We saw a couple of positive updates yesterday in that the two companies involved, Westfield Group and Boral, didn’t follow other companies in cutting 2011 guidance but maintained it at previous declared levels.
Westfield had in fact been tipped by some analysts to cut guidance because of the impact of the higher Australian dollar on offshore earnings, but the mall owner confirmed its forecasts for annual earnings, distributions and operating income in a statement to the ASX.
Westfield said that operating segment earnings in 2010-11 would be 74.6c, leading to a distribution of 48.4c.
Net operating income also would be in line with forecasts, the company said in the first quarter trading update issued yesterday.
The company’s securities edged up 2c to $9.09 in early trade then fell 2c in the afternoon to close at $9.05, despite the wider market rising by 1.3% on the day.
In a sign of confidence about the outlook, Westfield also said it expected to start new developments worth between $750 million and $1 billion during the year, but it upgraded its forecasts of starts over the next two years to between $1.25 billion and $1.5 billion in each of 2011-12 and 2012-13 financial years.
Westfield said its "Landmark developments at Stratford City (London – £1.45 billion) and Westfield Sydney ($1.2 billion) continue to progress very well".
It said that in the quarter it commenced $490 million of new projects: $320 million development at Fountain Gate (Australia) $170 million of smaller projects in the US, UK and Australia.
Westfield reported that 96.9% of its portfolio was leased during the first quarter of calendar 2011, with greater than 99.5% leased in Australia and New Zealand, and 99.2% in the UK.
The corresponding US figure was 92.3%, which is where it’s been for the best part of the last three years as the US recovery takes time.
Retail sales growth was 1.6% in Australia through the quarter, 0.3% in NZ, 5.4% in the US, and 19.8% in the UK, based on Westfield’s London site.
Westfield said it was seeing ‘‘continued improvement in the United States and United Kingdom, with solid conditions in Australia’’.
Revenue from its Australian and New Zealand centres were little changed at $21.5 billion and NZ$2.1 billion.
The company also affirmed its full year earnings and distribution forecasts.
And there was a sense of relief yesterday that Building materials supplier Boral did not drop its profit estimate after being hit by the bad weather in the first quarter, along with the sluggish building industry on the East Coast.
The company told the ASX yesterday that it was on track to meet its profit guidance.
Full year net profit will be in $160-175 million, despite soft residential markets and bad weather earlier in the year.
The shares jumped 5.6% or 26c to $4.91 after the update, a sign of the relief felt among followers of the stock.
At the time of announcing the FY11 half year results, Boral said that because of uncertainty at that time, a trading update would be provided at the conclusion of our March quarter trading.
"During the nine months to the end of March, the Group has continued to perform in line with expectations despite continued weather-related delays and a softening of residential building across many parts of Australia," Boral said in the statement.
"The Group’s results continue to benefit from a positive currency translation effect in the period, most notably from the strengthening of the Australian dollar against the US dollar."
Boral said that, despite softer than anticipated residential markets in both the US and Australia, and assuming no unforeseen weather events, the Group’s year to date performance supports prior guidance for the full year net profit after tax from continuing operations to be between $160 million and $175 million.
Such a result would mark a turnaround for Boral, which posted an annual net loss of $91 million in 2009-10, and a net loss of $19 million from continuing operations.
No wonder the shares had a strong day when the wider market was up by just under 1%.
The company hit its 52 week high of $5.73 in February, just before the interim result and uncertainty about the full year result because of the floods and bad weather.
