Press Releases

Sydney, Aug 12, 2010 (ABN Newswire) - The Australian stock market opened lower this morning, after global markets suffered a heavy loss and all key market indices dropped significantly.

Shortly after the opening bell, the S&P/ASX200 Index was down 1.48%, at 4389.5 while the All Ordinaries Index dropped 1.5%, to 4412.7.

In economics news, the Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its labour force data for July, with expectations the rate will remain flat at 5.1 per cent with about 20,000 new jobs created. The Melbourne Institute will issue its Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations and the Survey of Consumer Unemployment Expectations, both for August.

Companies News

Leighton Contractors Pty Limited, in consortium with Vestas (CPH:VWS), has been awarded a contract by the AGL (ASX:AGK) and Meridian Energy Joint Venture for the A$1billion Macarthur Wind Farm development in south-west Victoria. Leighton Contractors Pty Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited (ASX:LEI), will undertake the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant design, construction and commission of the electrical, mechanical and civil works. Proposed as the largest wind farm in the southern hemisphere, Macarthur Wind Farm will generate up to 420 Megawatts of electricity - enough energy to power around 220,000 average Victorian homes each year. The first section of the wind farm is expected to be completed in May 2012 with a total project finished by early 2013.

Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) has reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax of A$377 million for the full-year ended 30 June 2010, more than tripled than the previous corresponding period. International demand and yield across the business and leisure sectors continue to improve and domestic business demand is also strengthening. The Group's two complementary airlines, Qantas and Jetstar, were both profitable in the past financial year. Qantas Airlines's domestic and international businesses continue to grow, while Jetstar has cemented its position as one of the leading low fares airlines in Australia and Asia. The Group has also significantly invested in fleet and expects to increase capacity in the first half of FY11 by 9.6%. About 160 new aircraft is on order for the next ten years, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and A380s.

Australia's biggest telecoms company Telstra Corporation Limited (ASX:TLS) today reported its financial results for the year ended 30 June 2010. Its full-year profit has fallen 4.7% to A$3.88 billion and revenue slipped 2.3% to A$24.9 billion, largely due to an 8% slide in fixed-line earnings. The company's mobile data was among the strongest categories of revenue growth with income up by 21.7%, while wireless broadband revenue grew 34.1% to A$787 million. Fixed broadband revenue from households grew at a much slower 0.9% and mobile revenues up by 6.4%, although the increase was not as large as the fall in fixed-line services.

Contact

Qiubei Fu Asia Business News Asia Bureau Tel: +61-2-9247-4344 Email: qiubei.fu@abnnewswire.net