PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: AMP, BHP & Santos quarterly updates

AUSTRALIA

AMP Ltd (AMP AT) - Co. Q1 (AUD) AMP Bank total loan book AUD 23.5bln (prev. 24.4bln Q/Q) and total deposits 21.4bln (prev. 21.3bln Q/Q), Co. platforms net cashflows increased 32% Y/Y to 201mln and it is making good progress on development of its digital small business and consumer bank offer which is launching in Q1 2025. (Newswires)

Bellevue Gold (BGL AT) - Co. Q3 gold production 37.3k ounces (prev. 15.5k ounces Q/Q). (Newswires)

BHP (BHP AT) - Co. quarterly iron ore WAIO production 68.1mln tons (prev. 66.2mln tons Y/Y), nickel output 18.8k tons (prev. 19.6k tons Y/Y), copper output 465.9k tons (prev. 405.9k tons Y/Y) and metallurgical coal output 6.0mln tons (prev. 6.9mln tons Y/Y), Co. set a an August deadline for the decision regarding Western Australia nickel. (Newswires)

Challenger (CGF AT) - Co. reports Q3 (AUD) total life sales 1.75bln (prev. 2.00bln Y/Y), assets under management rose 6% Q/Q to 114bln and normalised net profit before tax guidance was upgraded to the top end of AUD 555mln-605mln FY24 guidance range. (Newswires)

Fonterra (FSF AT) - Co. partners with Sharesies to offer farmers enhanced share trading. (Newswires)

Macquarie Group (MQG AT) - Co. unit acquires portfolio of six investments in solar, wind, energy storage and natural climate solutions. (Newswires)

MMA Offshore (MRM AT) - Co. guides FY24 (AUD) underlying EBITDA at 136mln-142mln. (Newswires)

Mount Gibson Iron (MGX AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) iron ore sales 711k tons and rev. AUD 130mln, while it affirms FY24 sales guidance of 3.8mln-4.2mln WMT. (Newswires)

Praemium (PPS AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) total FUA 53.5bnl (prev. 48.3bln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Santos (STO AT) - Co. quarterly production volume 21.8mln BOE (prev. 22.2mln BOE Y/Y), sales volume 23.2mln BOE (prev. 23.8mln BOE Y/Y), rev. USD 1.40bln (prev. USD 1.63bln Y/Y), declares quarterly dividend of USD 0.38/shr. (Newswires)

SRG (SRG AT) - Co. was awarded AUD 150mln in contracts. (Newswires)

Transurban (TCL AT) - Co. reported quarterly average daily traffic rose 0.9%. (Newswires)

JAPAN

Bridgestone (5108 JT) - Co. is to invest up to EUR 207mln in a Spanish plant. (Newswires)

Dai-ichi Life Holdings (8750 JT) - Co. is keeping more unsolicited acquisitions as an option as it pursues growth beyond the Japanese insurance market. (Nikkei)

Fujifilm Holdings (4901 JT) - Co. FY23/24 (JPY) group net profit forecast raised to 240bln from 225bln. (Newswires)

Itochu (8001 JT) - Co. and turnaround fund JWP is to buy BigMotor for about JPY 60bln. (Nikkei)

Shikoku Electric Power (9507 JT) - Co. found no irregularities at its nuclear power plant in Ehime after an earthquake. (Newswires)

Toyota (7203 JT) - Co. is recalling 135.3k Prius model cars in Japan due to a fault found on door handle parts, while Tokai Rika (6995 JT) expects to incur a JPY 11bln cost related to the recall of door handle parts used for Prius cars. Toyota also said its Tsustumi plant is to resume production of Corolla model cars from April 18th. (Newswires)

Tourism - The number of foreign visitors to Japan topped 3mln for the first time in March which is fuelling a record spending boom. (Nikkei)

Other News

Japanese Finance Minister Suzuki held a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Yellen and agreed to communicate closely on FX, while Suzuki said he wants to closely consult with the US and South Korea on FX. (Newswires)

Japanese Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Kanda said Japan is always communicating with the US and each country's authorities on Japan's stance on FX and financial markets. (Newswires)

SOUTH KOREA

Lock&Lock Co (115390 KS) - Co largest shareholder announced tender offer to delist Co. (Newswires)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Jury said Samsung owes USD 142mln in the wireless patent case. (Newswires)

Other News

BoK Governor Rhee said in the last couple of weeks, the exchange rate has deviated a little bit from what could be justified by market fundamentals, while he added that they have the resources and tools to smooth out any FX volatility. (Newswires)

18 Apr 2024 - 00:40- MetalsBank Speaker- Source: Newswires