ASX
An investor is reflected in a window as he looks at boards displaying stock prices and an advertisement for zero percent interest rate for purchasing a car at the Australian Securities Exchange in central Sydney, Australia, July 8, 2015. Reuters/David Gray
  • The last session in Europe and the US saw heightened volatility for equity markets which translated to unnerving falls for the relevant indices. US share markets collapsed with the Dow Jones losing over 1,000 points in early trade before recovering most o f its losses and then sliding away in late trade. The CBOE Volatility index jumped as much as 90% to 53.29 - its highest level since January 2009, before closing at 43.4. All of the 10 major S&P 500 sectors were down, with the energy sector losing 5.2%. Tr aders now see a 24% chance the US Fed will raise interest rates in September, down from 30% on Friday. The Dow Jones ended lower by 588 points or 3.6% with the S&P 500 down by 3.9% while the Nasdaq lost almost 180 points or 3.8%.
  • The local share market staged an impressive turnaround in early trade recovering from some early nervousness when the ASX 200 was down by 60 points. Investors focussed on the banks initially. Once the momentum was established in the buying of Financials the more constructive tone was seen in a range of sectors. Every ASX sector higher at lunchtime.
  • Pacific Brands (PBG) which owns brands including Bonds, Sheridan, Berlei and Jockey reported a net loss of $97.7m compared to a loss of $224.5m a year earlier. This statutory result included one-off significant items and costs of $149.1m, due to first half non-cash write-downs of goodwill and brand names. PBG reported an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $37.5m, up 5.1% from the previous corresponding period. The group posted total sales in the 2015 financial year of $789.7m, up 5.4% from FY14, driven by the Bonds brand which saw sales increase 13% during the year. Overall underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell 4.8% to $64.2m; however, Pacific Brands' reported that second half EBIT increased 26% due to improved margins and tight cost control. The group highlighted that it was now debt free for the first time in its history, helped by asset sales during the year, which included its Workwear division to Wesfarmers. Pacific Brands did not declare a dividend during FY15, instead saying it will focus on strengthening its balance sheet during the year. PBG expects to resume paying dividends with its first half result in FY16, with a target payout ratio of more than 50%. PBG shares were up 20% to $0.465 at noon AEST
  • Oilsearch (OSH) reported a 49% climb in first half net profit to US$227.5m. Increased production helped deliver revenue growth of 69% to US$863.8m, which was offset by sharply lower realised prices of US$56.64 per barrel for oil and condensate, compared with US$111.57 per barrel in the first half of 2014. Unit production costs fell 43% from US$15.49 per boe to US$8.90 per boe, reflecting a higher proportion of low cost PNG LNG production. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew 28% to US$409.5m while net debt, defined as total borrowings less cash, was US$3.4bn, comprising the company’s share of debt drawn down under the PNG LNG project finance facility of US$4.3bn and US$843m of cash. An interim unfranked dividend of 6 US cents per share was declared – up from the 2 US cents paid in the first half of 2014. OSH shares were flat at $5.79.

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