James Packer’s Consolidated Media sees profit fall 11.6%, Shares slip: Economy Roundup

James Packer’s Consolidated Media Holdings has recorded an 11.6% decline in profit for the first half of the financial year to $346.20 million, down from $391.52 million.

The company also showed a net profit of continuing operations of $37.27 million, down from $382.49 million. However, it also said normalised net operating profit was up 17.8% to $43.7 million.

“We continue to focus on minimising corporate costs,” executive chairman John Alexander said in a statement. “The $3.1 million corporate costs this half represent a 47.3% reduction on the corporate costs from the first half of fiscal 2009.”

Meanwhile, Amcor has recorded a 2.3% increase in net profit to $95 million for the six months ending December 31, with the company saying its acquisition of Rio Tinto’s Alcan packaging assets has given it enough confidence to forecast improved performances.

Managing director and chief executive Ken MacKenzie said in a statement the acquisition of Alcan had given the group increased confidence, despite revenue falling 15.6% to $4.08 billion.

“Even though it is unclear when economies will improve, the Alcan acquisition gives us confidence we can grow shareholder value through the ability to enhance our value proposition to customers, improve our operational performance and reduce costs.”

Property trust GPT Group has said it is cautiously optimistic about an economic recovery, despite recording a $1.07 billion loss for the full 2009 year.

The company said this was a 67% improvement on last year’s $3.25 billion loss, with revenue also increasing 51% to $624.3 million.

Chief executive Michael Cameron said in a statement the company was well positioned to take advantage of new opportunities.

“While we remain cautiously optimistic about the speed of economic recovery, key indicators for employment, retail spending and confidence are positive,” Cameron said in a statement to the ASX.

“This will assist in further stabilising asset values, which together with our high occupancy levels and long lease expiries, will allow us to deliver stable and attractive returns to investors.”

The Australian sharemarket has opened lower today, due to a negative lead from Wall Street overnight and poor performances in commodity markets.

Shares down after Wall Street declines

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 18 points or 0.39% to 4699.2 at 12.00 AEST, while the Australian dollar has remained steady to US90c.

ANZ shares increased by 0.4% this morning to $22.64, with Commonwealth Bank shares also rising 0.6% to $54.44. NAB rose by 0.2% to $25.39, as Westpac gained 0.3% to $26.20.

Aristocrat Leisure has recorded a net loss of $157.8 million for the year ending December 31, after posting a profit of $101.2 million in the previous corresponding period.

Revenue also dropped by 15.9% to $908.65 million. Chief executive and managing director Jamie Odell said in a statement the next 12 months will be a tough year.

“2010 is going to be a year of accelerating the implementation of our strategy, amid tough and turbulent market conditions across the world,” he said in a statement to the ASX. “Our operational performance will continue to be impacted by these macro factors.”

“We will, however, maintain our focus on the things within our control: improving our fundamentals and positioning Aristocrat to take full advantage of opportunities as they arise and as conditions improve.”

Mining industry calls for IR reform

As reported in The Australian, the Australian Mines and Metals Association has said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd should make changes to current industrial relations legislation in order to protect companies from union interference.

“In our view, without amendments to the workplace relations framework, the progress achieved over the last two decades will come to an abrupt halt and provide a conduit to a return to the worst aspects of our past industrial relations system by entrenching third party interference and influence at the expense of workplace productivity, and competitiveness,” chief executive Steve Knot wrote in an open letter.

He also said the Government should amend the Fair Work legislation in order to allow companies to provide individual contracts, and allow the introduction of sanctions for unlawful strikes.

Meanwhile, research revealed by Telstra today has suggested the country’s productivity gap, which is the difference between productivity expectations and action, has risen from 29% last year to 34%.

Telstra enterprise and government group managing director, Nerida Caesar, said the study supported the Government’s concerns that an aging population would see a decrease in activity.

“The report shows that organisations focused less on productivity during the economic downturn, even though the challenging conditions were a perfect opportunity to improve productivity by working more efficiently.”

Overseas, Wall Street investors were cautious ahead of a testimony from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke regarding the current status of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 18.97 points, or 0.18%, to close at 10,383.38.