Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Tuesday:
AMC – AMCOR LTD – up 17 cents at $6.70
Amcor has almost doubled full year profit as the packaging manufacturer expects to achieve more cost benefits from its takeover of the Alcan Packaging business.
BOW – BOW ENERGY LTD – up 53 cents, or 59.89 per cent, at $1.415
Shares in Bow Energy skyrocketed after Arrow Energy set its sights on the fellow coal seam gas (CSG) producer as its seeks to expand its Queensland liquefied natural gas project.
BSL – BLUESCOPE STEEL LTD – down 4.5 cents at 74.5 cents
Australia’s biggest steel maker, Bluescope Steel, says it can become profitable again after announcing it will cut 1,000 jobs.
CTX – CALTEX AUSTRALIA LTD – steady at $9.48
Caltex Australia has begun a review of its refineries as the strong Australian dollar contributes to a fall in refiner margins.
CGF – CHALLENGER LTD – up four cents at $4.68
Challenger Ltd’s full year net profit declined by 7.5 per cent, but the funds manager and annuities provider is expecting a seven per cent lift in full year 2012 cash earnings.
GLG – GERARD LIGHTING GROUP LTD – steady at 89 cents
Gerard Lighting Group says encouraging people to switch their lights off could be one of the brightest ways to tap into a lucrative $1.5 billion market.
JHX – JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES SE – up 25 cents at $5.46
James Hardie Industries shares gained almost five per cent after a successful appeal to the Full Bench of the Federal Court over A tax matter worth over $242 million.
NHF – NIB HOLDINGS LTD – up 9.5 cents at $1.335
If the head of private health insurer NIB was a betting man, he’d take a big punt on the federal government’s planned changes to the 30 per cent rebate failing.
OST – ONESTEEL LTD – down one cent at $1.33
WPG – WPG RESOURCES LTD – up 27.5 cents, or 31 per cent, at $1.13
OneSteel has bought iron ore assets in South Australia including Peculiar Knob from WPG Resources for $346 million, as it focuses more on iron ore exports.
PDN – PALADIN ENERGY LTD – up one cent at $1.98
Paladin Energy has signed a series of uranium sales agreements for product from its Langer Heinrich Stage 3 expansion in Namibia.
PFL – PATTIES FOODS LTD – up one cent at $1.60
Pie maker Patties Foods says it will continue to build on a 17 per cent increase in profit this year in the face of uncertain economic times.
PRY – PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LTD – down eight cents at $2.66
One of Australia’s biggest medical centre operators says the expansion of GP training places will not cover gaps left by retiring baby boomer GPs.
QAN – QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD – down three cents at $1.42
Qantas Airways’ bid to forge closer ties with its alliance partners is a step closer after the competition regulator approved a joint-venture with American Airlines.
SFH – SPECIALTY FASHION GROUP LTD – down 2.5 cents at 69.5 cents
Specialty Fashion Group’s full year profit has more than halved amid tough trading conditions, sending its shares lower by more than three per cent.
STO – SANTOS LTD – up 17 cents at $11.24
Oil and gas giant Santos has been fined $84,000 over a 2004 explosion at its Moomba gas processing facility that put South Australia and NSW on gas rations.
TWE – TREASURY WINE ESTATES LTD – steady at $3.17
Treasury Wine Estates has reported a $64.1 million first full year profit as an independent company and says it is aiming to grow earnings through cost efficiencies.
WSA – WESTERN AREAS NL – up 39 cents at $5.67
Western Areas has booked a jump in full year net profit after exceeding nickel production targets at two of its mines in Western Australia.
