Business News

While Australian shares rose by 0.6% yesterday, Westfield (WDC) has seen a drop in share price after the announcement made by the company regarding the distribution cut. The company said that the net profit for the year 2008 till December would reflect a $3 billion charge against shopping centre assets because of an increase in capitalisation rates.

Santos (STO) has announced in their forth quarter report that the output has dropped by 3% due to unplanned outages and repairs at a key oil field and said 2009 production would be broadly steady on the previous year. Santos has reported production of 54.4 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2008, compared to 59.1 million barrels of oil equivalent in 2007. In 2008, the company has reported revenue of $2.76 billion, compared to $2.49 billion in 2007.

Woodside Petroleum (WPL) released its 4Q report on Thursday. The company has reported an increase in the output by 28% and has said its profits will be high when compared to last year. Woodside also reported profit was expected to be reduced by various significant items, such as a write-down charge for the now suspended OceanWay gas development in California, which could amount to around $50 million after tax.

BHP Billiton (BHP) has announced that it will cut about 6000 jobs globally due to the crises situation that prevails throughout the world. The miner made this announcement when it submitted the second quarter report for the financial year 2009. BHP has also revealed that it will suspend the Ravensthorpe nickel mine operation and will slash the output at Mount Keith mine in Western Australia, which will reduce its workforce by about 2100.

BHP Billiton (BHP) has missed its production target for the fourth quarter which the company forecasted earlier and also said that its coal sales were being held back by infrastructure constraints in eastern Australia. The company said sales from its Queensland coal operation were being hit by limited rail and port capacity. BHP also said that the third party infrastructure constrains were hitting its Hunter Valley Coal export sales.

James Packer's Macau Crown Casino (CWN) revenue slipped for a third consecutive quarter as travel restrictions on mainland residents slowed growth in visitor arrivals. Casino revenue declined to $3 billion in the fourth quarter from $3.2 billion in the previous three-month period, according to figures posted on the Macau Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau's Web site.

Rio Tinto (RIO) has warned in the forth quarter report which was submitted on Thursday that its iron ore output will fall by 18% with a drop in demand from the Chinese steel mills. The company delivered its December-quarter operations report on Thursday. Rio Tinto, which is cutting costs and selling assets to pay debt, reported fourth-quarter iron ore output at 31.8 million tonnes, and sales down 23 percent to 33.6 million tonnes, just meeting its lowered target.

Wesfarmers (WES) has warned its shareholders that it may slash its dividend as a result of decrease in the value of its investment due to the financial crises situation all over the world. The companies share price has gone down by 5%. Wesfarmers is the first company to make such an announcement in the market which other companies are reluctant to do. Many companies in United States and Europe have already made such an announcement.

Transurban Group (TCL) has announced that it will not exercise its right to acquire Macquarie Infrastructure Group's (MIG) 50% stake in the Westlink M7 toll road. The company said acquiring additional stake in the toll road would not give further value to its shareholders.In Last December, MIG said, that it is going to sell the 50% stakes in Westlink M7 to Western Sydney Road group (WSRG) for $805 million.

Goodman Fielder (GFF), a food company based in Australia had a sudden bounce in its price yesterday from $1.27 to $1.495 which made the Australian stock exchange (ASX) to question the company to know the reason for this. In reaction GFF said, at this point the company does not have any information regarding the sudden boom in its share price in recent trading.