Webjet Ltd, the online travel business, boosted 2009 net profit 15% and reckons it would be disappointed if it doesn’t increase profit again in the 2010 year.
Net profit rose to $7.7 million for the 12 months to June 30 compared with $6.7 million in 2008, the company said yesterday.
Revenue rose 20% to $30.1 million, while Webjet’s total transaction value gained 17% to $388 million.
Webjet’s David Clarke said in the profit statement that he didn’t expect market conditions to improve until well into calendar 2010.
For this reason, Webjet would increase its marketing budget to take advantage of lower advertising costs, particularly in regional areas.
The company also has frozen base salaries during 2009/10.
Webjet will pay a final dividend of 3.5 cents per share, including a half a cent special dividend, taking the full-year dividend to 6.5 cents compared with four cents in 2008.
Shares in Webjet gained 6 cents to $1.32, or 4.7%.
Goodman Group reckons it has repaired its balance sheet and restructured its loans to relieve the pressure on it.
China Investment Company, the country’s main Sovereign Wealth Fund, which extended Goodman a finance facility in June, will buy $500 million in securities.
Institutional and existing investors will be offered $1.3 billion in stock at 40 cents each, an 18% discount to the last traded price.
Goodman said it notched up a $1.12 billion loss for the year ended June 30, according to yesterday’s statement which quoted partly-audited financial results.
The company has also extended the repayment deadlines on $4.1 billion of debt.
Goodman said it made an operating profit after tax of $408 million in the year to June 30.
That was wiped out by property and equity investment write-downs of $1.4 billion, losses on derivatives of $62 million and other non-operating losses of $71 million.
The company will pay a dividend of 9.65 cents per share, and will file its audited results by August 31.
Goodman expects a $310 million full year operating profit after tax in 2010, which the company said would provide for a dividend of 3.4 cents a share.
Goodman said in the statement that it had negotiated:
- The extension of $4.1 billion of debt facilities, improved covenant positions have been obtained on $2.9 billion of fund debt extensions
- $2.0 billion of improved covenant positions on existing fund debt facilities where no extensions were sought
- $1.5 billion of completed asset sales in the last 12 months
- $0.2 billion China joint venture with CPPIB
- $1.3 billion fully underwritten 1 for 1 non renounceable entitlement offer and placement (Equity Offer)
- $0.5 billion issue of hybrid securities to CIC (subject to securityholder approval)
"The above initiatives position Goodman, in the current environment, to focus on its core markets and result in the following:
- Reduction of Group debt to a more sustainable level
- Pro forma gearing reduced to 26.7%
- Weighted average term to facility expiry increased to 4.2 years and 3.2 years for the Group and managed funds respectively
- No unfunded Group debt expiries until May 2012
"The Group estimates FY2010 operating profit after tax (post minorities) of $310 million, assuming no material change to market conditions. This would equate to undiluted operating earnings per security of 5.7 cents and distribution per security of 3.4 cents. The first half distribution is expected to be paid in February 2010.
"The Group has taken the prudent step of revising its distribution policy to provide ongoing working capital by distributing the higher of 60% of operating earnings and taxable income.
"The amount to be distributed is reviewed by the Board at the end of each financial period in light of operating performance and current market conditions," the company said.
The shares remain halted while the funding details are finalised.
Another announcement from GPT Group which yesterday said it will refine its strategic direction by focusing on developing its Australian retail, office and industrial property assets, as it exits its offshore investments.
No wonder, its previous strategy cost it $4 billion in write-downs and over $1.7 billion in new capital raisings in 2008-09.
In the past year the price of the company’s securities has fallen from $2.25 to 22 cents.
Over 2 years the shares have fallen to 22 cents from close to $3.50.
They rose 6.9% yesterday, or 3.5 cents to 54 cents.
It has been an expensive learning curve for all concerned, especially ordinary securityholders.
GPT said in a 113 page statement to the ASX yesterday that this will help restore investor confidence in the business over time and increase the transparency, stability and security of its returns.
The struggling trust has been talking about this refocus now for over a year as returns have fallen, losses have mounted and the ill-formed logic of its move into Europe and the US with Babcock & Brown was increasingly exposed.
The securities rose 2.5 cents to 53 cents on the news, which was the third announcement from the trust since last Friday. The two other statements reveal asset devaluations and
