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)
AustralianSuper attempted to oust News Corporation
chief executive Rupert Murdoch as chairman and remove his son
James from the conglomerate’s board last year, the A$55 billion
fund revealed yesterday. AustralianSuper teamed up with other
major international investors such as British fund manager
Hermes to encourage News Corp to elevate more independent
directors. Page 13.
—
Rio Tinto has refused to delay its decision on
whether it will halt production at its Gove alumina plant in the
Northern Territory (NT), despite a direct appeal from Northern
Territory Chief Minister Terry Mills. Mr Mills asked the miner
to wait another eight months, but Rio will maintain its original
deadline of January 31 despite the NT Cabinet approving the
conditional restructuring of a gas supply deal. The contract
was altered to free up supplies for the Gove facility. Page 13.
—
Analysts are concerned that BHP Billiton’s first
half underlying earnings could be affected by impairments on its
nickel and aluminium divisions. Goldman Sachs has estimated
between US$2 billion to US$3 billion could be written off BHP’s
aluminium arm, while the company has already announced its Ekati
diamond mine will be devalued by US$200 million. The miner is
expected to announce underlying earnings of US$6 billion for the
half year, 40 percent lower than the same period a year ago.
Page 13.
—
Robert Cooke, chief executive of Healthscope, yesterday
announced the healthcare center operator had shut 44 of its
collection centers and fired 70 workers as part of a restructure
relating to the Australian Capital Territory and New South
Wales. Figures from Australian Medicare show the reduction in
centers equates to 7.3 percent of Healthscope’s total network.
Rivals Primary Health Care and Sonic Healthcare
are expected to benefit as a result. Page 15.
—
THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au)
BHP Billiton is expected to reduce by A$3.8 billion
the book value of its nickel and aluminium assets in Australia
next month, with analysts forecasting the two divisions to
record around US$600 million in losses this financial year. The
miner released a strong production report yesterday for the
first quarter, with BHP’s major commodities divisions – such as
iron ore, copper, coking coal and petroleum – mostly meeting
analysts’ expectations. Page 17.
—
David Trebeck, chairman of Penrice Soda Holdings,
yesterday was confident that a restructuring plan for the soda
ash manufacturer would be supported by shareholders tomorrow.
The company is the first in Australia to confront a possible
board spill under the “two strikes” regulations. The
restructure will result in 60 workers being sacked, the closure
of Penrice’s chemical plant in South Australia later this year
and soda ash being imported from the United States. Page 17.
—
Telstra yesterday was confident that its new Global
Applications and Platforms unit would become a major source of
revenue for the Australian telecommunications giant within three
years. The software developer will employ 70 workers and will
identify possible streams of revenue by creating new mobile
phone services and applications for companies and consumers.
Page 17.
—
Sam Walsh, chief executive of Rio Tinto, yesterday
said the company needs to be more respectful of the
shareholder’s investments after A$33 billion in impairments over
the last five years. Rio has written off nearly US$30 billion
of the US$39 billion it paid for aluminium producer Alcan in
2007, leading largest shareholder BlackRock to complain about
the recent performance of major miners. “It’s incredibly
frustrating to see these companies be as reckless and
profligate with the shareholder capital,” BlackRock’s Evy Hambro
said. Page 17.
—
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au)
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics
yesterday showed a 3.7 percent increase in private sector wages
for the year to the third quarter of 2012. The bureau also
revealed a 0.2 percent rise in the consumer price index for the
December quarter and a 2.2 percent jump for the year. The
Australian dollar dropped by a quarter of a cent following the
news, and was trading around US105.40 cents yesterday
afternoon. Page B1.
—
Australia’s three major mobile phone network operators
yesterday confirmed they would participate in the Federal
Government’s auction for mobile spectrum, despite the companies
complaining last year about an increase in the reserve price.
Vodafone Hutchison Australia announced its intention to bid for
the 2.5 GHz band, while Telstra will bid for both the 2.5 GHz
and 720 MHz bands. Commonwealth Bank of Australia analysts
calculate Telstra will spend around A$2.6 billion on the
auction. Page B2.
—
The loss of a multi-million dollar agreement with Air New
Zealand has forced Qantas Airways to call for
voluntary redundancies among ground staff at Sydney Airport’s
international terminal. A spokesman for Qantas said while the
loss of the contract was being evaluated, it was not expected to
force compulsory redundancies. That view is shared by the
Australian Services Union, which represents customer service
staff at the airline and will meet with Qantas management on
Friday. Page B2.
—
Cement maker Boral yesterday announced stronger
than anticipated earnings for the second half of calendar 2012,
revealing a A$52 million net profit for the period. Shares in
the company closed unchanged, however, as there was no
information on impairments or provisions for the period. Boral
previously forecast net profit for the December half to remain
consistent with the A$35 million achieved in the second half of
2011-12. Page B3.
—
THE AGE (www.theage.com.au)
Linc Energy yesterday announced it would spin its
coal assets into a separate division. The new entity would also
retain a A$2 per tonne royalty from Adani Mining’s Carmichael
Coal project in Queensland, which is expected to produce 60
million tonnes of coal annually for at least two decades from
2016. Peter Bond, chief executive of the diversified energy
group, said Linc’s coal unit would “stand on its own two feet”.
Page B15.
—
Pesticide manufacturer Nufarm yesterday revealed
that its earnings would be damaged by abnormally dry and hot
weather in eastern Australia, fostering concerns of weak
earnings for agribusiness sector. The company’s share price
crashed by 9 percent to A$5.75 despite stating its operations in
Europe and South America would perform effectively and offset
any losses from its Australian division. Page B15.
—
The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union is suing
Rio Tinto in the New South Wales Federal Court, arguing
it discriminated between unionised and non-unionised employees
by offering up to A$120,000 more in redundancy payments to
workers on individual contracts when it shut down a central
Queensland mine last year. The action is the latest incident
sparked by the miner’s campaign to reduce the influence of
unions among its staff. Page B13.
—
The S&P;/ASX 200 Index closed 8.7 points higher at 4787.8
points yesterday, while the All Ordinaries enjoyed marginal
gains of 0.2 percent to finish at 4812.2. Materials and energy
companies performed the best, rising by 0.6 percent and 0.4
percent respectively, while health stocks dived by 1.3 percent.
Luke McElwaine, senior trader at RBS Morgans, said Rio Tinto’s
0.7 percent fall to A$66.45 was probably due to investors taking
profits following the sacking of former chief executive Tom
Albanese. Page B12.
