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November 2010
Business briefs
Iron ore heiress Gina Rinehart will become a director of Ten Network Holdings after the television broadcaster’s annual meeting on December 9.
August 2010
Adcorp
Marketing and advertising group Adcorp reports a “pivotal win” in securing a major advertising contract with the Northern Territory government, adding an estimated $6 million in annualised sales.
- Updated
August 2008
Optimism chases away advertising blues
Marketing services group Adcorp has waved away the increasingly sluggish state of the $12 billion media advertising market and predicted it would post solid growth over the next year.
- Neil Shoebridge
June 2008
Junior biotech 'heavily underrated'
Avexa (AVX) A buying opportunity has emerged in the junior biotech sector in the form of the drug developer Avexa, according to analysts at ABN Amro. The stock has shed a massive 65 per cent since October last year, when it traded at a record high of 80.5¢. The price fall, according to ABN Amro, was the result of the market wrongly giving the company's lead HIV compound apricitabine (ATC) little chance of commercial success. At the current 29¢ level, ABN Amro says the share price implies only a 20 per cent probability that the company will successfully deliver ATC to the market, whereas it rates the probability of success as high as 80 per cent. "Given that every HIV compound to enter Phase 3 clinical trials to date has been successfully commercialised, we consider the current share price an exciting entry point," the broker said in a research note on Monday, adding that each 1 per cent change in the probability of success alters the valuation by 2¢ per share. The broker also believes the progress on the drug has made the company an attractive acquisition target for an international pharmaceutical company looking to build its HIV pipeline and suggests names like GSK, Merck and Pfizer as likely contenders. Specialty Fashion (SFH) Specialty Fashion shares have shed 40.7 per cent since the start of the calendar year and fell another 1¢ on the back of Monday's weak retail numbers, which showed that trade fell 0.2 per cent in April. The latest monthly figures were the exact reverse of the 0.2 per cent growth economists had predicted and confirmed what many already knew to be true: that consumers have significantly reined in spending to deal with the pressure of interest rates at 12-year highs and soaring food and petrol bills. Specialty Fashion was a notable absence in last month's string of profit downgrades in the discretionary retail sector, with others like Noni B and Nick Scali warning of falling profits and trickier operating conditions as margins come under pressure. The slump in Specialty Fashion's share price suggests that investors are nonetheless pricing the stock for a comparable level of earnings pain and at the current 97.5¢ level, shares are just 10¢ from a 2½-year low. Meanwhile, market watchers are increasingly sceptical of how long retailers like Specialty Fashion and JB HiFi can hold out on current forecasts, with some investors predicting many will capitulate before earnings season arrives. For now, however, consensus net profit forecast for the 12 months to June stands at $25.4 million compared with $25.1 million in 2007. Specialty Fashion has not issued earnings guidance, but brokers UBS and Credit Suisse this month downgraded their 2008 profit forecasts by 10.5 per cent and 12 per cent respectively after net profits grew by 5 per cent to $19.5 million in the first half. The retailer's core customer base is made up of lower income earners and as a result is seen to be more sensitive to rising petrol prices and higher interest rates than discretionary retailers in the premium segment, such as David Jones. Adcorp (AAU) Advertising agency Adcorp has long been talked about as a potential turnaround story and the performance of the share price since late last year bears out those predictions. Shares are up 34.5 per cent since then, in a sharp reversal of years of underperformance. Shares got a further 6.9 per cent leg-up on Monday to 39¢ after it successfully tendered for the Western Australian government non-campaign advertising contract. The contract will cover recruitment advertising, as well as public announcements for all WA government departments and statutory authorities. Meanwhile, improved profit expectations have also helped revive the share price, with the second-half results expected to show the first full six-month benefit from the integration of its Andrews Advertising acquisition.
- Emily Parkinson
March 2008
Expansion plans face delays
A rocky second half of 2007 left some smaller players slashing costs, writes Noelle Waugh.
- Noelle Waugh
Bargains in marketing, media, mining
Strong results from many small to medium cap companies brings into question whether the extent of recent market weakness is warranted. Three smaller companies that produced excellent interim results were Adcorp Australia, Ambertech and VDM Group.
- Trevor Hoey
February 2008
Timbercorp rallies on improved sales
Timbercorp (TIM) Timbercorp continued its month-long winning streak on Wednesday with a 17 per cent rally thanks to a renegotiation of woodchip prices that came down in favour of the producers. Downtrodden for much of 2007, sentiment has turned the corner the last month in anticipation of some solid price rises and the stock has jumped from a four-year low of 80¢ on January 22 to the current $1.36 level. The group secured a 10 per cent increase in the price for hardwood woodchips for sale to Japan with both Timbercorp and Futuris Corp's ITC securing a price of $207.40 a bone-dry ton, up from $189.40 in 2007. Timbercorp added another 17.2 per cent, or 20¢, on Wednesday to $1.36 to take gains from its latest three-day winning streak to 24.8 per cent while timber products group Gunns added 6.8 per cent to close at $3.48. Adcorp (AAU) The ad agency surged more than 27 per cent on Wednesday after a solid interim result that foreshadowed a strong six months ahead. Although released after market close on Tuesday, the market was quick to embrace the results on Wednesday morning and the stock shot up to 43¢ from 36¢ immediately on opening. It ended the day at 45.5¢, up 26.4 per cent. Net profit rose 53 per cent to $3.37 million on a 9 per cent increase in revenue to $97.6 million. Outlook-wise, the company expects the second half to track along similar lines to the first half. Margins grew just under 1 per cent and the group announced a return to fully franked dividend streams with a 2.5¢ per share, fully franked interim dividend. Ellex Medical Laser (ELX) The two-day run in the share price of the Adelaide-based ophthalmic laser clinic petered out on Wednesday but the stock still trades 8.8 per cent higher than it did on Monday. The company's interim result was flat, largely matching expectations, but stock still got some uplift on the back of its strong outlook and global expansion plans. The supplier of laser equipment to eye specialists reported a first-half net profit of $1.24 million well short of most analysts' expectations but in line with comments made some three weeks ago that the result would be flat. The laser equipment supplier currently has a solid market share of the global equipment market for general ophthalmologists at around the 16 per cent level though it ultimately aims for a 30 per cent share. Sales directly to the US, Japan and Australia have averaged 20 to 30 per cent in the past 18 months and the company has increased revenue guidance from 15 per cent to between 15 and 20 per cent while flagging "materially higher" earnings for fiscal 2008. Ellex's shares closed half a cent lower on Wednesday at 74¢. ThinkSmart (TSM) When the IT financing group listed on the ASX last June it did so with ambitious plans to expand its global sales, particularly in the US. The company's interim results showed it tracking to those targets with the US rollout through Office Depot stores to commence in the second quarter. Net profit slightly exceeded the $5.1 million prospectus forecast and company is on track to make its fiscal 2008 targets. The $144 million capitalised company provides point-of-sales lease and rental finance for IT equipment to mostly small business customers. The group plans to open its first US office in Florida in March which will become the base for further expansion into the US in 2009. The stock was unchanged at $1.50 on Wednesday but at current levels, it is still some 36 per cent below its $2.15 listing price.
- Emily Parkinson
September 2006
August 2005
April 2005
Adcorp's new chair
After disappointing interim results for the half-year to December 31, 2004, the marketing communications company Adcorp is hoping the appointment of a new chairman will contribute to an improved performance this year. Bob Campbell, one of the most experienced executives in the Australian media, will take over as chairman of Adcorp from May 1. One of the few advertising and marketing agencies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, Adcorp reported a decline in revenue for the December half of 1.6%, to $89.34 million, compared with the previous corresponding period. Net profit after tax fell by 3.9%, to $2.25 million, and expenses rose by 4.7% to $12.85 million. The agency's operations in Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand performed strongly, but the managing director, Peter James, says New South Wales and Victoria turned in poor performances. Campbell will replace Ric Charlton as chairman. Charlton has decided to look at other business interests, particularly in the United States.
- Simon Lloyd
February 2005
August 2004
NEWS IN BRIEF
James Packer's new role
- Yvonne Ball; Ian Howarth; Robert Guy; Neil Shoebridge; Simon Evans; Eli Greenblat; Stephen Wisenthal
NEWS IN BRIEF
James Packer's new role
- Yvonne Ball; Ian Howarth; Robert Guy; Neil Shoebridge; Simon Evans; Eli Greenblat; Stephen Wisenthal
April 2003
Adcorp is on the prowl again
Cost-cutting and acquisitions have driven Adcorp's recent growth, writes Neil Shoebridge.
- Neil Shoebridge.
March 2003
Adcorp bucks the advertising downturn
Advertising services group Adcorp has bucked the woeful advertising market to produce a strong first half, with the stock touted as an alternative for exposure to an upswing in the print media advertising market.
- Ben Power
