《AFN Business Update》Vodafone to fight ACCC on TPG merger

1

Flexigroup adds Myer, IKEA to humm service

Flexigroup shares are up 14 per cent after the Afterpay Touch competitor announced leading retailers including Myer and IKEA and several health providers have joined its humm platform.

Flexigroup, which brought the buy-now, pay-later concept to Australia 20 years ago, last month merged its two legacy platforms Certegy EziPay and Oxipay into humm.

Flexigroup said on Wednesday the offering allows customers to spend up to $30,000 interest fee at 13,000 different seller locations, with payments spread up to five months for “little things” worth up to $2,000 and up to 60 months for “big things” worth more.

Other retailers signing up to humm include Strandbags, Solomon’s Carpets, JB Hi-Fi New Zealand.Health providers National Hearing Care and City Fertility have also joined, as has National Dental Plan, allowing 500 dental practices around Australia to offer humm.

2

Qantas in world-first ‘zero waste’ flight

Mini Vegemite servings were out and compostable crop starch cutlery was in on what Qantas says was the world’s first zero-waste commercial flight.

Passengers flying from Sydney to Adelaide on Wednesday sipped from water bottles destined for an Adelaide recycling plant and ate meals out of containers made from sugar cane as the Australian carrier trialled an initiative it says will cut 100 million single-use plastics by the end of next year and eliminate 75 per cent of the airline’s waste by the end of 2021.

About 1,000 single-use plastic items were substituted with sustainable alternatives or, in the case of individual Vegemite servings, removed altogether as the Qantas group embarked on its aim to reduce an annual mountain of waste equivalent to 80 fully laden Boeing 747 jumbo jets,

All used in-flight products on the two-hour flight from NSW to SA were separated and will be composted, reused or recycled.

Qantas domestic boss Andrew David said, with the cost of landfill rising and on-board waste the No.1 concern raised by passengers, there was a strong business case for the initiative.

3

AHG board backs improved takeover offer

A proposed $2.3 billion merger between two of the nation’s biggest vehicle retailers has gone up a gear with Automotive Holdings Group urging its shareholders to accept an improved takeover offer from rival AP Eagers.

The two companies announced on Wednesday AP Eagers had agreed to vary its previous all-scrip offer to acquire the ordinary shares in AHG it does not already own.

AP Eagers is now offering one share for every 3.6 AHG shares, instead of one for 3.8 AHG shares and the two companies have entered an implementation deed.

Assuming regulatory approval is granted, the merged group is expected to have a market capitalisation of approximately $2.3 billion.

4

CSR full year profit sinks 59% to $78m

CSR’s full-year profit has sunk 59 per cent to $78 million, weighed down by higher electricity costs and losses associated with the sale of its Viridian Glass business.

The construction materials supplier on Wednesday reported revenue from continuing operations for the year to March 31 rose four per cent to $2.32 billion, but revenue from its discontinued glass unit fell by $50 million, or 13 per cent, to $318.9 million.

CSR sold the troubled Viridian unit to Crescent Capital Partners in January for $155 million.

Earnings from continuing operations fell 17 per cent to $265 million due to higher electricity costs in aluminium, which delivered $36.6 million in EBIT down from $79.5 million last year.

5

Oil at lowest in a month on trade concerns

Oil prices closed at their lowest in about a month overnight as renewed doubts over a US-China trade deal stoked concerns over global growth and on expectations that US crude stockpiles could hit fresh 19-month highs.

Brent futures fell $US1.36, or 1.9 per cent, to settle at $US69.88 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate slipped 85 US cents, or 1.4 per cent, to end at $US61.40.

Those were the lowest settles for Brent since April 4 and WTI since March 29.

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Vodafone to fight ACCC on TPG merger

Vodafone Hutchison Australia says it and TPG Telecom will fight for the right to merge, hours after Australia's competition watchdog declared it would oppose the $15 billion tie-up.

The two companies would will launch legal action in the federal court, Vodafone said late Wednesday, following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's inadvertent disclosure it was opposing the merger.

Shares in TPG closed 95 cents, or 13.5 per cent, lower at $6.07, while those in Hutchison Telecommunications - Vodafone's local partner - dropped as much as 37.5 per cent before closing down 28 per cent at 11.5 cents.

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