Daily FNArena News - Australia

Brokers laud CSR for being on the front foot in mitigating the volume losses from the housing downturn, yet expect FY20 will be a challenging year.

There is a modest financial benefit in the agreement struck between Aurizon and its coal haulage customers. Of greater significance to brokers is the mending of a sometimes fractious relationship.

The outlook for GrainCorp is hazy, as the company proceeds with plans to divest and restructure businesses in the wake of LTAP pulling its acquisition proposal.

Pressure on margins, slowing loan growth and significant remediation charges are likely to colour the outlook for Westpac for some time.

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

After posting profit of $2.98bn in FY19 Macquarie Group has somewhat unsettled investors by suggesting FY20 outcomes could be more subdued.

Sleep apnoea revenue partly offset weaker software-as-a-service revenue in the March quarter for ResMed, which is gaining share from the strong uptake of new products.

National Australia Bank has reduced its dividend pay-out in the first half, largely as expected, although a capital raising came as somewhat of a surprise to brokers.

Packaging business Orora is reviewing its cost structures after a slow start to 2019, although brokers consider the business well-placed in a softening economy.

Brokers suspect depressed real estate listings are likely to confront Domain for some time and several have moved their ratings to the sidelines as a result.