Australia's national carrier Qantas yesterday caved in to demands by stakeholders who have the potential to block a A$11.1 billion (US$8.6 billion) takeover bid and released a profit forecast for the next fiscal year.
Qantas said in a news release it expected pretax profits for the year ending June 30, next year, to be in line with analysts' estimates of around A$1.23 billion.
Qantas also said its full-year result for the year ending June 30 this year, would be "towards the upper end" of its earlier stated forecast. The company has not put a figure on the forecast, but has predicted it will be between 30 percent and 40 percent higher than the A$479.5 million profit reported for 2005 to last year.
The statement came after pressure intensified this week on Qantas management, which is backing the takeover bid by a private investment group Airline Partners Australia, to say more about the company's outlook.
The company's share price on Wednesday fell to its lowest level since the bid was announced in mid-December as speculation mounted that it may fail, despite winning government and regulatory approval so far.
The talk centered around two managed funds, UBS Global Asset Management and Balanced Equity Management, which between them hold more than 10 percent of Qantas shares and therefore the power to scuttle the deal, which requires 90 percent shareholder approval.
The funds reportedly had demanded an outlook for next year to better assess whether the offer of A$5.45 a share by the investment group, led by Australia's Macquarie Bank and the Texas Pacific Group, was enough.
Qantas has twice in recent months boosted its earnings forecast for the year ending in the middle of this year, but until yesterday had declined to make predictions beyond that.
Andrew Sisson, the managing director of Balanced Equity Management that owns about 4 percent of Qantas, welcomed yesterday's announcement as helpful but suggested he had wanted more detail than was provided.
"It's more helpful when we're doing our deliberations, but whether we think it's positive or negative I'm not prepared to discuss," Sisson said.
"We were looking for more information and we've got some information," Sisson said.
UBS did not immediately respond to the Qantas statement.
Qantas shares ended 1.6 percent higher at A$5.12, after jumping as high as A$5.15.
"In response to market speculation and queries received from investors, Qantas confirms its outlook expectations for 2008 are in line with average analyst consensus profit before tax estimates of approximately $1.23 billion," the Qantas statement said.
The estimate did not include the possible impact of fluctuations in fuel prices, increased competition from Virgin Blue and the expected entry to the Australian market of Singapore-linked airline Tiger Airways, and other factors, Qantas said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique