| ALZ | Property developer and owner Australand’s full-year profit has risen by 28 per cent and the company expects further earnings growth in 2013. Australand has $2.3 billion in investments in residential, commercial and industrial properties, and also develops large-scale residential projects. Its net profit in the year to December 31 was $180 million, up from $140.6 million in the previous corresponding period. Earnings from its investment properties were up eight per cent, and the value of its portfolio rose by $51.3 million. Earnings from Australand’s development business increased by seven per cent from the previous corresponding period, due to strong sales at several medium density projects, the company said. “Despite the generally cautious market sentiment, our residential earnings increased 16 per cent and contracts on hand at year-end were up by 24 per cent, providing good momentum into 2013,” Australand managing director Bob Jonhston said in a statement. Market conditions were expected to remain challenging in the year ahead, but Australand expected its operating earnings per security to rise, he said. Operating earnings per security were 24.6 cents in calendar 2012. Australand declared unfranked distributions of 21.5 cents per security in 2012, in line with the previous year. | iress |
| AZH | Azimuth Resources is pleased to announce a 35% increase in its JORC code and National Instrument 43-101 compliant gold resource estimate for the Smarts and Hicks deposits at its flagship West Omai gold project in Guyana. The resource has been independently estimated by global mining consultancy RungePincockMinarco Limited. The Inferred Mineral Resource estimate at West Omai for the Smarts and Hicks deposits at a cut off of 1.0g/t Au is now: 16.7Mt @ 3.06g/t Au for total contained gold ounces of 1.65 million ounces | Company report |
| BHP | BMA has launched a sales process for its Gregory Crinum mine in Qld | AFR |
| BTR | Assays have been received for drill hole KITDD_015 with the best copper intersectionsbeing 279m at 0.5% Cu from 103m to 382m. KITDD_015 is a step-out hole collared approximately 300m outside the previous 1% Cu envelope aimed at a zone of high chargeability. Updated Mineral Resource estimation underway – due in March 2013. Final phase 6 assays due end of February | Company report |
| CBA | class action against CBA over the sale of complex debt instruments likely to widen | AFR |
| CDU | The Directors of Cudeco Ltd are pleased to announce that Sinosteel have received FIRB approval for the placement of share at $4.50 for 5.47% of the total issued shares of Cudeco Ltd. | Company report |
| CWN | reports of a new crack down on junket operators in Macau | Citi |
| FXL | FXL Cash NPAT +16% to $32.6m Continued strong volume growth, +21% on 1H12 Receivables growth driven by Certegy (+29% on 1H12) and Commercial Leasing (+82% on 1H12) Revenue mix further diversified with Lombard acquisition providing entry into the $45b credit card market – Lombard NPAT doubles in first 6 months FXL to remain focused on core businesses and value accretive acquisitions under new CEO leadership Reaffirm guidance of 11% to 16% FY13 Cash NPAT growth Fully franked interim dividend of 7.0c up 17% from the prior corresponding period | Company report |
| GMG | may consider spinning off some of its $10b worth of Aust Idustrial assets into a seperately lised vehicle | AFR |
| GRY | GRY announced the completion of its BFS, confirming the viability of developing the Banfora Gold Project to be the next mine in Burkina Faso. BFS based on a conventional 2Mtpa CIL processing plant and open pit mining operation using contractor mining, up-scalable to +4Mtpa. Construction period of 15 months with first gold anticipated in Q4 2014. Key operating results of the BFS on a base case of US$1,300 gold price include: Average gold production for the first 5 years 151,000ozAu pa. Average gold grade for the first 5 years 2.38g/t Average cash cost for the first 5 years US$734/oz (A$706/oz) Capital costs US$208M (A$200M) million + contingencies | Company report |
| MGR | Mirvac announced that as part of the regular review of all development projects, the assessment as at 31 December 2012 has been completed and has provided evidence that specific micro markets are not recovering as previously expected. A realignment of future assumptions with current market conditions has resulted in a $273.2 million provision which equates to 5.9cps. The majority of projects impacted are in Qld representing 72%of the provision and in WA representing 27% of the provision. Mirvac confirms that it remains on track to deliver FY13 operating earnings per security (“EPS”) in line with guidance at 10.7 to 10.8cps and a distribution of 8.5 to 8.7cps; its earlier guidance of achieving development returns in 2014 of greater than 10% Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”) using post-provisioned EBIT and pre-provisioned inventory balance; and it remains within the Group’s target gearing range with balance sheet gearing as at 31 December 2012 at 23.8% and remains compliant with all of its debt covenants. | Company report |
| MSB | Mesoblast has been granted three key new patents by the US Patent and Trade Mark Office (USPTO) and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China. These patents deliver major commercial advantages and offer long term protection in these territories for the company’s products based on its proprietary Mesenchymal Precursor Cell (MPC) adult stem cell technology platform. In the United States, USPTO patent 8,367,405 confers Mesoblast with exclusive rights through to March 2029 to compositions-of-matter covering its current products. This patent extends by more than seven years Mesoblast’s exclusive commercial rights in the United States, the world’s largest healthcare market, to MPC compositions-of-matter beyond those rights already conferred by USPTO patents 7,122,178 and 8,158,118 whose expiry had previously been extended to November 2021. In China, patents CN200580040212.1 and CN200580039970.1 provide Mesoblast with exclusive MPC product commercial rights and protection through to 2025. These patents provide Mesoblast with long-term composition-of-matter protection for the company’s MPC products derived from an unlimited range of tissue sources, such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, placenta, umbilical cord, and dental pulp. These Chinese patents underpin Mesoblast’s corporate strategy to target the world’s largest emerging market for regenerative medicines, and to protect its manufacturing processes and know-how | Company report |
| NST | Significant new RC and diamond drilling results support Northern Star’s plan to make the Ashburton Project its second 100,000ozpa stand-alone operation. Results from Ashburton’s flagship Mt Olympus deposit pave way for substantial increase in the Ashburton Project’s current 689,000oz sulphide resource. Hits include: 48.0m @ 6.0g/t Au, including 24.0m @ 8.6g/t Au. Resource upgrade including these latest drill intersections due this quarter. Plus, further resource upgrade expected at Ashburton from the Peake satellite deposit | Company report |
| NWS | NWS’s earnings more-than doubled in the three months to December because of one-time gains related to acquisitions and strength in the cable networks division. Net profit totaled $2.4 billion, or $1.01 a share, compared with $1.1 billion, or 42cps, a year earlier. Much of the increase was related to the acquisition of the 50% stakes in Fox Sports Australia and Fox Star Sports Asia that News Corp. didn’t already own. Revenue rose 5% to $9.4 billion. Operating income rose 6% because of strength in the network and TV divisions. By the end of June, News Corp. plans to split its giant entertainment businesses, which include its 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television assets, from its publishing division to create two separately listed companies. In the publishing division, which includes newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, the Australian and the Times of London, book publishing and marketing inserts, revenue was roughly flat at $2.1 billion. The results reflect lower advertising revenue at the Australian publications offset by higher contributions from the U.K. division. The publishing group’s operating income rose to $234 million from $218 million. News Corp. took a $56 million charge in the quarter related to the costs of continuing investigations into phone hacking at its U.K. newspaper unit. The company took $87 million in such charges in the prior quarter and $224 million of them in fiscal 2012. Meanwhile, most of the entertainment businesses increased their earnings contributions. The strongest performer was the cable-network programming division, where revenue rose 18%, to $2.6 billion. The group, which includes Fox News and FX, reported a 7% increase in operating income to $945 million. Ad revenue at the domestic cable channels increased 8%, while international ad revenue rose 29%. Total cable programming expenses rose 26%, because of the costs to acquire sports rights. In the film division, operating income fell to $383 million from $393 million, as profits from “Taken 2″ and “Life of Pi” were not enough to match home-entertainment income a year earlier from “Rio” and “X-Men.” News Corp.’s TV division, which includes the Fox broadcast network and TV stations, reported a 19% rise in operating income, to $224 million. The increase was due in part to higher advertising revenue during the political elections. | Company report |
| NWS | John Malone’s Liberty Global has agreed to acquire UK cable-television and internet provider Virgin Media for $16b, in a deal that may create a stronger rival to market leader BskyB | WSJ |
| ORG | Origin Energy appears to be at risk of a second earnings downgrade in little more than three months. | AFR |
| PRR | Prima BioMed has received $1,442,120.40 in cash rebate from the federal government’s R&D tax incentive program. The cash rebate was provided essentially in respect of expenditure incurred on eligible Australian R&D activities conducted on the CVac clinical trial during the 2011/12 financial year. | Company report |
| REA | has expressed interest in acquiring Deutsche Telekom’s digital classifieds business, worth $2b | Company report |
| RHL | Ruralco Holdings says it has made several acquisitions in key regional locations to broaden its geographic reach. Ruralco said it would merge its existing joint venture at Forbes in central NSW, Wesfal, with Central West Agriculture, which has locations in the cropping and grazing markets of Peak Hill and Parkes. Ruralco also said it had acquired the Moree Independent Rural business in north-western NSW, which would provide a platform for securing market share in one of the largest markets for rural inputs in Australia. Ruralco also completed the acquisition of Euroa-based livestock and real estate business Newmarket Livestock in Victoria. “The completion of further growth initiatives and acquisitions will enable us to continue to grow our operation in a measured way through the investment in high-calibre businesses and people where it complements our existing network.” A transaction in relation to Elders Rural Services if it were “clearly value-accretive to Ruralco shareholders”. Ruralco acquired a 12.04 per cent stake in agribusiness and automotive parts supplier Elders during 2012. Since Ruralco acquired the stake, Elders has said it would sell its automotive operations, continue the sale of forestry assets, and sell Elders Rural Services. Dry conditions across eastern and southern Australia during the first quarter of Ruralco’s fiscal year had affected sales of rural supplies, and livestock profitability. Revenue was under pressure from sharp falls in livestock prices. | iress |
| RIC | GPT’s quick sale of CAA and AVJ holdings has turned attention to its %75m RIC investment | AFR |
| RIO | Secnd stage capital costs at Oyu Tolgoi may be higher than prior estimates which may reignite tension with the Mongolian Govt over the project | AFR |
| SAR | Saracen Mineral is pleased to report that the head grade for January has remained above 2.0 grams per tonne resulting in another record production month of 13,383 ounces. Head grade of 2.11g/t continuing the trend set in December. FY 2013 guidance remains 125-135k ounces. Expansion to 190,000 ozpa run rate in 2014-15 on track. Saracen is reaping the benefits of three over-performing ore supplies, namely: High grade ore from Red October being consistently above 8.0g/t; High grade ore from Deep South open pit being delivered in greater quantities; Base load feed from Karari open pit is exceeding expectations on grade and ounces | Company report |
| SBM | At 12:12pm local time, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake was reported off the coast of the Santa Cruz Islands in the Solomon Islands, located several hundred kilometres east of the Company’s operations at Gold Ridge. The earthquake did not effect St Barbara’s operations at Gold Ridge | Company report |
| SUN | Suncorp has received about 23,000 claims associated with ex-tropical cyclone Oswald, saying the cost of claims will be limited to no more than $220m. Suncorp said that its 30% quota share arrangement on the Qld home insurance portfolio would limit the net cost of claims. This is expected to between $200m and $220m for the affected areas across Qld and NSW. “Suncorp makes provisions for natural hazards and has an allowance of $520m for events in the 2013 financial year. As previously disclosed, for the six months to 31 December 2012, Suncorp’s total natural hazard claims were $147m. Other natural hazard events in January, including bushfires and storms in TAS and VIC, total approximately $50m.” Suncorp Personal Insurance chief executive Mark Milliner said a Suncorp team had mobilised over a wide area to respond to customers affected by the storms and flooding. | Company report |
| SXY | Senex Energy has commenced a large scale fracture stimulation program on its unconventional gas exploration wells in the SA Cooper Basin, beginning with Skipton-1 in PEL 516 (Senex 100%). The five well program aims to delineate unconventional gas resources in several Senex permits in the southern and northern SA Cooper Basin. Senex has successfully drilled three new dedicated unconventional gas exploration wells in its southern permits (Skipton-1, Kingston Rule-1, and Talaq-1). A fourth well, Paning-2 in the northern Cooper Basin, has successfully been drilled and is currently being cased. Senex observed significant zones of net gas pay within all of these wells. | Company report |
| TAH | Gaming company Tabcorp says its revenues are on the rise after suffering a 62% slide in first-half net profit. Tabcorp’s net profit fell to $72.9m in the half year to December 31, from $189.3m pcp Revenue dropped 26% to $1.2b. The drop in statutory earnings reflected major changes to the wagering and keno operator’s businesses, and included a $21.6m loss from discontinued operations. Based on its continuing operations, Tabcorp’s net profit before significant items fell 24.3% to $71.6m. However, EBITDA and significant items rose 2.6% to $231.3m. Revenues also rose 2.1%. Tabcorp’s earnings were affected by it no longer being part of a duopoly involved in the operation of poker machines outside of Melbourne’s Crown casino as of last August. Tabcorp also demerged its casino business in 2011. However, the Victorian government has allowed Tabcorp to keep its exclusive wagering licence for another 12 years, and the company hopes that the NSW government will allow it to do the same. Chief executive David Attenborough said first-half revenues had continued to grow during January. “We have a clear focus in the second half on strengthening our digital channels, expense management and executing growth opportunities relating to Fixed Odds, PGI, Keno and TGS,” he said. “Resolving the uncertainty relating to NSW wagering retail exclusivity and securing the TVN media rights remain priorities.” Tabcorp maintained its fully-franked interim dividend at 11cps | Company report |
| TGS | Tiger Resources is pleased to announce high-grade copper results from a diamond drilling (DD) programme at Judeira South, which lies within the boundaries of the Company’s Kipoi Copper Project mining licence (PE 533) in the Katanga Province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The results will be used to support the preparation of a maiden resource estimate at Judeira South. Significant intersections from the 11-hole DD programme at Judeira South included JUDDD005: 16.5m @ 5.12% Cu (from 45.9m – 62.4m) including 8.9m @ 7.39% (53.5m – 62.4m) | Company report |
| TLS | Bill Morrow, chief executive of Vodafone Australia raised concerns about universal service obligation (USO) payments assigned to telecommunications giant Telstra two years ago, under its $11 billion agreement to transfer its fixed-line customers to the Federal Government’s national broadband network | AFR |
| TLS | Telstra has left the door ajar to future dividend increases, despite a slight fall in the carrier’s massive cash pile due to costly subsidies for the iPhone 5 | AFR |
| WHC | The federal government has delayed by three months its decision on whether to allow Whitehaven Coal to develop a controversial mine in northern NSW. Whitehaven says it is disappointed by Environment Minister Tony Burke and his department’s decision to extend their timeframe for considering the Maules Creek project until April 30. Investors were equally unimpressed, with Whitehaven’s shares slumping by nearly six per cent in early trade. Managing director Tony Haggarty said Whitehaven had spent many months working with Mr Burke’s office and staff at the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (SEWPAC) to address concerns about the mine. “Whitehaven is not aware of any substantive issues with the environmental evaluations or process which has been followed,” Mr Haggarty said in a statement on Thursday. “We look forward to understanding the reasons for Minister Burke’s decision to extend the process and will address, as a matter of urgency, any questions or input from Minister Burke or SEWPAC.” Whitehaven’s plan to develop one of the world’s biggest open-cut coal mines has already received approval from the NSW government. it hopes to begin selling its first coal from the mine in mid calendar 2014. | iress |
| WPL | Federal Govt has rejected calls from WA Premier Colin Barnett for an early decision on WPL’s $40b Browse LNG venture and has left the door open on a potential move by the partners to switch to a floating LNG plant. | AFR |
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