BHP Slashes Dividend
The slide in iron ore, copper, oil and gas prices in the six months to December has forced BHP Billiton (BHP) to bite the bullet and slash interim dividend 74% to just 16 cents a share.
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Brambles Upgrades Outlook
Global logistics giant Brambles (BXB) has joined the growing list of local companies to be caught by the rise in the value of the US dollar in the past year – QBE will be another with its final profit announcement this morning – with a 2% dip in revenue to $US2.8 billion and a 2% rise in net profit for the six months to December.
Read MoreBlueScope H1 Profit Jumps
While Arrium (ARI) was being bailed out, the shares of its steelmaker rival BlueScope Steel (BSL) rose after it reported a better than expected half year profit.
Read MoreEmbattled Arrium Receives Lifeline
Less than a week after warning it was looking at closing down or cutting steel production from its Whyalla facility in South Australia, Arrium (ARI), the country’s number two steelmaker has revealed a bailout from an investor associated with the giant Blackstone financial group of the US – the world’s biggest fund manager.
Read MoreReporting Season Hits Top Gear
The Australian December half and full year profit reporting season is heading into its last week and peak with 83 major companies reporting including QBE, BHP Billiton, Qantas, Wesfarmers, Woolworths and Harvey Norman.
Read MoreCan Markets Maintain Momentum?
So where now to for markets after the solid rebound of the past three weeks?
Read MoreDiary: Company Earnings In Focus
For local investors, the end of the December half year profit reporting season and the start of data releases for next week’s 4th quarter GDP figures, will dominate the coming days.
Read MoreOil Rally Fizzles Out
Oil futures ended lower on Friday, while gold faded as the investor-focus on more riskier investments ran out of puff.
Read MoreBuffett’s Berkshire Avoids S&P Rating Downgrade
Warren Buffett’s key company, Berkshire Hathaway delivers its December quarter and 2015 results on Friday night and we already know that the group will have once again failed to outperform the S&P 500 index, which is one of its key annual performance benchmarks.
Read MoreTreasury Wines Toasts Turnaround
Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has confirmed the accuracy of the 72% surge in its share price in the past year with a 72% lift in first half earnings to $146.8 million, and a one third boost to interim dividend.
Read MoreDividends Disappearing At Origin
If global oil prices continue under pressure in coming months, shareholders in struggling Origin Energy (ORG) face the prospect of losing their dividend completely after the interim was more than halved yesterday.
Read MoreTelstra Rings In Lower Profit
A few years ago with its rock steady, reliable 28 cents a share annual dividend, Telstra (TLS) was the key market indicator especially at interim and full year reporting time.
Read MoreWebjet H1 Profit Soars
Webjet (WEB) shares rebounded 6% yesterday after revealing a 26% jump in first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $18.2 million.
Read MoreAMP Lifts Full-Year Profit 10%
AMP led off this morning’s reporting companies with a 10% rise in full-year net profit to $972 million and a higher dividend.
Read MoreThe Reject Shop Back In The Black
The Reject Shop (TRS) sprang a major improvement on the market yesterday reporting its first profit growth in four years and boosting interim dividend 50% and the shares surged, rising almost 24% to $12.50 as investors tried to hop on the bandwagon.
Read MoreWeak Oil Weighs On Woodside
The slide in oil prices and foreshadowed asset impairments took their expected toll on the earnings of Woodside Petroleum (WPL) in 2015.
Read MoreLendlease H1 Profits Rises 12.1%
Global builder and property developer, Lendlease (LLC) delivered a 12% rise net profit to $353.8 million, for the December half, and a higher dividend for shareholders.
Read MoreBuffett Deal Overshadows IAG Result
Shareholders in Insurance Australia Group (IAG) were left a little stunned yesterday – the expected weak half year result, a disappointing full year outlook – and yet a special dividend, courtesy of the deal last year with Warren Buffett.
Read MoreArrium Fights For Survival
Struggling steelmaker, Arrium (ARI) has sent a tremor through business and politics in South Australia and elsewhere with a warning yesterday it might have to close its huge plant at Whyalla because of rising costs.
Read MoreFizz Returns To Coca-Cola Amatil
Coca-Cola Amatil (CCL) is lifting its dividend after returning to profit growth for the first time in three years in the year to December.
Read MoreOil Deal Disappoints
The bears became bulls, or rather the shorts became longs as they covered their positions on the news. But after a bit more reading and thinking, prices retreated and finished trading lower from the close the day before because the agreement isn’t worth the paper it was printed on.
Read MoreQube One Step Closer To Asciano
For the time being, Asciano (AIO) has strengthened its recommendation in favour of the takeover proposal from the consortium led by Qube Holdings (QUB) that values the company at $9.1 billion.
Read MorePac Brands Reinstates Dividend
See, there is hope for Qantas (QAN) and Newcrest Mining (NCM) shareholders – dividends don’t die forever, if Pacific Brands (PBG) can lift its game to the point of bringing back shareholder payments, then Newcrest and Qantas can.
Read MoreMore Pain At Bradken
More than half of the shareholder equity in engineer Bradken (BKN) has been wiped out in the latest market downturn, as the group struggles to return to the black.
Read MoreNAB Cash Profit Up 8%
The National Australia Bank (NAB) has continued the trend of solid bank updates that we saw yesterday from the smaller Bendigo and Adelaide (BEN), and from the Commonwealth (CBA) last week, with an 8% rise in unaudited cash profits for the December quarter to around $1.7 billion.
Read MoreJapan GDP Slumps 1.4% In Q4
Japan’s economy went backwards for the second time in three quarters in the final three months of 2015, confirming why the Bank of Japan went to negative interest rates in late January, but also raising more doubt that the policies of the central bank and the government of Prime Minister Abe will pull the Japanese economy from a barely growing inflationary rut.
Read MoreBendigo Posts Flat Result
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) will pay a fully franked interim dividend of 34 cents a share, up one cent from the first half of 2014-15 after reporting a modest 2.7% rise in cash earnings yesterday to $233.7 million.
Read MoreCurrency Headwinds Hit Amcor
Packaging giant Amcor (AMC) is maintaining its interim dividend after the stronger US dollar flattened revenue and income in the six months to December 31.
Read MoreNewcrest Still Playing Catch-Up
Shareholders in Newcrest Mining (NCM) will have to wait until to August to see if they will get any rewards from the gold and copper miner’s improved operational performance and the surge in the global gold price.
Read MoreMore Gloom In China Trade Data
Australia’s two major export markets released weak data yesterday which raised questions about the strength of demand for some of our key exports such as iron ore, oil, coal, LNG and services.
Read MoreCrude Jumps 10%
Gold had a great week and oil had a great Friday as the US dollar fell and markets quivered and then recovered their poise for a day, at least.
Read MoreDiary: Earnings, Jobs, Trade, Inflation
Australian jobs, Chinese trade and inflation, inflation also in the US and several other countries such as Britain and Canada, Reserve Bank board minutes and the local December 31 reporting season – it will be a busy week for investors here and offshore – and that’s before further action on those markets, starting with what could be a solid rise today in Asia.
Read MoreChina To Reopen After Holiday Week
Late today at 12.30pm, the world’s jittery markets will pause with bated breath as Chinese shares re-open for trading after the week-long New Year holiday, and then the trade data for January is released half an hour later.
Read MoreJitters Remain Despite US Closure
China resumes trading today, but US markets will be closed tonight for a national holiday, meaning global markets will have to cope with some more jitters in Shanghai for a while, plus flying blind for the next day because of the absence of leads from Wall Street.
Read MoreTelstra, CSL, AMP Highlight Reporting Season
The Australian December half profit reporting season hits the first of three peak weeks in the week ahead with 77 major companies reporting.
Read MoreBad Weather Claims Suncorp
Now that was a well-timed retirement at Suncorp (SUN) which yesterday reported a slide in interim profit and cut its half year payout to shareholders as a result.
Read MoreCochlear Breaks $100
Shares in Cochlear (COH) cracked the $100 level yesterday, jumping more than 14% on the day, after it reported a 32% jump in interim profit and a tasty rise in half year dividend.
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