Daily FNArena News - Australia

Viva Energy has had a difficult year amid a continued deterioration in retail margins. However, top-line revenue remains strong and fuel volumes are up.

Estia Health has reduced guidance for FY20 amid pressure on occupancy rates and revenue as the negative fallout from the aged care Royal Commission continues.

Marcus Reubenstein of APAC News looks behind the acquisition of Bellamy’s and Lion Dairy by Chinese giant China Mengniu and asks whether criticism of those deals on foreign ownership grounds is justified?

After a year’s consultation, the RBNZ has released additional capital requirements for Australian banks that are not as onerous as feared.

Boral has identified financial irregularities in its North American windows business and brokers expect the investigation to weigh on the stock for some time.

Brokers note an improving sales trend in food over the first half for Metcash, however the loss of significant contracts continues to weigh on the outlook.

FNArena’s Monitor keeps track of corporate earnings result releases, including broker views, ratings and target price changes and beat/miss assessments.

Select Harvests has used strong cash flow over FY19 to pay down all debt and underpin production growth for the future.

The KFC Australia franchise performed strongly for Collins Foods in the first half, while Taco Bell offers a future expansion opportunity.

BGC Contracting is highly complementary to the NRW Holdings maintenance business but, as this is the company’s largest acquisition to date, it is not without risks.