Australian Equity Strategy
Strategy Australian Share Market Outlook 14/05/2012 12:49 Selected investment opportunities remain despite the market being only modestly undervalued.
more Australian Equity Strategy reports Energy
Origin Energy (ORG) Gas sale agreement with Santos (corrected) 16/05/2012 12:38
Origin Energy will supply 365 petajoules (PJ) of natural gas to the GLNG project for 10 years from 2015. The...
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Origin Energy will supply 365 petajoules (PJ) of natural gas to the GLNG project for 10 years from 2015. The agreement allows Origin to call back 1.8PJ of gas per year during periods of high east coast gas or electricity market demand. Origin will source gas from its 2,500PJ east coast portfolio of uncontracted reserves and third party supply agreements.
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Caltex Aust (CTX) Changes and benefits but a while coming 15/05/2012 17:54
Refining operations continued to bleed in 1Q12 with EBIT losses of $60m, up from $39m in 1Q11. The Kurnell refinery...
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Refining operations continued to bleed in 1Q12 with EBIT losses of $60m, up from $39m in 1Q11. The Kurnell refinery is the chief culprit and is the focus of the ongoing Refinery Review. A decision on the long-term future of refinery operations is expected in 3Q. Group EBIT declined 7.9% from $124m to $117m with unaudited NPAT on a replacement cost of sales basis (RCOP) down 10.4% from $77m to $69m.
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Mirabela Nickel Limited (MBN) Capital raising lifeline 16/05/2012 16:06
Mirabela’s much anticipated capital raising finally arrived. A placement to US hedge fund Resource Capital Funds (RCF) raised AUD 20...
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Mirabela’s much anticipated capital raising finally arrived. A placement to US hedge fund Resource Capital Funds (RCF) raised AUD 20 million at AUD 0.40 a share, an 18% premium to the last close price of AUD 0.34. An 8 for 13 accelerated pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer will raise up to AUD 100 million at AUD 0.30 a share, a 12% discount to the last close price. Shareholders must hold shares on Friday 18 May 2012 to be eligible for the entitlement offer.
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Incitec Pivot (IPL) 1H12 result: Explosives to the rescue 14/05/2012 21:28
1H12 adjusted NPAT fell 20% to $143.5m, just shy of our $146m forecast. The result was hurt by shutdown of...
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1H12 adjusted NPAT fell 20% to $143.5m, just shy of our $146m forecast. The result was hurt by shutdown of the Mt Isa sulphuric acid plant and lower fertiliser prices. Partly offsetting this, the Dyno Nobel explosives business performed exceptionally well on the back of strong demand in Asia Pacific and improved performance in the US business. Despite the lower earnings, the dividend was maintained at 3.3cps signaling the directors’ confidence in the full year result.
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CSR Limited (CSR) Macro headwinds continue to blow 17/05/2012 05:16
FY12 NPAT of $90.7m was well above our $76.5m estimate and $500,000 above FY11. The reason was a fall in...
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FY12 NPAT of $90.7m was well above our $76.5m estimate and $500,000 above FY11. The reason was a fall in tax expense from $41.8m to $23.2m, the rate down from 27% to 17.4% and well below earlier guidance of 28%. At the operating level the result was generally in line with our expectations – Trading revenue $1.802bn against $1.815bn; EBITDA $246.3m against $242.0m and EBIT $156.7m against $150m. Viridian was a disaster with an EBIT loss of $19.3m against our estimate of a $13.0m loss and a positive $3.6m in FY11.
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Toll Holdings (TOL) Footwork, property, automotives and earnings downgrade 16/05/2012 16:57
TOL provided an earnings update, which includes write-downs on the Footwork Express (Japan) business, domestic property write-downs and the sale...
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TOL provided an earnings update, which includes write-downs on the Footwork Express (Japan) business, domestic property write-downs and the sale of an automotive business. The combined impact is a $148-$168m one-off post-tax charge against reported FY12 NPAT. A deteriorating domestic economic environment has resulted in TOL forecasting FY12 underlying EBIT of between $400-$420m, down 3.7%-8.3% on the prior year.
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News Corporation (NWS) Cable networks boost 3Q - update (corrected) 16/05/2012 17:49
The only negative news we heard on the earnings call was that a few of the company's smaller and less...
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The only negative news we heard on the earnings call was that a few of the company's smaller and less material segments are facing some headwinds. Specifically, the publishing units in Australia and the United Kingdom and its Sky Italia pay TV business are expected to post weak results in the near term. We estimate these businesses contribute less than 10% of operating income, excluding the U.S newspapers.
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Billabong International (BBG) A new boss to re-vitalise and re-energise 16/05/2012 16:51
BBG appointed Launa Inman as Managing Director, she will replace outgoing CEO Derek O'Neill. Ms Inman spent two months from...
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BBG appointed Launa Inman as Managing Director, she will replace outgoing CEO Derek O'Neill. Ms Inman spent two months from February consulting to the board of BBG. Previously she was Managing Director of Target Australia, a position she held for seven years and earlier the Managing Director of Officeworks. Paul Naude currently the head of North America will take on the expanded role as President of the Americas.
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Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) Wet summer slows growth 16/05/2012 15:50
CCL had a slower than expected start to the year with guidance for profit growth of 4-5% in 1H12. The...
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CCL had a slower than expected start to the year with guidance for profit growth of 4-5% in 1H12. The outlook for the core Australian beverages business is improving with an end to the weather affected summer trading period, continuing Project Zero initiatives and promotional activity in the lead up to the Olympics. While not material to earnings, we view beer distribution agreements in the South Pacific positively as relationships can be leveraged as CCL re-enters the Australian beer market late 2013.
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Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) Initial Impressions: Wet weather slows growth 15/05/2012 17:27
CCL had a slower than expected start to the year with guidance for profit growth of 4-5% in 1H12. The...
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CCL had a slower than expected start to the year with guidance for profit growth of 4-5% in 1H12. The core Australian business expects volumes to grow 1-2%, impacted by another cool, wet summer, broadly in line with our expectations. The soft economy is also taking a toll with weaker demand in key east coast holiday destinations. Pleasingly, the outlook is improving with an end to the weather affected summer trading period, continuing Project Zero initiatives and promotional activity in the lead up to the Olympics.
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Health Care
Sonic Healthcare (SHL) Further consolidation for domestic pathology 18/05/2012 13:42
SHL will buy the New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and West Australian pathology businesses of competitor Healthscope. Healthscope generates around...
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SHL will buy the New South Wales, ACT, Queensland and West Australian pathology businesses of competitor Healthscope. Healthscope generates around $400m of annualised pathology revenue, with its core operations located in Victoria, South Australia and the Northern Territory contributing $300m. SHL is paying $100m for annualised revenue of $105m, this works out at a reasonable EBITDA multiple of 5.6x, on our assumption of a 17% margin.
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Health Care Biotech round-up 14/05/2012 15:46
Globally a large number of pharmaceutical drug patents are approaching expiry. Over 100 drugs will lose US patent protection between...
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Globally a large number of pharmaceutical drug patents are approaching expiry. Over 100 drugs will lose US patent protection between 2012 and 2016, with almost half of those patents expiring in 2012. Patent expiry will result in almost $50bn of lost revenue in 2012 alone. Pharmaceutical companies have an urgent need to replenish product pipelines. In part, they will achieve this via acquisitions and partnerships with smaller biotech R&D firms.
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more Health Care reports Financials
Commonwealth Bank (CBA) 3Q12 Trading update – on track to deliver solid full year earnings 17/05/2012 16:01
3Q12 unaudited cash NPAT of $1.8bn is up 3% on 3Q11, but down 4% sequentially. No surprises, with earnings consistent...
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3Q12 unaudited cash NPAT of $1.8bn is up 3% on 3Q11, but down 4% sequentially. No surprises, with earnings consistent with our full-year FY12 forecast of $7.1bn. Bad debts are a pleasant surprise, declining 23% on pcp to just $232m, representing a very low 18bps of average loans. Our full-year bad debt expense forecast of $1.1bn looks solid. Provisioning and balance sheet management remain conservative, with funding and liquidity under control. Credit quality is stable, including impaired assets and consumer arrears.
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Westfield Group (WDC) US sales surge, Australia barely in first gear 17/05/2012 05:23
WDC released its 1Q12 update, with the US portfolio delivering strong sales growth up 8.2% on the prior corresponding period...
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WDC released its 1Q12 update, with the US portfolio delivering strong sales growth up 8.2% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) and new lease growth over expiring rents of 19%. This was expected, and was consistent with the result of its US peers. Guidance of $1.25bn to $1.5bn of new developments for FY12 and FY13 was re-iterated as was FY12 distribution guidance of 49.5 cents per security(cps) and funds from operations (FFO) of 65 cents per security (excluding effect of buyback and capital redeployment).
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Westfield Retail Trust (WRT) Holding those rents, but for how long? 17/05/2012 11:16
WRT announced its 1Q12 operating results, with specialty rents growing 3.1% on the prior corresponding period, which was in excess...
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WRT announced its 1Q12 operating results, with specialty rents growing 3.1% on the prior corresponding period, which was in excess of the comparable specialty sales growth of 1.1% in Australia and 2.2% in New Zealand. This combination of tenant occupancy cost growth in excess of sales growth will put further pressure on the margins of Australian retailers, who are already struggling in a weak retail environment.
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more Financials reports Information Technology
Customers (CUS) Accept DirectCash offer 15/05/2012 09:43
With the release of the scheme booklet, the board’s ongoing support of DirectCash Payments’ $1.27-a-share takeover offer, and time passing...
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With the release of the scheme booklet, the board’s ongoing support of DirectCash Payments’ $1.27-a-share takeover offer, and time passing with no apparent counter-bidder, our conviction the acquisition will go ahead strengthens. The independent expert's report concludes the offer is in the best interests of shareholders, valuing CUS at $1.20 to $1.40 per share. Two key drivers being assumed are maintainable EBITA of $27.2m and an appropriate EV/EBITA multiple of 8.0-9.0x.
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more Information Technology reports Telecommunication Services
Singtel (SGT) Ready for the convergence 14/05/2012 17:40
SingTel’s FY12 result met our expectations. We remain positive on the future strategy. In our view, the reorganisation positions...
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SingTel’s FY12 result met our expectations. We remain positive on the future strategy. In our view, the reorganisation positions SingTel well as the three industries in telecommunications, media and technology continue to converge.
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AGL Energy (AGK) Loy Yang decision approaching 17/05/2012 15:22
We recently attended AGL’s tour of the Loy Yang A brown coal fired power station and mine in Victoria. AGL...
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We recently attended AGL’s tour of the Loy Yang A brown coal fired power station and mine in Victoria. AGL plans to increase ownership of Loy Yang from 33% to 100%. The acquisition requires approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with a decision due on 24 May.
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SP AusNet (SPN) Equity raising overshadows solid result 17/05/2012 16:04 The FY12 result was overshadowed by a A$434m equity raising to fund growth capital expenditure.
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