Archive for February, 2009
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for February, 2009.
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Following Pacific Brands announcement of more than 1800 job cuts, news of the CEO s hefty 170% pay rise has added fuel to the firey debate on executive salaries.
The ACTU president has called CEO Sue Morphet s pay packet of $1.86 million obscene , and a sign corporate Australia s wonky moral compass. Remarkably, Ms Morphet s remuneration was half that of the previous CEO.
In addition, the total remuneration for the company s 13 directors more than doubled last year, to $15.5 million.
Despite receiving $15 million in taxpayer assistance funds in the last two years, Pacific Brands announced it would move its manufacturing offshore, at the expense of 1850 jobs.
The debate is set to continue with Sol Trujillo s departure from Telstra. It s been estimated the outgoing chief will leave with a $33 million golden handshake when he finishes up in June, as well as tax compensation and share options.
Further information:
Tags: ASX, ASX News, economy, golden handshake, investing, Pacific Brands, shareholders, Sol Trujillo, stock market, Telstra
Posted in ASX Company News | No Comments
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Presented by Michael Hevern
MDS Financial
Click here to watch the presentation.
or
Click here to download the mp3 audio recording (1178Kb).
*******************************************************
In this morning’s wrap…
DOW: down 1.2%
Obama: Wants More Bailout ($US750bn);
Seeks $1tr Tax Increase (on 2.6m Higher Earners)
NASDAQ: down 1.7%
Microsoft down 2.4% & Cisco down 1.2%;
FTSE: up 1.7%
Bank Nationalisation (RBS $53bn loss Govt owns 80%); Banks up 8.5%; DAX & CAC up 2%
NIKKEI: Flat – Below 7900
Jan. Exports down 46%; Trade Deficit Worst on 20yrs Yen Weakens (3mo Lows);
Oil: up 4% – Above $40 ($44)
US Inventories Down;
Trading the Range
Gold: down 2% ($946)
Profit Taking
USD down
SPI: Critical Levels 3420 + 3220
SPI down 21;
Bouncing off November Lows
ASX News
- LLC 1H09 loss $596m (cf $250m profit) cuts 1700 jobs
- QBE profits Steady helped by $409m FX gains
- TTS Profit up 9%; Rev up 5%; F/cast slow 2H09
- ANZ cuts divy by 25% – to bolster balance sheet
- TLS Sol to leave with $3m payout ($33m total)
- OZL D-day – debt refinance
- Report -1H: WOW, CWN, PPX, DOW, HVN
- ASX to open weaker US still testing 12 year lows
Tags: ASX, ASX News, Commodity prices, Dow, FTSE, gold price, Hang Seng, investors, Nasdaq, Nikkei, oil price, shareholders, spi
Posted in Stock Market Analysis | No Comments
Friday, February 27th, 2009
US markets were higher early on, then fell away as the day progressed. The Dow closed down 89 points or 1.2%% at 7181, the S&P500 was down 12 points or 1.5% at 752 and the Nasdaq was down 33 points or 2.3% at 1391.
Gold fell sharply down $23 to $942/oz and oil climbed $2.72 or 6% to $45.22/bbl at settlement.
Posted in ASX Trading News | No Comments
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Neptune Marine Services (NMS) reported first half 2009 revenues of $95 million versus $31.7 million in H1 2008. Income from continuing operations, excluding non-cash charges, was $15.6 million, representing diluted earnings per share of 5.1 cents versus 1.0 cent for the same period last year. Operating cashfows for the period were $6.4 million versus $4.2 million for the first half of 2008.
Neptune’s Managing Director and CEO, Christian Lange, said the result was particularly encouraging in light of the current global economic climate. “As previously outlined, Neptune has not experienced a material impact to date, as the majority of our revenue is derived from continued investment in brownfield infrastructure and producing assets,” he explained. “Additionally, it is worth noting that revenues for the first six months include only three months contribution from the Neptune Trident Offshore Vessel.”
http://www.neptunems.com/
Tags: Neptune Marine Services, NMS, profit increase, Record Profit
Posted in ASX Company News | No Comments
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Leading Australian integrated energy company Arrow Energy (AOE) announced a $241.3 million net profit after tax for the half year ended 31 December 2008. The company’s strong performance was underpinned by its transaction with Royal Dutch Shell which saw the oil giant pay A$319 million during December 2008 as part payment for a 30% share of Arrow’s interests in all of its Australian upstream tenements.
Excluding non-operating items which includes the Shell deal, total revenue was $48.2 million, up 71% on the comparative prior half year. Arrow’s cash on hand at year end was $297 million which has subsequently increased to over $550 million since the completion of the Shell transaction earlier this month.
Arrow Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mr Nick Davies, said “Challenging economic conditions over the past six months made the company’s first half performance particularly impressive.”
http://www.arrowenergy.com.au/page/Investor_Relations/ASX_Announcements/
Tags: AOE, Arrow Energy, profit increase, Record Profit
Posted in ASX Company News | No Comments
Friday, February 27th, 2009
Diversified telecommunications services provider M2 Telecommunications Group Limited (MTU) released its financial results for the half year ended 31 December 2008, delivering strong growth in earnings, earnings per share (EPS), dividends per share (DPS) and consolidated revenues. Revenue was $87.2 million, an increase of 114%, while NPAT was $3.19 million, an increase of 63%.
The M2 group has delivered record half year earnings and earnings per share, on a considerably enlarged revenue base. Based upon this strong performance for the period, the Directors have declared the Company’s 9th consecutive dividend, totaling 2.5c per share (fully franked).
M2’s Managing Director and CEO, Vaughan Bowen, said of the interim performance; “We are very pleased to have delivered a strong result for the first half. Growth has been particularly solid in our M2 Wholesale division, with our M2 Telecom retail arm also growing organically during the period.”
http://m2.com.au/invest.php
Tags: M2 Telecoms, MTU, profit increase
Posted in ASX Company News | No Comments
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Making the news today…
- The OZ Minerals share price dropped 15.4% yesterday, with investors fearful that OZ s banks won t come to the party by tomorrow s deadline. There were plenty of buyers as well though, with over 125 million shares being traded.
- Economic recovery in the US could happen as early as 2010. With a rare spark of optimism, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress that recovery was possible if policymakers were successful in restoring financial stability.
- Sol Trujillo will be departing Telstra in June, after four years of aggressive and often controversial changes as CEO. Let s see if the change of leadership brings about a reconciliation between the telco and the federal government.
- Fortescue Metals has scrapped plans for a $500 million capital raising, as Chinese Hunan Valin is willing to pay a much higher price for its shares than Australian institutional investors.
Stocks for your watchlist:
OZ Minerals: OZL.AX (ASX)
Fortescue Metals Group: FMG.AX (ASX)
Telstra: TLS.AX (ASX)
Further Information:
The Age
The Australian (1)
The Australian (2)
Tags: ASX, ASX News, Australian financial news, Business News, Fortescue Metals, global recession, investors, OZ Minerals, shareholders, Telstra
Posted in ASX Company News | 1 Comment
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Presented by Michael Hevern
MDS Financial
Click here to watch the presentation.
or
Click here to download the mp3 audio recording (1093Kb).
**************************************************
In this morning’s wrap…
DOW: down 1.1%
DOW Transport down 45% YoY;
Bank Stress Tests
NASDAQ: up 0.1%
Microsoft & Cisco down 1.2%;
Apple up +1%
FTSE: up 0.9% (down 40% YTD)
BoE says: recession may intensify significantly ; DAX down 1.2% & CAC down 0.4%
NIKKEI: up 2.6% – Below 7900
Yen Weakens; Japan Deeper Recession;
Hang Seng up 1.6%
Oil: up 6% – Above $40 ($42)
Petrol Stockpiles Down;
US Inventories Down Again
Gold: down 0.4% ($965)
Commodities Up;
USD Lower
SPI: Critical Levels 3420 & 3220
SPI down 10;
Bouncing off November Lows
ASX News
- FMG shelves $500m capital raising
- China s Valin to buy $776m (16.5% stake)
- WPL raising $US1bn Corp Bonds;5 & 10 yr @6%
- OZL Friday D-day – debt refinance; Minmetals bid
- PBG first loss($150m);` cuts 1850 jobs
- GFF 1H09 profits down 22% – commodity costs
- WOR 1H09 profit up 29%; Rev up 39%; f/cast growth
- ANZ cuts divy by 25% – to bolster balance sheet
- ASX to open weaker US testing 12 year lows
Tags: ASX, ASX News, Commodity prices, Dow, FTSE, gold price, investors, Nasdaq, Nikkei, oil price, S&P 500, sharemarket, stockmarket
Posted in Stock Market Analysis | No Comments
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
US markets were down heavily early on, then rallied strongly to fall away again. The Dow closed down 80 points or 1.0%% at 7270, the S&P500 was down 8 points or 1.1% at 764 and the Nasdaq was down 16 points or 1.1% at 1425.
Gold fell further down $3 to $966/oz and oil climbed $2.54 to $42.50/bbl at settlement.
Tags: Dow, gold, Nasdaq, oil, S&P500
Posted in Stock Market Analysis | No Comments
Thursday, February 26th, 2009
Hastie Group Limited, the leading international building services and refrigeration systems group, today announced a 119 per cent increase in profit after tax to $32 million for the half year to 31 December 2008. Revenue increased by 82 per cent to $923 million and earnings per share grew by 58 per cent to 19.4 cents. These results include contributions from Rotary which was acquired in April 2008.
The directors have declared a fully franked interim dividend of 7.0 cents per share, payable on 17 April 2009 to shareholders on the register at 6 March 2009.
“This strong result reflects the resilience of Hastie’s operations during these challenging times,” said Mr. David Harris, Group Managing Director and CEO. “The group’s continuing contract wins and 20 per cent organic growth demonstrate the robust nature of its strategy and business model, which provides diversification across sectors and regions.”
http://www.hastiegroup.com.au/
Tags: Building services, Hastie Group, HST, Profit Announcement
Posted in ASX Company News | No Comments
