckon’s key advantage in the market. The company today posted a 2 per cent lift in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $8.8 million for the full year to December 31. Reckon shares have fallen sharply over the last 12 months from $1.49 a share to 66 cents.
SEEK Limited (SEK):
Online jobs classifieds and services business SEEK has acquired graduate job marketplace GradConnection in a move to target young jobseekers finishing up their education. The acquisition, to be announced on Tuesday, will have SEEK buy 100 per cent of the Sydney-based start-up for an undisclosed sum. The platform helps link student and graduates with job opportunities as they come into the workforce. GradConnection has expanded beyond Australia in Asia, North America and Britain. It has more than 350 hirers and more than 325,000 graduate and alumni profiles. SEEK, which will report its half-year results on February 27, hopes to ramp up GradConnection's business by combining it with its dominant position in the Australia market in employment classifieds and its overseas investments.
Spark Infrastructure Group (SKI):
Spark Infrastructure has dismayed investors by cutting its dividend forecast after an adverse court decision on tax payable by its Victorian electricity networks business that also squarely hits Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Group. Spark chief executive Rick Francis said he was "deeply disappointed" with the Federal Court ruling, which he said could affect the broader energy distribution sector. The decision last Thursday prompted a $270 million write-down in Spark's South Australian electricity distribution business, which, like Victoria Power Networks, is 51 per cent owned by Cheung Kong. Shares in Spark lost 6.4 per cent yesterday, their biggest one-day drop for more than three years. The 16¢ decline to $2.35 reversed about half of January's strong gains. "In our view, the biggest negative from the announcement was the downgrade to distribution guidance," said JPMorgan energy analyst Mark Busuttil.
Transurban Group (TCL):
Transurban said tunnelling had been completed on its troubled NorthConnex motorway project as the tollroad operator reported a 56 per cent fall in interim net profit to $145 million. Net profits were hurt by some $291 million of stamp duty and integration costs associated with Transurban's $9.3 billion acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Sydney motorway WestConnex in 2018, foreign exchange losses and lower US income tax benefits. Proportional earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which reflect income from Transurban's stakes in its tollroad assets, rose 9.8 per cent to $1 billion due to increased traffic and higher toll fares.
(Source: AIMS)
Packaging giant Amcor is being forced by European competition regulators to sell three healthcare packaging plants operated by Bemis Company in the United Kingdom and Ireland to gain clearance for the proposed $9 billion merger of the two groups. Amcor has also foreshadowed potential divestments in the United States, where both companies have a large footprint of packaging plants, to satisfy US competition regulators. There may also be some divestments in Brazil. But the company is adamant that divestments across Europe, the US and potentially Brazil will not affect the $US180 million ($255 million) in cost synergies that Amcor is pursuing by the end of the third year. It argues the sales that will be lost from the combined company are an "immaterial proportion" of the total sales.
Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (AAC):
Australian Agricultural Company has warned that 80,000 of its Queensland cattle are on land impacted by “unprecedented” flooding with “extreme” losses forecast. The Australian-listed company revealed yesterday that the heavy rain and severe flooding throughout northwestern Queensland had severely impacted four of its 21 properties. Shares in Australia’s oldest and biggest cattle company slumped 12.2 per cent to 93 cents yesterday on news of the Queensland flood damage. AACo warned investors that the impact of the floods, combined with the impact of drought conditions on its properties in southwestern Queensland and the Barkly in the Northern Territory — where the majority of its stations are located — would have a material impact on its fiscal 2019 earnings.
Blue Sky Alternative Investments Ltd (BLA):
Blue Sky Alternative Investments says it expects to deliver a first-half before tax loss of between $28 million and $32m when it releases its first half results later this month. That figure would include about $14m in valuation adjustments and impairments, $4m to cover the reimbursement of investment trusts and about $8m in restructuring costs — up slightly from the $6m forecast in June. Blue Sky was thrown into the spotlight in March, when California-based short-seller Glaucus Research released a scathing report claiming the company had overstated the performance of investments, along with other things. Blue Sky denied the allegations. Still, shares in the company have lost more than 95 per cent of their value since March last year, when the share price was around $11.45 apiece.
Challenger Ltd (CGF):
Challenger Financial, Australia’s largest annuity provider, has blamed political uncertainty, disruption to the financial advice industry and market volatility for a plunge in first half profit. Net profit after tax for the six months through December plummeted 97 per cent to $6.1 million, down from $195.4m in the previous corresponding period. Normalised net profit before tax, which strips out investment experience and significant items, was 2 per cent lower at $270m, in line with the company’s January guidance. Shares in the company plunged more than 6 per cent in early trade before bouncing back to be trading 0.1 per cent higher at $7.84 apiece by 10.45am (AEDT).
Cooper Energy Ltd. (COE):
Cooper Energy says it is increasingly confident it will deliver its $355 million Sole gas project under budget ahead of what it says will be a transformational year for the company. Adelaide-based Cooper yesterday said Sole, in Victoria’s Gippsland Basin, was 88 per cent complete and is expected to produce its first gas in June, ahead of its first schedule sales in July. Managing director David Maxwell said the company remained in negotiations with existing and new customers over 18 petajoules of gas production expected out of Sole between July 2019 and June 2020. The update came as Cooper announced a net loss after tax of $12.6 million for the first half. Shares in Cooper closed 1 per cent higher to 50c each yesterday, its highest close in five years.
Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG):
Macquarie Group maintained its profit guidance in a trading update on Tuesday, highlighting the improved performance of its markets-facing businesses and the conclusion of asset sales. "Macquarie currently expects an increase of up to 15 per cent in the FY19 result compared with the FY18 result," the company said in an ASX statement. "Trading conditions were satisfactory with significant realisations across the group in the December 2018 quarter," chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake said. The commodities and global markets business and the Macquarie Capital business are both "significantly up" for the December 2018 quarter versus December 2017. Macquarie Capital has sold its 21.8 per cent interest in Quadrant Energy, and its 23.9 per cent interest in PEXA, or the online property transfer company Property Exchange Australia.
Reckon Limited (RKN):
Accounting software player Reckon’s boss Sam Allert says the company can still carve out a piece of the market, despite the dominance of Xerox, a reinvigorated MYOB and the growing presence of US giant Intuit. Reckon, which missed out on selling its accounting practice software (APS) to MYOB last year, has been written off by many in the market as a viable player market. However, Mr Allert said affordability is Reckon’s key advantage in the market. The company today posted a 2 per cent lift in net profit after tax (NPAT) to $8.8 million for the full year to December 31. Reckon shares have fallen sharply over the last 12 months from $1.49 a share to 66 cents.
SEEK Limited (SEK):
Online jobs classifieds and services business SEEK has acquired graduate job marketplace GradConnection in a move to target young jobseekers finishing up their education. The acquisition, to be announced on Tuesday, will have SEEK buy 100 per cent of the Sydney-based start-up for an undisclosed sum. The platform helps link student and graduates with job opportunities as they come into the workforce. GradConnection has expanded beyond Australia in Asia, North America and Britain. It has more than 350 hirers and more than 325,000 graduate and alumni profiles. SEEK, which will report its half-year results on February 27, hopes to ramp up GradConnection's business by combining it with its dominant position in the Australia market in employment classifieds and its overseas investments.
Spark Infrastructure Group (SKI):
Spark Infrastructure has dismayed investors by cutting its dividend forecast after an adverse court decision on tax payable by its Victorian electricity networks business that also squarely hits Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Group. Spark chief executive Rick Francis said he was "deeply disappointed" with the Federal Court ruling, which he said could affect the broader energy distribution sector. The decision last Thursday prompted a $270 million write-down in Spark's South Australian electricity distribution business, which, like Victoria Power Networks, is 51 per cent owned by Cheung Kong. Shares in Spark lost 6.4 per cent yesterday, their biggest one-day drop for more than three years. The 16¢ decline to $2.35 reversed about half of January's strong gains. "In our view, the biggest negative from the announcement was the downgrade to distribution guidance," said JPMorgan energy analyst Mark Busuttil.
Transurban Group (TCL):
Transurban said tunnelling had been completed on its troubled NorthConnex motorway project as the tollroad operator reported a 56 per cent fall in interim net profit to $145 million. Net profits were hurt by some $291 million of stamp duty and integration costs associated with Transurban's $9.3 billion acquisition of a 51 per cent stake in Sydney motorway WestConnex in 2018, foreign exchange losses and lower US income tax benefits. Proportional earnings before interest taxation depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which reflect income from Transurban's stakes in its tollroad assets, rose 9.8 per cent to $1 billion due to increased traffic and higher toll fares.
(Source: AIMS)
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