| OKN | Revenue of $171.22m (down 7% on the pcp). EBITDA of $18.85m (down 10% pcp). NPAT of $11.84m (down 10% pcp). Diluted EPS of 12.6 cents (down 10% pcp). Final fully franked dividend of 5.5 cents. Total dividend pay‐out for the year of 11 cents (up from 8.5 cents pcp). Operating cash flow of $26.57m. Ratio of operating cash flow to NPAT of 125% (after adjusting for Tenix one off net receipts). Ended June 2012 with 1,133 total staff (down 10 staff pcp). India at 187 resources (up 18 staff pcp). Improved Q4 FY2012 performance in most locations across all key metrics – utilisation, sales and staff churn. Sales in H2 FY2012 up 27% on the pcp and included an increased level of multi‐year deals. Finished FY2012 with booked and committed revenue at 43% (42% pcp) of FY2013 full year revenue budget which is targeted at a small increase on the pcp. Executed share buyback with 2,088,361 (2.23%) of issued shares purchased up to reporting date. | Company report |
| SHC | Receives Unconditional FDA Approval for U.S. Pivotal Trial | Company report |
| KRM | PT Natarang Mining (PTNM) has received a formal response from the Mines Department following its investigations into the fatality at the Talang Santo mine in September. Talang Santo is the second mine being developed at the Way Linggo Project in South Sumatra, Indonesia. PTNM executives have been in further dialogue with the relevant Mines Department officials to clarify the intent and application of the content contained in the response. The most recent discussions took place yesterday and have resulted in the Mines Department allowing PTNM to commence limited development mining activities at Talang Santo, subject to a site visit by the Department. The development work, which includes construction of an underground water sump and pumping station, is expected to take up to six weeks to complete. | Company report |
| AGK | AGL Energy said the company could meet up to half of NSW’s natural gas needs, provided it gains the approval for three coal seam gas ventures. | AFR |
| Aust | The Australian dollar will become one of the world’s first rank global currencies after the International Monetary Fund announced it would introduce the dollar to its list of global reserve currencies. | The Australian |
| EU | Moody’s downgrade of France leaves investors unperturbed. Moody’s yesterday carried out its long-awaited threat to downgrade France, cutting its rating to Aa1 from Aaa and maintaining its negative outlook. “The predictability of France’s resilience to future euro area shocks is diminishing in view of the risks to economic growth,” Moody’s said. These downgrades have long lost the ability to shock, and French 10-year OAT yields were just +4 bps to 2.115% midday in Europe | Seeking Alpha |
| Japan | As expected, the Bank of Japan has resisted political pressure and refrained from further easing measures at its latest policy meeting. The bank maintained its key interest rate at 0-0.1%, its asset fund at ¥66T ($812B), monthly purchases of government bonds at ¥1.8T, and a credit-lending facility at ¥25T. However, the bank is expected to announce stronger measures at its next meeting in December. | Seeking Alpha |
| EU | European finance ministers are due to meet in Brussels today, when, it was once hoped, they’d finally authorize more bailout money for Greece, but that prospect is apparently looking unlikely. Ministers will also have to work out how to plug another €15B hole in the country’s finances, over and above the bailout already agreed. The gap was created by giving Greece another two years to cut its budget deficit | Seeking Alpha |
| World | President Obama has told Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that their two countries must “establish clear rules” for trade and investment. Obama was speaking prior to a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Cambodia. Late yesterday, Obama and Southeast Asian leaders launched the U.S.-ASEAN Expanded Economic Engagement initiative, which is designed to help Asian countries join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade group. | Seeking Alpha |
| LYL | Lycopodium has been providing record level services into the market for the last couple of years, however in the last 6 months there has been a progressive change in market conditions. This guidance update is provided to shareholders in order to convey our view of the likely impact of that change. For the current 2012/13 financial year we expect the results to be in line with the previous record year when turnover was $232.2M (36% growth on 2010/2011) and NPAT was $22.4M. The current guidance is based predominantly on committed work which has flowed through from the peak of market activity in 2011/2012. As per our normal practice, an updated forecast for this financial year will be issued as part of the release of our mid-year financial results. | Company report |
| AMM | Reported net profit after tax increased by 10% to $28.4 million from the previous financial year. This included one-off items such as the profit arising on the distribution of our iiNet investment to our shareholders early in August 2011, and the write down of the carrying value of some assets such as goodwill and obsolete equipment. Excluding one off items, underlying net profit rose 22% to $16.8 million. This is a milestone result for your company as it marks the 10th consecutive year underlying net profit has grown in excess of 20% per annum. I’m sure you’ll agree this is an outstanding performance for any company through a decade marked by economic volatility and a global financial crisis. It demonstrates the strength of our business model and the depth of talent within the organisation. | Company report |
| NWS | News Corp, as expected, has agreed to buy a 49% stake in New York regional sports network YES. The company didn’t specify a price, but a person familiar with the matter said that the entire network is valued at about $3 billion. YES’s key asset is the right to broadcast New York Yankees games, considered more valuable than any baseball team in the U.S. The sellers include Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Providence Equity Partners. The deal provides a path for News Corp to raise its stake in the network to 80%, the company said. At that point, New York Yankees baseball team owner Yankee Global Enterprises would still retain a minority stake. | WSJ |
| US | Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank wouldn’t have “infinite” ability to address the economic fallout that would result from a failure by lawmakers to reach a compromise in fiscal talks as the US “fiscal cliff” approaches.. | WSJ |
| EU | Credit ratings have become notoriously backward looking over the financial crisis. So it was no surprise that Moodys’ decision to rob France of its Triple-A rating came after several weeks of intense debate over France’s economic prospects and more than a week after President Francois Hollande had responded to market concerns by announcing a wide-ranging program of overhauls. Most of the stated reasons for the downgrade were familiar enough: France’s inflexible labor markets and lack of competitiveness, its deteriorating fiscal position and large contingent liabilities arising from the euro crisis. But one reason particularly stood out. Moody’s complained that, unlike other highly-rated non euro zone sovereigns, France did not have its own central bank to “assist its funding” in a crisis | WSJ |
| VAH | Virgin Australia’s shareholder register is beginning to look crowded, with the register attracting Etihad Airways & Singapore Airlines with 10% stakes, to sit behind Air NZ (19.99%) and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group (26.1%, pre-dilution). Etihard & Singapore Airlines’ moves have created much interest, particularly around whether either will increase its holding above the 10% threshold | AFR |
| SDL | There is a slim wave of optimism growing that next Tuesday could be the day that the West African-focused iron ore explorer finally gets its hands on the much-prized mining convention it needs to mine the Mbalam deposit in Cameroon and the mining license for the contiguous Nabeba deposit in the Republic of Congo | AFR |
| MMX | Mercantile, which owns about 12% of Murchison, is seeking to throw Ken Scott-Mackenzie and Greg Martin off the board because it reckons they’ve been wasting cash that could have been returned to shareholders | AFR |
| FBU | Fletcher Building expects operating earnings to grow by as much as 22% in the 2013 financial year ending June, to between $560m and $610m, underpinned by a recovery in the NZ housing market. | AFR |
| MND | Engineering firm Monadelphous expects first-half revenue to grow by 40% due to record levels of new construction work | The Australian |
| SGP | Veteran UBS investment banker Mark Steinert is tipped as the new boss of the country’s largest residential developer, Stockland, replacing Matthew Quinn, who will depart before February | The Australian |
| AGK | Energy giant AGL will join competitor Origin’s challenge to proposed new rules for power companies in Qld and South Australia | AFR |
| ORG | Energy giant AGL will join competitor Origin’s challenge to proposed new rules for power companies in Qld and South Australia | AFR |
| TGA | Thorn Group posted a weak interim net profit and warned that its full-year earnings would be flat | The Australian |
| CDD | warned of tough conditions in the construction industry on Australia’s east coast and the impact of Hurricane Sandy on its operations in the US | The Australian |
| HVN | Eleven Harvey Norman franchisee face fines of up to $1.1m for giving customers misleading information about their right to claim a refund or replace faulty products | SMH |
| ASX | Australia’s major investment banks may be forced to hold stock-exchange licenses under a tough new regime proposed by the government to crack down on secretive trading venues known as dark pools | AFR |
| US | Construction of new homes rose 3.6% in October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 894,000, the highest level in more than four years | WSJ |
| DJS | DJ’s sales rose 0.3 per cent in the October quarter and would it have been stronger if it hadn’t cut the duration of its mid-season sale but its CEO remains cautious. DJS expects flat Christmas sales as middle-class shoppers keep their purse strings tight despite a series of rate cuts. | AFR |
| China | China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has submitted a proposal to reduce the effective tax rate for domestic iron ore mines from the current level of ~25% to 10-15%. Should this proposal become policy, it would have a meaningful impact on cost support levels and iron ore price assumptions for the coming years – reducing marginal cost support by as much as $14/t. Overall, there is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the timing and nature of any tax changes. However, until more clarity emerges, the potential for tax changes could weigh negatively on investor sentiment towards the sector. China has just seen the lowest monthly ore production in the three years, therefore they have some basis for requesting these tax cuts. | Macquarie |
| EU | Eurogroup says no decision reached on Greece | Zerohedge |
Filed under: Company News, World News
