Retail On Sale As ASX Falls In February
February wasn’t a month to write home about for Australian investors with the renewed volatility on Wall Street overshadowing the December 31 reporting season.
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Dairy Diversion Sours Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman confirmed yesterday that the fastest way to see shares fall on the ASX is to surprise the market with unexpected losses, write downs and talk of legal disputes.
Read MoreNAB Cools On 2018 RBA Rate Cuts
The National Australia Bank has hauled back on its interest forecast ahead of next Tuesday’s Reserve Bank board meeting.
Read MoreTrouble Ahead As Retail Food Delays Results
When it comes the half year report from embattled fast food franchisor, Retail Food Group, is likely to be bad, very bad for shareholders with big losses, no dividend and before that a possible suspension by the ASX today after the company missed the February 28 cut-off date for December 31 reporting companies.
Read MoreVirgin Australia’s Clayton’s Privatisation
A Clayton’s privatisation for Virgin Australia?
Read MoreIron Ore Leads Commodities In February
February was a mixed month for commodities – oil, gold and copper slid, but iron ore rose by almost 8%.
Read MoreFood Results: Select Harvests, Costa Group
Mixed results from two listed food companies, Select Harvests (a lower profit on lower sales of almonds and related products) and Costa Group, the fruit and vegetable grower and major supplier to Coles.
Read MoreImpairments Hit Improving Iluka
Iluka Resources shares rose strongly on Tuesday, up 5% at one stage after it reported an improved performance in 2017.
Read MoreCaltex To Scrap Franchise Model
The staff under payments scandal at some of its franchisees exposed two years ago by the media has seen Caltex Australia reverse course and commit $120 million to taking out all its franchisees over the next three years.
Read MorePNG Quake Shuts LNG Operations
Two important developments overnight for key Australian commodities, LNG (a big earthquake in Papua New Guinea) and iron ore (new production curbs).
Read MoreQBE Axes Dividend, Exits Latin America
QBE has slashed its interim dividend to 4.0 cents a share from 33 cents as the company confirmed a year of big losses, due to the impact of three hurricanes and fires in the US, earthquakes in Mexico and cyclone Debbie in Australia
Read MoreTrump Tax Cuts Bolster BlueScope
BlueScope Steel shares rose nicely yesterday after the company revealed a 23% rise in first-half net profit to $441.2 million, helped by the restatement of deferred tax liabilities after January’s cut in US corporate tax rates (in its North Star steel business in the US).
Read MoreVocus CEO Cuts The Cord
Shares in Vocus Group rose by around 3.6% after CEO Geoff Horth fell on his sword in the wake of the weak interim results.
Read MoreBuffett’s Biggest Investments
Not only does Berkshire Hathaway have $US116 billion of cash in its insurance group ‘float’ on hand to invest, but the market value of the company’s huge investment portfolio is now around $US170 billion following the run up in the stockmarket in the year to December, 2016, as well as more buying in key stocks such as Apple and taking up a stake in bank of America. That was up 39% from $US122 million at the end of 2016.
Read MoreKiwi Insurer CBL Falls Into Administration
New Zealand building and business insurer. CBL Insurance has been placed in administration after the NZ High Court on Friday ordered that the Auckland based insurer be placed into interim liquidation on an application by the Reserve Bank of NZ. CBL Insurance is a subsidiary of NZX-listed CBL Corporation. In a statement today Korda Mentha New Zealand partners Brendon Gibson and Neale Jackson were appointed Voluntary Administrators by the Board of CBL Corporation Ltd (and certain of its subsidiaries) on last Friday, February 23.
Read MoreHighlights From Warren Buffett’s Annual Letter
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway wants to do a massive acquisition, says its insurance group can withstand a $US400 billion mega catastrophe that would ruin many of its competitors and picked up a $US29 billion gross boost to its bottom line in 2017 from the Trump tax cuts.
Read MoreCurtain Set To Draw On Local Earnings Season
The Australian December half 2017 earnings reporting season ends this week (Wednesday is the official cut off) with around 20 major companies reporting including BlueScope and QBE (today) and Adelaide Brighton and Harvey Norman (Wednesday).
Read MoreDiary: New Fed Chair, Local Earnings, Manufacturing Check-Up
Start of month business activity surveys, a wealth of economic data here and offshore, December quarter, half year and 12 month earnings reports, house prices here and the first testimony from new Fed chair, Jerome Powell will dominate markets this week as investor wonder about the pace of Fed rate rises and the strength of the US dollar.
Read MoreGlobal Shares Swing Higher Over The Week
A positive global lead on Friday night saw ASX 200 futures rise 31 points or 0.5% pointing to a positive start to trade for the Australian share market later today.
Read MoreIron Ore, Oil Edge Higher
Oil and iron ore rose, gold fell and other metals were mixed as the US dollar ended Friday a touch higher.
Read MoreBerkshire’s Aussie Exposure
Warren Buffett had better hope that Insurance Australia Group, the country’s biggest general insurer (or property and casualty in US parlance) runs a tight underwriting and insurance book ship, maintains standards and doesn’t not veer off into a mad price war. Upwards of 40% of one of Buffett’s key reinsurance companies is now flowing each year from a deal with IAG that helps underpin the financial viability of both companies.
Read MoreWoolies Gains Ground In Grocery War
Woolies shareholders will share the solid lift in profit for the six months to December.
Read MoreCautious Outlook Bites Blackmores, Bellamy’s
Thumbs down from the market yesterday to half year updates yesterday from two former market darlings – Blackmores and Bellamy’s.
Read MoreCopper Surge Sees OZ Minerals Deliver
Shares in copper and gold miner OZ Minerals rallied nicely yesterday after the company topped market estimates with a 72% higher $231.1 million underlying net after tax profit for the 2017 calendar year.
Read MoreTravel Shares Soar On Webjet, Flight Centre Results
Strong half year results yesterday from our two major listed travel groups, Webjet (which is an online operation) and Flight Centre (bricks and mortar and online).
Read MoreQantas Climbs To Record Profit
Shares in Australia’s Qantas gained as much as 7.5% on Thursday after the company reported underlying pre-tax first-half profits had come in above expectations and announced plans for a share buyback of up to $378 million.
Read MoreNine Entertainment The One Again
Nine Entertainment has cleared away from the rest of the media sector so far as revenue, profits and returns to shareholders are concerned.
Read MoreFonterra Deal Sweetens a2 Milk Result
Shares in the New Zealand-based a2 Milk company soared yesterday on a record interim profit and a potentially major deal with NZ dairy industry giant, Fonterra.
Read MoreQuality Dents Fortescue Dividend
Fortescue Metals Group slid after the company yesterday revealed weaker than expected results for the six months to the end of last December as the company was hit by steep price discounts for its lower quality iron ore paid by Chinese steel mill customers.
Read MoreShrinking Fairfax Eyes Consolidation
Fairfax Media’s December half year more of the same – saw weak revenue, weakening print ads, more progress on digital subscriptions, indifferent digital revenue growth and more of the same over the rest of 2017-18.
Read MoreThe Reject Shop Posts Steady Result
Finally there are signs in the half year report of The Reject Shop (TRS) after more than a year of battling weak demand and self inflicted marketing and stock woes.
Read MoreCoca-Cola Amatil Bottles Better Half
Are things picking up for Coca-Cola Amatil? Looking at the figures it was more of the same, a weak Australian performance, solid contributions from other businesses, and not much in the way of an upturn locally.
Read MoreWritedowns Bite Santos Bottom Line
Santos shares dipped yesterday after the oil and gas producer reported a bottom-line net loss for 2017 of $US360 million.
Read MoreFletcher Building Confirms Big Losses
Troubled NZ-based building products and construction group, Fletcher Building revealed an operating earnings loss of $322 million for the six months ended 31 December 2017 in the wake of the huge losses on a total of 16 building contracts across NZ.
Read MoreBunnings UK Woes Dominate Wesfarmers Result
Wesfarmers’ shares fell, then rose yesterday as investors digested what was a widely-anticipated weak result after the accounts cleansing revealed earlier this month in big write downs on its flailing UK hardware adventure and its stuttering Target department store chain in Australia.
Read MoreTemple & Webster Narrows Loss
Online furniture and homewares retailer Temple & Webster has dramatically reduced its half-year loss and forecast a return to full-year profit in 2018-19, proving there is life after at least two near death experiences in 2016 and 2017.
Read MorePet Play Greencross Profit Edges Higher
Petcare group, Greencross lifted first-half profit nearly 6% to $23.2 million in the six months to December 31 off the back of a 9% rise in sales to $433 million.
Read MoreBapcor Drives Dividend, Profits Higher
Bapcor shareholders will get a substantially higher dividend after another solid interim result for Australia’s leading auto parts provider (and main rival to Super Group’s Super Cheap chain).
Read MoreOil Search Eyes Eyes PNG Expansion As Profit Triples
Oil Search has delivered a threefold increase in profit and almost tripled its full year dividend amid record production and stronger oil and gas prices.
Read MoreBHP Rewards Investors Despite Profit Miss
BHP shareholders will get their cut from the company’s surge in interim profit with the world’s biggest miner revealing 38% lift in half year payout to 55 cents a US cents a share, from 40 cents a share paid for the same period in 2016-17.
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