Investa, Dexus Merger to Create Largest Office Trust, Sydney Arpt Traffic Up

Marcus Jacob
18 Dec, 2015
New York City

ASX 200 was little changed on Friday but closed 1.4% higher for the week. A2 Milk surged 29% after the infant dairy powder maker lifted revenues and operating profit forecast. Investa Office and Dexus Property Group merger will create the largest office trust in Australia.

[R]4:30 PM Sydney - ASX 200 was little changed on Friday but closed 1.4% higher for the week. A2 Milk surged 29% after the infant dairy powder maker lifted revenues and operating profit forecast. Investa Office and Dexus Property Group merger will create the largest office trust in Australia.[/R]

The Australian market was little changed on Friday, but closed 1.4% higher for the week after strong gains in the previous sessions.

Large mining companies led decliners on the ongoing weakness in commodities but banks and financial services stocks advanced.

A2 Milk surged 29% after the company lifted revenues and operating profit forecast. Graincorp dropped as lower grain productions weighed on its processing business.

Investa Office agreed to proceed with the proposed $2.5 billion takeover offer from rival Dexus Property Group, thus creating the largest office space trust.

Sydney Airport international passenger traffic in November soared 5.6% and domestic passenger traffic jumped 4.2%.

The Australian dollar slipped to 71.32 U.S. cents, while stock trading turnover flat at 1.2 billion shares worth $8.1 billion.

At the market close, the ASX 200 Index edged up 4.70 to 5,106.70 and the broader All Ordinaries Index added 5.90 to 5,156.50.

For the week, ASX 200 jumped 1.4%.

In commodities trading, gold added US$3 to US$1,067 an ounce and Brent crude future for immediate month delivery slid 14 cents to US$37.20 a barrel.

IPO

Class Limited surged 41% to $1.41 after the administration software developer priced its stock at $1.

The company opened at $1.25 and closed at $1.41.

Australian Stock Movers

A2 Milk Company Ltd surged 28.8% to $1.43 after the New Zealand dairy products maker raised its operating profit for fiscal 2016 to between $33 million and $37 million after strong sales of its infant formula a2 Platinum in China and Australia.

The revenue forecast increased to between $300 million to $315 million.

""The infant formula market in Australia is rapidly evolving and experiencing significant growth,"" said managing director Geoffrey Babidge.

""The company has increased the supply of a2 Platinum infant formula to our customers, however, we continue to experience a level of out of stocks on shelf.""

Graincorp Ltd slumped 2.3% to $8.05 after the agribusiness company said it will feel the impact of lower grain production but, nevertheless, forecasted a positive year for its processing businesses.

Year-to-date, the company has received 7.1 million tons, compared with 14.6 million last year. In the period 2011 to 2013, Graincorp had annual throughput between 23.8 million and 28.5 million tons.

Its carry-in business amounted to 1.6 million down from 1.9 million tons last year. The volume has been continuously sliding down in the last year from 6 million tons in 2012.

Investa Office Fund fell 0.2% to $4.06 after the real estate developer agreed to proceed with the proposed $2.5 billion takeover offer from rival Dexus Property Group.

Dexus offered 82.29 cents in cash and 0.424 shares per share, valuing Investa Office at $4.11 per share.

The merger, expected to be completed by the end of April 2016, will create the largest Australian office trust with combined assets of $24.1 billion.

Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd gained 1.3% to $6.26 after the airport operator said international passenger traffic in November soared 5.6% and domestic passenger traffic jumped 4.2%.