AMP Limited (AMP):
AMP's bottom line will be hit by as much as $30 million a year by a federal government bill that requires the wealth giant to hand over 370,000 superannuation accounts with low balances to the tax office. This Bill amends the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to prevent trustees of superannuation funds from charging certain fees and costs exceeding 3% of the balance of a MySuper or choice product annually where the balance of the account is below $6000. AMP said on Monday the bill was estimated to cost its operating earnings approximately $10 million in 2019. From 2020, it will reduce AMP's operating earnings by up to $30 million. The Protecting Your Superannuation Package was passed in the Senate last week, and if it’s approved by the House of Representatives, fees for low balance accounts would be reduced and $6 billion in lost super would be returned.
Bank of Queensland Limited (BOQ):
Bank of Queensland has warned of a fall in first-half earnings as it continued to face pressure in fees, trading, insurance and other non-interest income. The regional Australian lender (BOQ) said Monday it expected cash earnings, the measure tracked by banks in Australia and which they use to calculate dividend payouts, would be between $165 million and $170m in the six months through this month. That would mark a fall of as much as 9.3 per cent on earnings of $182m a year earlier. BOQ said Monday it expected cash earnings, the measure tracked by banks in Australia and which they use to calculate dividend payouts, would be between $165 million and $170m in the six months through this month. That would mark a fall of as much as 9.3 per cent on earnings of $182m a year earlier. The bank said its capital position remains strong and underlying asset quality trends across its portfolio are sound. However, it cautioned market conditions were expected to remain challenging in the second half of the financial year, with regulatory costs increasing.
Bingo Industries Ltd (BIN):
Waste management group Bingo Industries has downgraded its full-year profit forecast by up to 20 per cent. The company warned that a much faster decline in the apartment construction market has cut volumes in its building and demolition collections business, while a decision to delay prices rises to customers will also chew into forecast profits. Bingo chief executive Daniel Tartak said the profit downgrade was "disappointing" but the group was still adhering to its broad five-year strategy. Investors dumped the stock on early trading. It slumped 46 per cent to a new all-time low of $1.25. It had hit a 12-month high of $3.20 in August. The company said that underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was now expected to be flat compared with last year. Bingo has previously forecast underlying EBITDA growth in the range of 15 to 20 per cent.
Brambles Limited (BXB):
Logistics company Brambles has spent an extra $15 million on pallets for its United Kingdom business to try and prepare for the uncertainties around transportation of goods under the volatile Brexit process, with 10 per cent of its total European volumes impacted by cross-border flows. Brambles chief executive Graham Chipchase said the company had been undertaking extensive scenario planning and had "mitigating strategies" in place for all the possible practical outcomes using a special "Brexit taskforce". Shares in Brambles have dipped 3.4 per cent to a 2-week low of $10.86 after its results, but seem to be bouncing back.
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (CCL):
Coca-Cola Amatil has written down the value of fruit and vegetable processor SPC by another $146.9 million, citing the uncertain outcome of the current sale process. The latest write-down, which takes SPC's book value to zero, follows a $172 million write-down in 2016, a $404 million write-down in 2014, $146 million in restructuring charges and asset write-downs in 2013 and a $80.5 million charge in 2012. CCA managing director Alison Watkins said on Monday the bottler had received strong interest in SPC and a number of non-binding indicative offers had been made from Australian and overseas parties. Several parties have toured SPC's manufacturing sites in Shepparton and taken part in management presentations.
GWA Group Ltd (GWA):
Fixtures and fittings supplier GWA Group has flagged a slowdown in apartment construction but said growth is expected in the commercial new build and renovation sector. Unveiling a first half normalised net profit after tax up 7.3 per cent to $26.6 million, GWA said it expects market conditions to be similar in the second half. While new residential construction is expected to slow, especially multi-residential, the company said a significant pipeline of work remains. Still, the commercial new build and renovation sector was expected to lift and GWA’s commercial forward order book remained solid.
McGrath Ltd (MEA):
McGrath has continued to bleed losses after a year of recovery after posting an 18 per cent half-year revenue decline to $42.5 million, but managed to slow its profit erosion from an absence of impairments this year. Both its company-owned and franchise agencies suffered weak sales from the housing downturn as well as a severe drop in settlement sales across the markets it operated in. Its main performance measurement, earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) widened to a loss of $5.8 million from a loss of $52,000 in the same corresponding period a year ago. McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas said sales conditions were worsened by "a significant reduction in transaction volumes with settled sales for the real estate sector". Settlement volumes were down 13.2 per cent nationally, compared to the last corresponding period.
NIB Holdings Limited (NHF):
Health insurer NIB has posted a boost in profit and revenue but warns of a weaker second half as its head Mark Fitzgibbon argues for insurers to be allowed to cover members outside hospital settings. The company today announced a 18.6 per cent increase in underlying operating profit to $114.3 million. Underlying revenue increased 10.9 per cent to $1.2 billion, with net profit after tax up 4.8 per cent to $74.3m. Chief of health insurer NIB Mark Fitzgibbon said the private health insurance industry was facing a “fascinating” period ahead, especially with a federal election imminent.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac Bank has posted unaudited first quarter cash earnings of $2.04 billion, providing an unexpected update as it prepares to tap funding markets in the US. That compares to the quarterly average of its second half of 2018 of $1.91 billion or $2.05 billion, before remediation charges. Sources suggested the update was made to allow Westpac to tap favourable funding markets in the US. This could suggest an upcoming bond issuance. Westpac will announce its interim earnings on May 6. Statutory net profit for the three months ended December 31 came in at $1.95 billion.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Supermarket chain Woolworths will pull dollar-litre milk off its shelves around the country in support of a more sustainable Australian dairy industry. The move follows heavy criticism of Coles and Woolworths for selling fresh milk for $1 a litre, which critics said was hurting drought-affected farmers. From tomorrow, Woolworths will sell its own branded two and three litre fresh milk for $2.20 and $3.30 respectively. Both supermarkets lifted the price of their three-litre generic milk $3.30 from $3, with the extra money given to drought-stricken producers. Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said that as the price change went national, it would deliver higher milk prices to more than 450 Australian dairy farmers supplying into Woolworths branded fresh milk.
Santos Ltd (STO):
Santos says it will streamline operations in northern Australia to take a 50-50 position with Beach Energy across four gas exploration sites in the Bonaparte Basin north-west and south-west of Darwin. "This alignment of equity and operatorship will allow for a more strategic approach to the next phase of exploration in the region," chief executive Kevin Gallagher said. "The next step for these permits is to evaluate new and existing seismic data to build inventory and define potential targets for drilling within the next few years".
(Source: AIMS)
AMP's bottom line will be hit by as much as $30 million a year by a federal government bill that requires the wealth giant to hand over 370,000 superannuation accounts with low balances to the tax office. This Bill amends the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 to prevent trustees of superannuation funds from charging certain fees and costs exceeding 3% of the balance of a MySuper or choice product annually where the balance of the account is below $6000. AMP said on Monday the bill was estimated to cost its operating earnings approximately $10 million in 2019. From 2020, it will reduce AMP's operating earnings by up to $30 million. The Protecting Your Superannuation Package was passed in the Senate last week, and if it’s approved by the House of Representatives, fees for low balance accounts would be reduced and $6 billion in lost super would be returned.
Bank of Queensland Limited (BOQ):
Bank of Queensland has warned of a fall in first-half earnings as it continued to face pressure in fees, trading, insurance and other non-interest income. The regional Australian lender (BOQ) said Monday it expected cash earnings, the measure tracked by banks in Australia and which they use to calculate dividend payouts, would be between $165 million and $170m in the six months through this month. That would mark a fall of as much as 9.3 per cent on earnings of $182m a year earlier. BOQ said Monday it expected cash earnings, the measure tracked by banks in Australia and which they use to calculate dividend payouts, would be between $165 million and $170m in the six months through this month. That would mark a fall of as much as 9.3 per cent on earnings of $182m a year earlier. The bank said its capital position remains strong and underlying asset quality trends across its portfolio are sound. However, it cautioned market conditions were expected to remain challenging in the second half of the financial year, with regulatory costs increasing.
Bingo Industries Ltd (BIN):
Waste management group Bingo Industries has downgraded its full-year profit forecast by up to 20 per cent. The company warned that a much faster decline in the apartment construction market has cut volumes in its building and demolition collections business, while a decision to delay prices rises to customers will also chew into forecast profits. Bingo chief executive Daniel Tartak said the profit downgrade was "disappointing" but the group was still adhering to its broad five-year strategy. Investors dumped the stock on early trading. It slumped 46 per cent to a new all-time low of $1.25. It had hit a 12-month high of $3.20 in August. The company said that underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation was now expected to be flat compared with last year. Bingo has previously forecast underlying EBITDA growth in the range of 15 to 20 per cent.
Brambles Limited (BXB):
Logistics company Brambles has spent an extra $15 million on pallets for its United Kingdom business to try and prepare for the uncertainties around transportation of goods under the volatile Brexit process, with 10 per cent of its total European volumes impacted by cross-border flows. Brambles chief executive Graham Chipchase said the company had been undertaking extensive scenario planning and had "mitigating strategies" in place for all the possible practical outcomes using a special "Brexit taskforce". Shares in Brambles have dipped 3.4 per cent to a 2-week low of $10.86 after its results, but seem to be bouncing back.
Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (CCL):
Coca-Cola Amatil has written down the value of fruit and vegetable processor SPC by another $146.9 million, citing the uncertain outcome of the current sale process. The latest write-down, which takes SPC's book value to zero, follows a $172 million write-down in 2016, a $404 million write-down in 2014, $146 million in restructuring charges and asset write-downs in 2013 and a $80.5 million charge in 2012. CCA managing director Alison Watkins said on Monday the bottler had received strong interest in SPC and a number of non-binding indicative offers had been made from Australian and overseas parties. Several parties have toured SPC's manufacturing sites in Shepparton and taken part in management presentations.
GWA Group Ltd (GWA):
Fixtures and fittings supplier GWA Group has flagged a slowdown in apartment construction but said growth is expected in the commercial new build and renovation sector. Unveiling a first half normalised net profit after tax up 7.3 per cent to $26.6 million, GWA said it expects market conditions to be similar in the second half. While new residential construction is expected to slow, especially multi-residential, the company said a significant pipeline of work remains. Still, the commercial new build and renovation sector was expected to lift and GWA’s commercial forward order book remained solid.
McGrath Ltd (MEA):
McGrath has continued to bleed losses after a year of recovery after posting an 18 per cent half-year revenue decline to $42.5 million, but managed to slow its profit erosion from an absence of impairments this year. Both its company-owned and franchise agencies suffered weak sales from the housing downturn as well as a severe drop in settlement sales across the markets it operated in. Its main performance measurement, earnings before interest tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) widened to a loss of $5.8 million from a loss of $52,000 in the same corresponding period a year ago. McGrath chief executive Geoff Lucas said sales conditions were worsened by "a significant reduction in transaction volumes with settled sales for the real estate sector". Settlement volumes were down 13.2 per cent nationally, compared to the last corresponding period.
NIB Holdings Limited (NHF):
Health insurer NIB has posted a boost in profit and revenue but warns of a weaker second half as its head Mark Fitzgibbon argues for insurers to be allowed to cover members outside hospital settings. The company today announced a 18.6 per cent increase in underlying operating profit to $114.3 million. Underlying revenue increased 10.9 per cent to $1.2 billion, with net profit after tax up 4.8 per cent to $74.3m. Chief of health insurer NIB Mark Fitzgibbon said the private health insurance industry was facing a “fascinating” period ahead, especially with a federal election imminent.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac Bank has posted unaudited first quarter cash earnings of $2.04 billion, providing an unexpected update as it prepares to tap funding markets in the US. That compares to the quarterly average of its second half of 2018 of $1.91 billion or $2.05 billion, before remediation charges. Sources suggested the update was made to allow Westpac to tap favourable funding markets in the US. This could suggest an upcoming bond issuance. Westpac will announce its interim earnings on May 6. Statutory net profit for the three months ended December 31 came in at $1.95 billion.
Woolworths Group Ltd (WOW):
Supermarket chain Woolworths will pull dollar-litre milk off its shelves around the country in support of a more sustainable Australian dairy industry. The move follows heavy criticism of Coles and Woolworths for selling fresh milk for $1 a litre, which critics said was hurting drought-affected farmers. From tomorrow, Woolworths will sell its own branded two and three litre fresh milk for $2.20 and $3.30 respectively. Both supermarkets lifted the price of their three-litre generic milk $3.30 from $3, with the extra money given to drought-stricken producers. Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said that as the price change went national, it would deliver higher milk prices to more than 450 Australian dairy farmers supplying into Woolworths branded fresh milk.
Santos Ltd (STO):
Santos says it will streamline operations in northern Australia to take a 50-50 position with Beach Energy across four gas exploration sites in the Bonaparte Basin north-west and south-west of Darwin. "This alignment of equity and operatorship will allow for a more strategic approach to the next phase of exploration in the region," chief executive Kevin Gallagher said. "The next step for these permits is to evaluate new and existing seismic data to build inventory and define potential targets for drilling within the next few years".
(Source: AIMS)
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