ANZ – AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LTD – down 92 cents at $19.50
ANZ Bank is on track for full year earnings growth of 17 per cent to another record profit and remains confident about the Australian economy despite volatile financial markets
AQA – AQUILA RESOURCES LTD – down 29 cents at $5.52
Brazilian mining giant Vale and Perth’s Aquila Resources have been given the green light by the Queensland government to proceed with their Eagle Downs coking coal joint venture in the Bowen Basin.
ASB – AUSTAL LTD – down six cents a $2.72
Shipbuilder Austal has posted a 41 per cent fall in annual profit, and says adverse market conditions which affected its result will be “the norm for some years to come”.
BBG – BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LTD – down $1.35 at $3.82
Shares in Billabong International have plunged nearly 20 per cent after the surfwear retailer reported an 18 per cent fall in annual profit on the back of weakness in the retail sector and the strength of the Australian dollar.
BLY – BOART LONGYEAR LTD – down 20 cents at $3.51
Drilling services and products provider Boart Longyear has defied pessimistic market sentiment by upgrading its full year forecasts to previous boom levels.
DUE – DUET GROUP – down 2.5 cents at $1.58
Energy distribution investor Duet Group has posted an 11 per cent fall in annual profit, but has forecast three per cent growth in distributions in the medium term.
GFF – GOODMAN FIELDER LTD – down 19 cents at 77 cents
Shares in Goodman Fielder plunged almost 20 per cent after the breads and spreads maker lowered its profit expectations for the year.
FMG – FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LTD – down 30 cents at $5.75
Fortescue Metals Group has delivered a big leap in full year profit thanks to high iron ore prices, but noted a dip in demand from China as the Asian economic superpower tightens lending in an effort to beat down inflation.
JHX – JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES SE – down 29 cents at $5.21
A taxation decision on a subsidiary of James Hardie Industries will be handed down by the Federal Court of Australia on Monday.
OST – ONESTEEL LTD – down 8.5 cents at $1.34
OneSteel Ltd says it is not planning to buy Belgium-based specialist crushing and grinding company Magotteaux, as reported in the media.
QBE – QBE INSURANCE GROUP LTD – down 77 cents at $12.98
A raft of natural disasters failed to crimp QBE Insurance Group’s first half profit, but a big contraction in insurance margins caused its shares to plunge.
SGP – STOCKLAND GROUP – down eight cents at $2.79
Stockland plans to buy back up to five per cent of its stock, equivalent to 119.15 million securities.
SPT – SPOTLESS GROUP LTD – down three cents at $1.87
Spotless Group’s full year net profits are down half a per cent, but the company says its second half results show a significantly improved performance.
STO – SANTOS LTD – down 61 cents at $11.07
Santos Ltd’s boss says coal seam gas (CSG) is a crucial way forward to a low carbon economy and many attacking it oppose the resources industry generally.
SUL – SUPER RETAIL GROUP LTD – down 28 cents at $6.12
It’s shopping heaven for the type of man who lives by the mantra “he who dies with the most toys wins”.
