PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - Aug 27
Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com)
Clothing and footwear group Pacific Brands yesterday (PBG.AX) reported a full-year loss of A$234.4 million for the year to the end of June, and cancelled dividend payments. The company also said that the costs associated with a transformation program had risen by A$46 million, increasing the total cost of the three-year program to A$140 million. Chief executive Sue Morphet said that the group, which owns brands including Bonds, Holeproof and Berlei, is now recovering after undergoing a 'most confronting' few months. Page 16.
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Listed food company Goodman Fielder yesterday reported its full-year results, including net profit of A$177.1 million. The group said it will spend more on marketing and product development this year following indications that the company's core business of consumer food has been strengthening since the second half of 2009. Chief executive Peter Margin said he expects the market to continue improving, and that the company will start benefiting from cost reductions and improved pricing it has put in place. Page 16.
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Media investment group Consolidated Media Holdings (CMJ.AX) released its full-year results late yesterday, including a net profit of A$427 million. Executive chairman John Alexander praised the performance of the group's pay television assets in particular. Consolidated Media yesterday announced it had sold its 26.7 percent stake in online jobs site Seek for A$441 million, generating a A$302 million profit. The media group will hold a briefing on the results today. Page 19.
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Private investment group Seven Network (SEV.AX), which is 48.4 percent owned by West Australian businessman Kerry Stokes, yesterday released its annual results. However, the company's chief operating officer, Peter Lewis, said that they were a 'difficult set of results to comprehend,' as Seven had made a string of investments using some of the A$3.2 billion gained from the sale of media assets in 2006. The group has around A$1.1 billion in cash remaining, but is yet to say what it intends to do with the funds. Page 19.
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THE AUSTRALIAN(www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
The announcement of a joint venture between supermarket operator Woolworths (WOW.AX) and United States-based hardware group Lowe's Companies (LOW), led to shares in the Australian company rising A7 cents to A$28.70, a ten-month high. The A$500 million new venture is to purchase hardware distributor Danks Holdings for A$88 million, and intends to open 150 'big-box' stores over the next five years. Woolworths has not yet announced details of the stores, but is expected to provide competition to hardware sector leader Bunnings. Page 17.
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Oil and gas company Arrow Energy (AOE.AX) yesterday announced full-year results, including a record net profit of A$366 million, helped by asset sales of A$881 million. Chief executive Nick Davies said 'the underlying business is performing extremely well,' and forecast record production and operating profits this year, underpinned by the opening of a coal seam gas-fired power station in Queensland near the town of Dalby, which is 50 percent owned by Arrow. Page 18.
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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is believed to be among the institutions which have reached the second round of bidding for the Swiss and Asian private banking assets of Dutch banking and insurance company ING Group. Other bidders are thought to include Credit Suisse Group, DBS Group Holdings, Julius Baer Holding and Britain's Standard Chartered. The assets are expected to generate between US$1.8 billion and US$2 billion for ING, which it will use to help repay a 10 billion euro lifeline it received from the Dutch government last year. Page 19. Continued...
