Australian Indexes Lose Momentum; CSL, Mirvac, Tabcorp Rise on Earnings

Marcus Jacob
13 Aug, 2015
New York City

Australian market indexes rebounded at the opening after better than expected annual results from CSL, Mirvac, Sirtex and Tabcorp. Whitehaven Coal returned to modest profit in the second-half. Goodman Group annual operating net increased 9%.

[R]5:30 PM Sydney, Australia – Australian market indexes rebounded at the opening after better than expected annual results from CSL, Mirvac, Sirtex and Tabcorp. Whitehaven Coal returned to modest profit in the second-half. Goodman Group annual operating net increased 9%.[/R]

Australian market indexes recovered from the decline in the week after annual results were stronger than expected at several companies but indexes lost momentum in the afternoon trading.

CSL Limited, Tabcorp, Sirtex Medical and Mirvac reported better than expected annual earnings.

Australian dollar closed at 73.75 U.S. cents and in stock trading turnover slumped to 743 million shares worth $4.6 billion.

At close, the ASX 200 Index edged up 5.80 to 5,387.90 and the broader All Ordinaries Index slid 5.50 to 5,389.

In commodities trading, gold jumped US$9 to US$1,122 an ounce and Brent crude rose 0.30 cents to close at US$49.96 a barrel.

Australian Stock Movers

Crown Resorts Ltd] declined 3.2% to $13.09 and Robert Rankin was appointed as acting chairman replacing James Packer.

Separately the casinos group said revenues in the year ending in June climbed 12.6% to $3.48 billion from $3.09 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year tumbled 42.3% to $378.3 million compared to $655.8 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 52.86 cents from 90.03 cents in the same period a year ago.

The company agreed to acquire a 60% stake in the U.S.-based DGN Games, the operator of the Old Vegas Slots social casino.

CSL Limited slid 0.1% to $92.92 after the biopharmaceutical company reported sales in the year ending in June jumped 2% to US$5.61 billion from US$5.50 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year climbed 5.3% to US$1.38 billion compared to US$1.31 billion and diluted earnings per share increased to US$2.92 from $2.70 in the same period a year ago.

Fairfax Media Limited soared 4.9% to 85.5 cents after the diversified media company said total revenues in the year ending in June declined 5.3% to $1.88 billion from $1.99 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year plunged 61.3% to $87.2 million compared to $225.2 million and diluted earnings per share dropped to 3.5 cents from 9.5 cents in the same period a year ago.

The company had strong balance sheet with $64 million in net cash.

Mirvac Group fell 0.3% to $1.83 after the property developer reported total revenues in the year ending in June climbed 9% to $2.15 billion from $1.97 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year soared 36.4% to $609.9 million compared to $447.3 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to 16.50 cents from 12.17 cents in the same period a year ago.

The group forecasted operating earnings per share for the fiscal 2016 between 12.7 cents and 13 cents.

Tabcorp Holdings Limited slipped 1.3% to $4.64 after the gambling company said group revenues in the year ending in June climbed 5.7% to $2.16 billion from $2.04 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year surged more than doubled to $334.5 million compared to $129.9 million and diluted earnings per share gained to 42.2 cents from 19.7 cents in the same period a year ago.

Telstra Corporation Ltd dropped 2.2% to $6.10 after the telecom company reported total revenues in the year ending in June increased 1.2% to $26.61 billion from $26.30 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year slipped 1.1% to $4.23 billion compared to $4.28 billion and diluted earnings per share fell to 34.5 cents from 34.3 cents in the same period a year ago.