Australia&#39;s Suncorp-Metway FY Net A$618M; Outlook Upbeat
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SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Australian banking and insurance group Suncorp-Metway Ltd. (SUN.AU) said Friday net profit for the full year ended June 30 jumped 61% to A$618 million from A$384 million a year earlier, boosted
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Sun doubled its profit in the quarter ended Dec. 30, although revenue was nearly flat compared with the same period a year earlier, the company announced Thursday.Net income for the quarter, the second of Sun&#39;s fiscal year, was $260 million, or $0.31 per share, up from $133 million and $0.15 per share in the same quarter of fiscal 2006, the company announced Thursday.Revenue was $3.62 billion, up just 1.4 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. The growth came from Sun&#39;s services business, where revenue climbed 5 percent. Sales of servers and storage products, which account for about two-thirds of Sun&#39;s business, declined by 0.5 percent.Business was particularly slow in the U.S., where revenue declined 8 percent year over year. The EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region performed better with growth of 7 percent. EMEA accounted for 39 percent of revenue in the quarter, overtaking the U.S., which is usually Sun&#39;s biggest source of revenue.Despite the quarter&#39;s slow growth, Sun said its full-year growth would be better. On a conference call, Chief Financial Officer Mike Lehman said revenue for fiscal 2008 would increase in the &quot;low-to-mid single digits&quot; and predicted revenue growth in the second half of greater than 5 percent.Sun&#39;s profit benefited from its ongoing cost-cutting plan, which has included several hundred layoffs so far. Its $260 million profit included a restructuring charge of $32 million.Sun announced a surprise plan last week to buy MySQL, the biggest open-source database vendor, for $1 billion. Sun officials said Thursday they are unsure whether the MySQL acquisition will close in the second or third quarter, and have not yet calculated the long-term impact on Sun&#39;s financials. They expect to take a one-time charge of $30 million to $50 million when the deal closes.
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Customers at the Big Six banks have been borrowing more with fewer defaults. It&#39;s a winning combination helped along by a buoyant economy, and it&#39;s expected to keep bank profits rising into the future.
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Westpac Banking Corp., Australia&#39;s fourth-largest bank, has posted a 16 percent rise in full-year net profit on stronger housing and business lending, and forecast 2005 earnings growth near the top of the sector.
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Australian stocks rose as Metcash Trading Ltd. had its biggest gain in almost four years after Citigroup Inc. raised the stock&#39;s rating, citing an offer to buy Foodland Associated Ltd.
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Southeast Asia&#39;s largest telecoms group, Singapore Telecom, said Thursday its quarterly net profit rose 21 percent, underpinned by strength at its Australian unit Optus and other regional associates.
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Net income at the manufacturer grew 14 percent to $618 million, driven by growth in sales to commercial, defense and space markets.
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Australia&#39;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 Index rose to a record. Foodland Associated Ltd. surged after Metcash Trading Ltd., the nation&#39;s biggest grocery wholesaler, offered A$846 million ($660 million) for Foodland&#39;s local business.
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Australia&#39;s central bank says there is no pressing need for higher interest rates just now, although it still expects to tighten policy again at some stage in the current expansion amid &quot;favorable&quot; economic circumstances.
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Growing world markets for minerals and energy will help push Australia&#39;s commodity exports up 15 percent to a record 95 billion Australian dollars (US$71 billion; euro54 billion) this fiscal year, the government&#39;s chief commodities forecaster said Monday.
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MetLife expects the transaction to have a positive impact to net income of between $145 million and $165 million. Shares of New York-based BlackRock, an investment management firm, rose $1.
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YESTERDAY Close $109.80 Change +$1.74 52-WEEK High $121.42 Low $97.79 FedEx Corp. posted a 7 percent increase in fourth-quarter profit yesterday on higher revenue but said a sluggish US economy dampened business.
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No-frills airline Ryanair beat forecasts with an 18 per cent jump in half-year profit after a strong summer and cheered investors yesterday with a surprisingly upbeat take on the full year.
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The company said quarterly profit would be higher than analystsâ estimates and it raised its full-year outlook as exchange rates and price and volume increases offset high commodity costs.
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Investor's Business Daily - Asia is doing particularly well in 2006. Among the bright spots are iShares MSCI Singapore  (AMEX:EWS - News), up 13.67% this year.
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Australia&#39;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 Index advanced for a third day and was heading for a record close. Foodland Associated Ltd. rose after full-year earnings climbed 19 percent, helped by one-time gains.
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Sun Microsystems (nasdaq: SUNW - news - people ) said it broke even for the fiscal first quarter, topping analysts&#39; estimates.