Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange on Tuesday, August 14
ALS – ALESCO LTD – in trading halt, last traded at $1.915
DLX – DULUX GROUP – in trading halt, last traded at $3.33
DuluxGroup and its takeover target Alesco may be moving towards a deal, after the shares in both companies were placed in a trading halt on Monday.
BSL – BLUESCOPE STEEL LTD – up nine cents, or 34.61 per cent, at 35 cents
BlueScope Steel has struck a deal with Japan’s largest steelmaker that will help it capture overseas markets and wipe out debt.
CWN – CROWN LTD – up three cents at $8.59
James Packer’s casinos and hotels company Crown will tap investors for about $400 million to help fund its expansion plans.
DOW – DOWNER EDI LTD – at $3.47
Engineering firm Downer EDI is cautiously optimistic about achieving further growth after returning to full year profitability.
GPT – GPT GROUP – up 35 cents at $3.52
Property developer GPT Group has cut 70 people from its workforce in order to reduce costs.
HIL – HILLS HOLDINGS LTD – up 11.5 cents at $1.18
Hills Holdings has swung back into the black with a $26 million net profit.
JBH – JB HI-FI LTD – up 53 cents at $9.75
Shares in electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi are up by almost five per cent after it posted a small drop in profit and like-for-like sales in the year to the end of June.
JHX – JAMES HARDIE INDUSTRIES SE – down 50 cents at $7.77
Building products producer James Hardie has posted an improved net profit of $US68.5 million ($A65.02 million) in its first quarter as the US housing market makes a gradual recovery.
NCM – NEWCREST MINING LTD – up $1.07 at $25.40
MELBOURNE, Aug 13 AAP – Newcrest Mining’s chief has declared that a four-year run of soaring costs in the mining sector is over.
RIO – RIO TINTO LTD – up 15 cents at $56.60
State-owned Meridian Energy won’t “take one for the team” and accept uncommercial terms for electricity to keep the Rio Tinto-controlled Tiwai Point aluminium smelter open, says chief executive Mark Binns.
UGL – UGL LTD – down $1.37 at $11.49
Shares in engineering and property services firm UGL have fallen more than 10 per cent after the company booked a 15 per cent fall in reported net profit and said the outlook for the next two years was “tough”.
WDC – WESTFIELD GROUP – down 33 cents at $9.60
WRT – WESTFIELD RETAIL TRUST – down eight cents at 2.97
AMP – AMP LTD – up one cent at $4.10
Westfield has confirmed it is in talks with financial services group AMP about a possible split of the multi-billion-dollar shopping centres they own and manage.
