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Aquila Resources Limited (AQA) said its wholly owned subsidiary Washpool Coal Pty Ltd is undertaking the feasibility study for the Washpool Hard Coking Coal Project, a proposed open cut coal mine situated in Central Queensland. The company said its is anticipated that the project would produce between 1.6–2.0 million tonnes per annum of product coking coal for export markets. The project is positioned to the east of Wesfarmers’ Curragh Coal Mine and to the west of the Ensham Resources Pty Ltd operated Ensham Coal Mine.

Adelaide Resources Limited (ADN) shares soared Wednesday morning after the company said copper and gold assay results from its flagship Rover Project exceeded expectations. The company said results confirm two substantial intervals of high-grade ironstone hosted mineralisation, including 55 metres at 3.36% copper and 0.16 g/t gold, and a lower 31-metre interval from 450 metres, containing 2.16 g/t gold and 2.23% copper. Adelaide Resources said the latter includes an extremely high grade interval of 2 metres at 23.24 g/t gold and 1.87% copper. The company expects assays from the second batch of samples in the next two weeks.

Alesco Corporation Limited (ALS) forecast a 29% drop in half year EBITA compared to the previous corresponding period based on preliminary unaudited management accounts. The company said it is expecting EBITA to total $30 million at the end of the six-month period.

Alesco said the comparison excludes the contribution from the Scientific & Medical division, which was sold on 30 April 2009.

The company said earnings per share before amortisation and significant items is expected to be approximately 16.5c, while full-year EPS is expected to be in the range of 34c to 36c based on the above mentioned first half performance.

Alesco said revenue from the continuing businesses for the first half of FY10 was down approximately 15% as lower volumes, pricing pressures and the volatility of the Australian dollar against other currencies impacting margins. 

However, the company said trading results from the continuing businesses in the first half of FY10 were ahead of the second half FY09, with revenue up by approximately 7% and EBITA up by approximately 15%.

Alesco said net debt had been reduced from $159.7 million to $138 million, while gearing at 30 November 2009 is expected to be about 20%.

CEO, Justin Ryan, said sales were well down on the prior corresponding period, as the Australian and New Zealand housing and construction markets continued to soften.

“However, trading in the second quarter of FY10 was significantly better than the first quarter with sales up by approximately 10%, quarter on quarter,” Mr Ryan said.

”In addition, EBITA more than doubled in the second quarter, reflecting the seasonality of the business, an improved contribution from the Water Products & Services division and the benefits from the appreciating Australian dollar.”

Mr Ryan said there are encouraging signs of a market recovery with housing and loan approvals increasing.

”However, activity levels in the broader construction and infrastructure markets remain subdued, with a significant decline in new private sector projects,” he said.

“Government stimulus spending will provide some buffer against this decline in activity. However, the benefits of this spending are not expected to flow through until later in calendar 2010.”

As at 1042 AEDT, Alesco shares were down 31c to $4.61.

BHP Billiton Limited (BHP) said it had offloaded its Ravensthorpe Nickel Mine to First Quantum Minerals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian company First Quantum Minerals Ltd for US$340 million.

BHP said that a result of the sale it would reverse a previously recognised pre-tax impairment charge from 30 June 2009 of around US$630 million, or US$441 million post tax, for the half year ended 31 December 2009.

This will be reported as an exceptional item the company said.

BHP said the sale was expected to be confirmed during the first quarter of 2010 calendar year.

BHP Acting President of Stainless Steel Materials, Gerard Bond, said the sale, which is still subject to normal regulatory approvals, was a good result for the company and the local communities.

"We will work with the new owners of Ravensthorpe to ensure an effective handover of the operation in the coming months. We wish First Quantum every success with this new chapter for Ravensthorpe,” Mr Bond said. At 1013 AEDT, BHP shares were down 72c to $40.33.

The Transfield Services Limited (TSE) – WorleyParsons Limited (WOR) joint venture (TSWP) signed a seven-year contract valued at about $76 million to deliver integrated services to Shell Philippines Exploration at its Malampaya gas facility. The companies said the contract includes a three-year extension option.  

TSWP said it would provide the base engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance and shutdown services to the Malampaya facilities from 1 January 2010, with the opportunity to access additional high value capital works during the lifetime of this contract.

Managing director and CEO of Transfield Services, Dr Peter Goode, said the company’s expertise would be essential to Shell in the Philippines, which supplies gas to meet 40% of the country’s needs.

TSWP delivers existing international services to Shell Miri in Malaysia, Shell Todd Oil Services and New Zealand Refining Company in New Zealand, Woodside and ExxonMobil in Australia, Goro Nickel in New Caledonia and RasGas in Qatar.

As at 1011 AEDT, Transfield shares were down 6c to $3.85, while WorleyParsons shares were down 53c to $27.59.

Linc Energy Limited (LNC) said it has signed an agreement with UK-based fuel cell technology company AFC Energy and its related company, B9 Coal, giving it the right to test the AFC Fuel Cell Technology on hydrogen produced from underground coal gasification (“UCG”) for two years. Linc said it would purchase the first Alpha Fuel Cell System for £200,000 and has an option to invest £2.3 million into AFC Energy stock to extend the exclusivity period in perpetuity.

The company said it anticipates commencing testing of the system at Chinchilla by mid April 2010.

CEO, Peter Bond, said it made sense to marry the cleanest power generation technology with the cleanest gasification technology.

”The picture of success is that you have a UCG field producing cheap and efficient UCG gas, with this UCG gas piped aboveground a short distance on the same gas field, adjacent to the fuel cell installation,” Mr Bond said.

”There the gas is cleaned and put through a membrane to enhance the hydrogen percentage that is fed into a smart and compact Fuel Cell power generation facility that produces virtually no CO2 emissions.”

He added that the green power produced could be the ultimate answer for clean coal power and that it is one to two years away from reality.

At the close of trade Tuesday, Linc Energy shares were trading at $1.535.

RBS – Round Up – 091209

Directors' Interest Notices
08 December 09

Symbol	Shareholder	+/-	Prior	Now
CSR	Ian David Blackburne		261,333	307,06*
CSR	Nicholas Burton Taylor		92,000	108,100*
CSR	Kathleen Marie Conlon		72,436	85,113*
CSR	Shane Michael Gannon		0	25,461*
CSR	Raymond Kenneth Horsburgh		32,228	35,768*
CSR	Richard John Lee		148,092	174,009*
CSR	John Douglas Story		158,148	185,825*
CSR	Jeremy Leigh Sutcliffe		63,244	74,312*
ELD	James Hutchison Ranck		373,334	443,334
FPA	John Gilks		441,736	500,000
MMX	Robert Moyse Wilcocks		50,000	0

* Issue of Securities under Retail Entitlement Offer

Substantial Shareholder Changes 
08 December 09

Symbol	Shareholder	+/-	Prior	Now
CMJ	Mr J D Packer & Cons. Press		44.09	45.3
ILU	MFS Investment Management		-	5.04
MMX	Harbinger Capital Partners		18	19.41
QAN	UBS Nominees Pty Ltd		-	5.07
SHL	Westpac Banking Corporation		-	5.47
TAH	AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd		5.14	-
TWO	Equitys AsiaPac Limited		5.19	-
TEL	Lazard Asset Mgt Pacific Co.		6.16	7.24

All movements are percentage changes.

A strengthening greenback, falling commodity prices and disappointing earnings news sent Wall Street crumbling Tuesday. A reported cut by a ratings agency on six Dubai state-connected companies saw Dubai debt concerns resurface.

Expectations are for the Federal Reserve to start lifting interest rates after the middle of next year, though the strengthening dollar against most currencies has convinced some that interest rate rises could come sooner. Officials will meet on December 15 and 16 to discuss the economy, rates and the Fed's financial-rescue efforts.

In economic news, consumer lending dropped for the ninth consecutive month in October. According to the Federal Reserve lending declined $3.5 billion, or 1.7%, means consumer lending as fallen 4% since its July 2008 peak. Before which it had been growing for over 50 years.

The Dow Jones dropped 104.14 points, or 1.00%, to 10,285.97, the S&P 500 shed 11.31 points, or 1.03%, to 1,091.94 and the NASDAQ slid 16.62 points, or 0.76%, to 2,172.99. 

Financials lost ground for a second day. Citigroup and Bank of America fell 3% each, while Wells Fargo shed 1.3%.

3M dipped 1% despite the diversified conglomerate announcing a 2010 profit forecast that was within or better than analysts' expected range. General Electric lost 2.2%.

FedEx rallied 2.7% after the package shipper increased its earning guidance by over 10% due to better-than-expected growth in certain divisions.

Grocery story chain Kroger slumped 11.9% after reporting a third-quarter loss compared to a profit a year earlier. The company also cut its full-year forecast.

Safeway dropped 6.8%.

In automotive news, General Motors said it may payback government loans totalling US$6.7 billion in one lump sum rather than on a quarterly basis.

Ford shares slid 1%.

Energy stocks dropped as the price of crude lowered for a fifth straight day. Exxon Mobil, Chevron and ConocoPhillips lost between 1.1% and 1.8%.  

COMEX gold for February delivery fell US$20.60 to settle at US$1,143.40 an ounce. It was the third successive day the price of the metal had weakened.

Barrick Gold and Newmont Mining fell 4.6% and 2.9%.

European Markets

European stocks closed lower as Dubai debt concerns and a Fitch ratings downgrade on Greece hit the banks hard. An unexpected fall in German industrial output during October also weighed on the market.

The UK benchmark FTSE 100 fell 87.53 points, or 1.65% to 5,223.13. The French CAC40 shed 54.75 points, or 1.43% to 3,785.30, while the German DAX lost 96.17 points, or 1.66% to 5,688.58.

Banks struggled over concerns of exposure to Dubai World. The largest underwriter of loans to Dubai, Royal Bank of Scotland, slumped 7.7% to an eight-month low.

UK peers Barclays and HSBC shed 3.2% and 2.5%.

Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale lost 2%, 1.6% and 1.2% respectively.

Insurer AXA dropped 2.3%.

Another fall in the price of crude sent energy stocks lower. BG Group weakened 2%, while BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were between 1.1% and 1.5% in the red.

Xstrata and Anglo American led the miners lower with falls of 3.5% and 3.2%. Metals prices dropped on the London Metals Exchange.  

Aussie peers BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto dipped 2.8% and 2.6%.

Tesco shed 2.3% after the retailer reported quarterly sales growth that was at the bottom end of guidance.

Japanese Markets

The Nikkei’s six-day rally came to an end on profit-taking and as a strengthening yen placed pressure on exporters. The market also reacted to US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments the previous day that the US economy was facing “formidable headwinds”.

The government unveiled a US$81 billion economic stimulus package.

The Nikkei 225 slid 27.13, or 0.27% to 10,140.47.

Mazda Motor and Nissan fell 2.3% and 0.9%. It was Nissan’s first decline in seven sessions.

Canon dipped 1.1%. Sony and Panasonic put on 1.2% and 0.4%.

Fast Retailing lost 1.9%.

Among the heavyweight banks Mizuho Financial Group and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group weakened 2.3% and 1.9%. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group added 0.4%.

Nippon Yusen K.K. sank 5.7% as the Baltic Dry index lost ground for the first time in four days. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines dropped 5.4% and 3.3%.

Hong Kong Markets

The Hong Kong market closed lower for a third straight session Tuesday as investors sold the banks on concerns the government wouldn’t help to boost capital. Consumer stocks, meanwhile, also lost ground on concerns the US recovery was stalling.

The Hang Seng shed 264.44, or 1.18% to 22,060.52.

Bank of China slumped 1.6%, while Europe’s largest bank HSBC sank 2%. Heavyweight lender ICBC split the two with a 1.8% drop.

Bank of Communications bucked the trend, adding 1%.

Foxconn International Holdings lost 2.8% as investors booked profits following Monday’s 17% surge.

It was a similar story for Huiyuan Juice, which lost 7.6%, following a 19% rally the day before after reports came out a key investor was looking to increase its stake in the drink maker.

The autos continue to go from strength to strength with the Geely Automobile up another 6%.

On the downside shippers lost ground as the Baltic Dry Index, a measure of shipping costs, finished lower.

China Cosco Holdings slumped 3.3%, while Pacific Basin Shipping retreated 1.6%.

Aussie shares gave up small early gains to finish down for the third straight session. The 0.1% loss was driven by modest declines from the majors in most sectors with the exception of BHP and Rio Tinto, which edged higher.

At the close, the All Ords lost 8.8 to 4,686.4, while the ASX/200 shed 5.9 to 4,670.6. About 2.4 billion shares worth around $4.4 billion had changed hands.

BHP gained 44c, or 1.1% to $41.05 as it moved a step closer to acquiring United Minerals Corporation after UMC announced it had cancelled a one-for-ten rights issue.

UMC stocks slid 0.5c to $1.26.

It was a mixed day for the other players in the Materials and Resources sector, which shrugged off a dip in metal prices to edge 0.5% higher at the close.

Rio Tinto traded both sides of the gain line, finishing up 31c to $71.90, while Fortescue shed 5c to $4.21. 

Mirabela Nickel, whose shares have dropped by 27% in the last couple of months, rallied 2% to $2.50 after announcing that it had commissioned its Santa Rita nickel mine in Brazil.

The gold miners were mixed as US investors sold the metal on an improving employment in the US and positive comments from the US Federal Reserve Chairman. Lihir was flat, while Newcrest shed 25c, or 0.7% to $35.84.

Paperlinx rallied 8.8% to 55.5c after yesterday announcing the closure of its paper manufacturing operations in Tasmania. Credit Suisse also raised its rating on the stock to “neutral” as well as upgrading its target price.

Incitec Pivot put on 3.9% to $3.23.

Energy weakened 0.3% as crude futures dropped to an eight-week low. Heavyweight Woodside dipped 0.2% to $48.20.

Late this afternoon Oil Search and Santos said they had decided to go ahead with the development of the PNG LNG Project.

Oil Search and Santos shed 1% and 0.5% respectively.

Origin advanced 4c, or 0.3% to $15.77.

Banks and Financials tracked their US peers lower. CBA lost the most ground among the big four to be down 70c, or 1.3% to $53.09.

Westpac lost 4c to $23.85 as CEO Gail Kelly defended the lenders decision to lift interest rates by 45 basis points by blaming the global financial crisis.

The sector slid 0.3%.

Insurers were mixed with AXA 9c lower at $5.74, while QBE rose 24c to $23.

Strong leads from the majors saw the Property Trust sector 0.6% above the line. Westfield put on 10c to $11.80.

Mirvac rallied 3.6% to $1.455 after announcing the sale of 61.3 million stapled securities at $1.38 each to Mirvac Real Estate Investment Trust unitholders.

Despite a 6.5c, or 3.9% rise to $1.75 from Asciano the Industrials sector was flat. The company announced the signing of its fifth Queensland coal haulage customer this morning.

Sector heavyweights Brambles and Leighton slid 1.1% and 0.8% to $6.32 and $36.86.

Consumer Staples shed 0.5% largely due to an 8c gain to $28.87 from Wesfarmers.

According to forecasts Australia's 2009/10 wheat crop could yield 21.99 million tonnes, lower than a September estimate of 22.72 million tonnes after poorer weather. 

The downgrade to estimates was a result of a deterioration in climatic conditions in major grain producing areas during the southern hemisphere spring. However, harvest is expected to be 5% higher than the previous year and the best crop in four years.

Elders jumped 6.7% to 16c, while AWB was steady at $1.18 after announcing this morning the sale of Landmark Financial Services’ $2.4 billion loan book and $300 million debenture book to ANZ.

Graincorp lost 11c to $5.70.

Woolworths dipped 0.8% to $27.43 as reports continue to surface that the supermarket giant is considering making an offer for National Leisure & Gaming. NL&G shares surged 7.1% to 3c.

Another potential bidder for NL&G, Tabcorp slid 1.3% to $6.98 as the Consumer Discretionary sector was flat.

2.6% and 1.8% falls from gamers Sky City and Aristocrat were more than offset by media companies.

New Corp climbed 2.7% to $16.14, while Fairfax added 4c to $1.66.
 
Telstra dipped 3c, or 0.9% to $3.42. The broader Telecommunications sector lost 0.8%.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 lost 49.7 to 10,117.9, while the Straits Times Index edged 2.0 higher to 2,799.0. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 slid 1.3 to 3,137.3. The Hang Seng shed 139.1 to 22,185.9

Spot gold was trading at US$1162.62 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9133.

---

PNG LNG project agree to proceed with development
Oil Search and Santos said the PNG LNG Project participants have decided to proceed with the development of the project, pending completion of sales and purchase agreements with LNG buyers and finalisation of financing arrangements with lenders. Santos said the Exxon Mobil operated project would see the partners build gas production, processing, transportation and liquefaction facilities capable of producing 6.6 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

At the end of the day, Oil Search shares were down 6c to $5.84, while Santos shares were down 7c to $14.68.

Asciano signs another coal customer
Asciano Group said it has signed its fifth Queensland coal haulage customer, Isaac Plains Coal Management Pty Limited, a joint venture between Aquila Resources and Vale. The contract is set to run for 10 years from July 2010 and provides up to 1.1 million tonnes per annum from Isaac Plains mine to Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal.

At the bell, Asciano shares were trading up 6.5c to $1.75.

AWB sells loan book to ANZ
AWB announced the sale of Landmark Financial Services’ $2.4 billion loan book and $300 million debenture book to ANZ Banking Group Limited (ANZ). The company said the completion of this transaction contributes significantly to achieving its corporate objectives of a streamlined debt profile and simpler lower risk business.

At the close, AWB shares were unchanged at $1.18, while ANZ shares were down 2c at $21.93.

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