Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange:
MYR – MYER – down 6 cents, or 9.3 per cent, at 58.5 cents
Myer has warned of more writedowns after the department store chain’s sales fell by 6.5 per cent in the key January trading period.
NWS – NEWS CORP – up 12 cents, or 0.6 per cent, at $20.51
News Corp has cut its first-half loss to $US16 million ($A22 million), helped by a 32 per cent increase in earnings from its digital real estate businesses.
REA – REA GROUP – up $1.46, or 2.0 per cent, at $72.97
REA Group, which operates the popular realestate.com.au listings website, reported an underlying half-year profit of $147.3 million and a 21 per cent jump in revenue to $406.8 million, boosted by a strong performance in its core Australian business which was achieved despite lower new dwelling commencements.
The company also announced a significant boost in its interim dividend to 47 cents a share, fully franked – up 18 per cent on the previous year.
SKC – SKYCITY ENTERTAINMENT – up 5.0 cents, or 1.4 per cent, at $3.76
Trans-Tasman casinos operator Skycity Entertainment Group expects its Darwin casino to improve its performance in the second half of the financial year, but the property’s future is still under review.
