Stocks to watch on the Australian stock exchange at noon on Friday:
ANZ – ANZ BANKING GROUP LTD – up 25 cents, or 1.18 per cent, at $21.45
ANZ’s first quarter profit has risen to $1.48 billion due to good results in its offshore operations.
APN – APN NEWS & MEDIA LTD – up one cent, or 1.32 per cent, at 77 cents
APN News & Media is in talks with Quadrant Private Equity about an outdoor advertising joint venture.
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BBG – BILLABONG INTERNATIONAL LTD – up 86 cents, or 48.04 per cent, at $2.65
Surfwear retailer Billabong International will shed 400 jobs and sell a chunk of its accessories brand as part of a major restructure aimed at restoring its fortunes.
PBG – PACIFIC BRANDS LTD – down one cent, or 1.51 per cent, at 65 cents
Shares in Pacific Brands are up about two per cent at the start of trade after the clothing maker’s first-half results beat market expectations.
Separately: Struggling clothing maker Pacific Brands has widened its first-half losses and predicted worse is to come in the second half.
Separately” Pacific Brands’ decision to lay off 106 employees in Sydney is “callous” and “disloyal”, The National Workers of Union says.
QAN – QANTAS AIRWAYS LTD – up 2.5 cents, or 1.51 per cent, at $1.63
Qantas and Jetstar will try to help passengers stranded after fledgling budget airline Air Australia entered administration, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says.
Separately: The Queensland premier says she’ll fight to keep 600 Qantas maintenance jobs in Brisbane.
SGM – SIMS METAL MANAGEMENT LTD – down 33 cents, or 2.30 per cent, $14.00
Scrap metal recycler Sims Metal Management has recorded a $556.5 million first-half loss, due to its struggling North American business, and has offered no guidance for the full year.
SPT – SPOTLESS GROUP LTD – up one cent, or 0.42 per cent, at $2.38
Industrial services company Spotless has posted weaker first-half net profit of $16.5 million, down 5.2 per cent on the previous corresponding period.
STO – SANTOS LTD – down eight cents, or 0.59 per cent, at $13.47
Oil and gas producer Santos has lifted its annual profit by more than 50 per cent due to higher commodity prices and the sale of some assets.
TWE – TREASURY WINE ESTATES LTD – up 17 cents, or 4.82 per cent, at $3.70
Wine supplier Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) says sales of wine by volume have fallen, and net sales revenue is down as consumers remain sullen, but earnings are up.
