St Barbara Limited (SBM), at its Annual General Meeting, said that the future growth for the company would be underpinned by its Gwalia mine, near the town of Leonora in Western Australia. The company is developing the mine to gain access to deeper parts of the orebody and said it was on track to achieve forecast guidance of between 205,000 and 240,000 ounces of gold in the current financial year.

By the end of the 2012 financial year the company said it was forecasting to produce between 300,000 and 340,000 ounces of gold.

The growth, the company said would be underpinned by a number of factors, including strengthened operational and management capability and higher margin operations from end of FY2011 as increased production from the Gwalia mine kicks in.

Furthermore, St Barbara said the company would renew exploration and use of available treatment plant capacity. At 1054 AEDT, St Barbara shares were up 1.5c to 36.5c.

Hastie Group Limited (HST) announced the acquisitions of the North Queensland based James + More and Tweed Heads based Cool-it. The building services and refrigeration systems group said the combined revenue of the businesses is about $35 million.

Hastie said the initial purchase price, to be paid in cash, represents an average EBIT multiple of 2.8x, with the opportunity for further performance-based earn-out payments over two years.

The company said James + More provide multi-trade air conditioning and electrical maintenance services from offices in Cairns and Townsville, and would enable Hastie to service its national customers, and capitalise on the projected growth, in the north Queensland market. Its customers include the government, defence, resources, retail, commercial offices and hospitality sectors.

Hastie said Cool-it services and installs air conditioning equipment for the commercial and residential markets from Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales to Yeppoon in central Queensland.

The company added that Cool-it has strong relationships with project home builders, especially on the Gold Coast, and a growing presence in the premium apartment and nursing home markets.

As at 1037 AEDT, Hastie shares were up 1.5c to $1.865.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Limited (FPH) announced a record profit of NZ$37 million for the six months ended 30 September 2009, 31% above the previous corresponding period (“pcp”). The company attributed the strong performance to very strong revenue growth in its obstructive sleep apnea (“OSA”) product group, continuing strong demand for its respiratory products and favourable foreign exchange hedging results.

The company reported an 18% increase in revenue for the same period to a record of NZ$251.4 million, which included OSA revenue rising by 31% to NZ$118.8 million.

CEO, Mr Michael Daniell, said constant currency operating revenue growth for OSA masks and flow generators was 20%, as the company gained market share with its new premium products.

“Growth in underlying demand for our respiratory humidifier systems was pleasing, considering the exceptional first half last year which included backorders and substantial orders for contracts in the United States,” Mr Daniell said.

”Allowing for those sales last year, we estimate that underlying constant currency revenue growth for our respiratory and acute care product group was approximately 14%.”

Fisher & Paykel said research and development expenses increased by 23% over the pcp, while selling, general and administrative expenses grew 18%, or 14% in constant currency terms.

The company’s director approved an interim dividend for the half year ended 30 September 2009 of 5.4 NZ cents per share.

Looking ahead, Fisher & Paykel said it expects to achieve operating revenue of approximately NZ$500 million and profit after tax of approximately NZ$65 million to NZ$70 million for the remainder of FY10, based on an average NZD:USD exchange rate of 0.74.

“We are very encouraged by the better than expected growth we have achieved in the first half, which has offset the effect of the appreciating NZ dollar,” Mr Daniell said.

”We expect underlying growth to increase substantially in the second half, with accelerating growth in respiratory product demand.”

As at 1018 AEDT, Fisher & Paykel shares were unchanged at $2.43.

RBS – Round Up – 191109

David Jones Limited (DJS) said it had entered into a ‘Department Store Exclusive Brand Agreement’ with Australian designer Carla Zampatti. David Jones said that her and fellow designer would remove their product from Myer stores and become exclusive to David Jones from autumn next year. Over the past five years the Carla Zampatti brand has grown by 30% within our stores and the Bianca Spender brand was added to our suite of brands in 2008, David Jones said in a statement.

Amcor Limited (AMC) announced that it is planning to raise US$850 million from the US Private Placement market. The packaging company said it had selected bids for US$850 million of notes with bullet maturities of seven, nine and 12 years with respective amounts of US$275 million, US$300 million and US$275 million. Amcor said the fixed coupon rates were priced at 5.38%, 5.69% and 5.95% respectively. The company said funding is targeted for December 15 following confirmatory due diligence by investors and until this time finalisation of the issuance is not guaranteed. Amcor intends to use the funds, in part, to replace existing outstanding bank borrowings and the balance for general corporate purposes.

Sedgman Limited (SDM) said it has won a $75 million design and supply contact for the upgrade of Xstrata’s ATCOM coal handling and preparation plant (CHPP) near Johannesburg. The company said the upgrade is part of Xstrata Coal’s recently announced $US407 million ATCOM East Project and would be delivered by Sedgman Limited and Sedgman South Africa Pty Ltd under a staged, tripartite contract with Xstrata South Africa Pty Ltd.  Sedgman and Xstrata are also discussing a second separable portion to the contract which would extend the scope of services to include construction of the ATCOM Upgrade with completion being targeted by the end of calendar 2010.

Firstfolio Limited (FFF) shares soared Thursday after the mortgage and financial services group announced it was in exclusive negotiations to acquire three separate mortgage businesses that would add approximately $6 billion in mortgage assets to the group’s existing $12 billion loan portfolio, and see monthly settlements of around $300 million. The company said it had commenced due diligence to acquire finance company, First Chartered Capital’s $3.5 billion loan book, wholesale mortgage manager, Loan Services Australia’s $2 billion mortgage managed loan book and boutique mortgage manager, Xplore Capital’s $400 million managed mortgage book. Firstfolio said the combined consideration for all three acquisitions involves upfront payments of $15 million in cash, five million shares and an estimated $5 million in deferred payments tied to agreed performance metrics.
 

Monadelphous Group Limited (MND) said it has been awarded a $60 million contract associated with the construction of the Gorgon Project on Barrow Island in Western Australia. The company said the initial term of the facilities management services contract is for three years, with the option for two further one-year extensions.

Monadelphous said commencement on site is scheduled for February 2010.

The company said the scope of services includes operating and maintaining the water and waste water treatment plants and the power generation and distribution systems as well as management and maintenance of the accommodation facilities and various buildings, vehicles, plant and equipment.

Managing Director Rob Velletri said, the company has a long track record of service on the island, having successfully provided multi-disciplinary maintenance and capital works services on Barrow Island since 2001.

The Gorgon Project is a joint venture between the Australian subsidiaries of Chevron, ExxonMobil and Shell, to develop the Greater Gorgon gas fields, located between 130km and 200km off the north-west coast of Western Australia.

At the close of trade Wednesday, Monadelphous shares were trading at $13.45.

Wall Street closed lower Wednesday after the release of disappointing housing data made investors nervous in regards to an economic recovery. A weaker greenback pushed gold prices to all-time highs. 

In economic news, housing starts dropped more than 10% to an annual rate of 529,000 in October. It was the lowest reading in six months and below the forecast 600,000 annual rate. The government report also revealed the annual rate of housing permits slipped 4% to 552,000 in October from 575,000 the previous month. Forecasts were for an increase to 580,000.

Meanwhile, in a separate government report its Consumer Price Index increased a slightly higher than anticipated 0.3% in October. The Core CPI rose 0.2%.

The Dow Jones lost 11.11 points, or 0.11%, to 10,426.31, the S&P 500 slid 0.52 points, or 0.05%, to 1,109.80 and the NASDAQ fell 10.64 points, or 0.48%, to 2,193.14.

Bank of America climbed 3.7%, while Wells Fargo and Citigroup gained 1.7% and 1.2% on a positive day for the financials.

Goldman Sachs added 0.2% after launching a $500 million initiative to prop up small business.

Tech stocks were mainly lower. Hewlett-Packard lost 1.6%, while IBM and Apple shed 0.4% and 0.5%.  Microsoft bucked the trend, adding 0.4%.

Salesforce.com fell 3.1% after its quarterly report revealed a slowdown in new business contracts.

Autodesk slumped 10.4% after missing fourth-quarter earnings forecasts.

Hershey shed 2% as it looks at options with Ferrero regarding a possible joint bid for British chocolate maker Cadbury.

Home builders Pulte Homes and Lennar added 4.6% and 0.7% despite the disappointing housing data.

Colgate-Palmolive jumped 3.7% on media reports of a possible merger with Reckitt Benckiser Group.

NYMEX light crude oil for December delivery rose US44c settle at US$79.58 a barrel. Exxon Mobil and Chevron put on 0.3% and 0.1%.

COMEX gold for December delivery gained US$1.90 to a record close of US$1,141.30 per ounce.  

European Markets

European markets were relatively flat as weaker than expected housing starts in the US countered a rally among mining stocks. Mobile telecommunications stocks suffered the largest falls.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 dipped 3.80 points, or 0.07% to 5,342.13. The French CAC40 edged 0.90 points lower, or 0.02% to 3,828.16, while the German DAX gained 9.18 points, or 0.16% to 5,787.61. 

Resource stocks rallied as copper rose to a 13-month high. The European Basic Resources Index has rallied 94% this year to date.

Xstrata jumped 4.8%, while the world’s first and third largest miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto put on 1.6% and 2.4%. Antofagasta advanced 1.9%.

Gains were not as strong among the energy stocks. BG Group, Royal Dutch Shell and BP added between 0.1% and 0.3%.

Total shed 0.3%. 

Financials were mixed with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds the major movers, having lost 3.5% and 1.6%. Insurer AXA put on 2.9%.

Vodafone and Cable & Wireless dropped 2.7% and 3.4%, while Deutsche Telekom weakened 0.6%.

Marks & Spencer climbed 5.9% following the appointment of William Morrison Supermarkets CEO Marc Bolland as the clothing retailer’s new CEO. William Morrison shares sank 4.9% after Mr Bolland’s resignation.

Cadbury gained 1.2% on reports Ferrero and Hershey are considering making a bid for the chocolate maker that would exceed that of Kraft.

Bayer shed 2.8% after International Petroleum Investment Co. denied a report the German drugs maker is an acquisition target.

Japanese Markets

Investor confidence took a hit in Japan yesterday with the specter of capital raising and ratings downgrades looming large. Japan Airlines hit 7-year lows, while the banks also weighed.

The Nikkei 225 dipped 53.13, or 0.55% to 9,676.80.

Among the banks, Mitsubishi UFJ lost 0.6%. The bank posted a 59% jump in quarterly profit but still thought it necessary to tap the market for US$11 billion in a capital raising.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group slumped 5.9%, while the third largest bank Mizuho Financial Group lost 2.4%.

JAL lost 3.9% on reports it would be denied bankruptcy protection. This came despite reports private equity firm TPG would invest US$1.1 billion – about the same amount it took out of Australia following the Myer float.

Property developers were heavily sold, Mitsubishi Estate shed 4.5%, while Mitsui Fudosan slumped 3.8%.

Heavy machinery maker, IHI Corp lost 3.8%.

Among the autos, Toyota lost 0.6%, while Honda dipped 0.8%.

Hong Kong Markets

Hong Kong stocks lost ground as investors locked in profits after a prominent adviser said the country, among others, was facing market bubbles. Financials and property stocks took the most points off the index.

The Hang Seng shed 73.82, or 0.32% to 22,840.33.

Bank of China and China Construction Bank fell 2% and 0.7%, while HSBC dropped 1.5%.

Singamas Container slumped 10.5% as it resumed trading following the announcement the company would tap the market for capital.

Property stocks Hang Lung Properties, China Overseas Land & Investment and Sino Land fell 3%, 2.1% and 1% respectively.

China Mobile rose 2.5% after it was announced the world’s largest mobile carrier by subscribers would carry Dell’s smartphone products.

Melco International dropped 3.8% after the company reported quarterly losses at its Melco Crown Entertainment increased. 

Director Interest Notices – 18 November 09