WYL manufactures and markets paints and other surface coatings, resins and related products. Its operations are now limited to Australia and NZ, having exited its troublesome Asian and US businesses over the 2002 through 2004 period. Major product lines include the i.d range of premium paints, Aspect value line, Wattyl Wood Gel, Pascol paints, Solagard, Estapol and Killrust.
Company History
WYL can trace its origins back to 1915, when Sydney inventor HR Walters developed a treatment for French-polished furniture. The company was listed on the ASX in 1959. The mid-1960s saw an emphasis on growth-by-acquisition, with key acquisitions being Kaylo Specialist Metal Coatings (1967), Solway Products of NZ (1970), Sparta Automotive Coating Paints (1981) and Dimet SE Asia (1987). The group penetrated the US market with the purchase of Precision Paint Corp in 1988 and exited in 2004.
Differentiating Factor
WYL's differentiating factor is arguably its circa 35% market share in the big Australian architectural and decorative market, plus its dominant position in the smaller New Zealand market.
Major Customers & Competitors
Individual consumers (through paint specialist retailers and hardware groups such as Wesfarmers), contract painters, industrial companies in timber products, metals, mining, heavy manufacturing and marine. <br/>WYL has about 35% of the Australian architectural and decorative market segment. Orica, through its Dulux brand, is market leader with around 37%, while Taubmans (owned by South Africa's Barloworld) has around 20%. WYL also lays claim to 26% of New Zealand's retail/trade paint market.
QR National กำลังเปิดให้ลงทะเบียนล่วงหน้าสำหรับการจองซื้อหุ้น IPO ครับ ซึ่งกำลังเป็นหุ้นฮอตขณะนี้ QRN เป็นรัฐวิสาหกิจที่ให้บริการการขนส่งทางรถไฟ โดยสินค้าหลักๆคือถ่านหินในรัฐ Queensland
เมื่ออาทิตย์ที่แล้ว ผมได้รับหนังสือแจ้งการจ่ายเงินปันผลจาก BHP ซึ่งระบุว่าเป็นการจ่ายเงินปันผลครั้งที่ 361 !!! ถ้าคิดว่าในอดีตจ่ายเงินปันผลปีละสองครั้งอย่างเช่นในปัจจุบัน บริษัทนี้ก็มีอายุเป็นร้อยปีเลยครับ (ถ้าใครสนใจประวัติความเป็นมาของ BHP ผมแนะนำให้อ่านหนังสือเรื่อง The Big Fella, The rise and the rise of BHP Billiton ครับ)
BHP's growth 'leveraged' to strong growth of emerging economies
BHP'S Marius Kloppers today said growth was tied to the rapid rise of emerging economies and the miner seizing opportunities there.
In a speech at BHP Billitons annual general meeting in Perth today, the chief executive also said that overheating is in fact a larger issue than the developed worlds difficulties in generating growth.
But the worlds largest miner said that supply and demand conditions, driven by the drop-off in spending by competitors as a result of the global financial crisis, would nonetheless remain favourable for the company.
Urbanisation and industrialisation are the key drivers that are transforming the lives of people in China, and they are also driving change in other emerging countries like Brazil, India and Russia, he said.
But these countries are not alone. We are also seeing the rise of yet another group of fast developing countries including Indonesia, Mexico and Turkey.
The future success of BHP Billiton will depend on our ability to seize the opportunities that these changes present.
He said that emerging economies are growing at three times the rate of developed countries, making them crucial to the world economy.
BHP Billitons growth is leveraged to these higher growth rates, Mr Kloppers said.
Despite our overall modest outlook for the world economy, we are encouraged by the incremental demand for our products driven by these emerging economies.
BHP also said it would continue to pursue large acquisitions in the wake of its failed $US39 billion bid for Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc.
Were not about to change from transactions that potentially involve tier one assets...to go after second tier, lower quality acquisitions, chairman Jac Nasser said.
Dont look to us to be chasing smaller acquisitions of lower quality.
The bid for Potash Corp was abandoned Monday after being blocked by Canadian politicians last week, making it the third major failed venture since chief executive Marius Kloppers took the helm of the worlds biggest miner in 2007.
An earlier $US145 billion proposed merger with Rio Tinto launched in a month of Mr Kloppers taking office was abandoned during the global financial crisis, while a planned joint venture of their Australian iron ore assets was blocked by European regulators last month.
However, Mr Nasser said the knockbacks wouldnt make BHP change its oft-stated strategy of only pursuing companies that are leaders in their fields.
We are one of the few companies in the world that can take on and evaluate large transactions such as Potash Corp, and the iron joint venture, and the Rio Tinto acquisitions, he said.
Mr Kloppers said the reasons given by Canadas minister for industry for knocking back the Potash offer would have required undertakings that would have been adverse to our strategy and counter to creating shareholder value.
In answer to a question from a representative of the Australian Shareholders Association, a group representing retail investors, about the $US707 million cost of the failed Potash Corp acquisition and the abandoned Rio Tinto takeover Mr Nasser said the board would continue to closely scrutinise such acquisitions.
We don't like not doing what we set out to do, he said. We dont appreciate the cost involved but thats just part of the cost of doing business.
Speculation since BHP abandoned the Potash Corp. acquisition has centred on what other companies the miner could pick up. Analysts believe the oil and gas sector is the only one of BHPs major divisions where it isn't already dominant enough to pose problems for future acquisitions.
Woodside Petroleum, Australias largest oil company, has been cited as a potential target, alongside purchases of individual oilfields in the US Gulf of Mexico, where BP and Royal Dutch Shell have recently sold fields.
ผมคัดบางส่วนเกี่ยวกับ มุมมองของ BHP ต่อ Economy Outlook มาให้อ่านกันครับ
Economic Outlook
BHP Billiton is cautiously optimistic on the short term outlook for the global economy given the continuation of robust growth in emerging markets and further positive signs of a sustainable recovery in major developed economies such as the United States.
In the 2010 calendar year, Chinese Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by more than ten per cent, with fourth quarter growth accelerating from the third quarter level, while India’s GDP growth approximated nine per cent.
The strong growth has been accompanied by higher inflation in these and other emerging economies and will inevitably bring further tightening measures. Should monetary policy tools continue to be implemented effectively and proactively, then inflation should be contained. However, inflation does remain a serious challenge as the underlying drivers are structural rather than cyclical in nature. We expect that the Chinese government will continue to control loan growth as it strives to dampen investment from unsustainable levels while restructuring its economy from being investment driven, to consumption led. Calendar year 2011 GDP and capital spending growth in China is expected to remain strong in absolute terms, despite growth rates decelerating from 2010 calendar year levels.
Global industrial production, retail sales and consumer confidence improved throughout the last quarter with the United States and the two largest economies within Europe (Germany and France) increasing capacity utilisation and experiencing broad based growth. An ongoing risk remains the significant level of European sovereign debt.
We believe that any solution remains dependent on the stronger members of the European Union (Germany, the Netherlands and France) and their willingness to underwrite the fiscal position of the weaker economies in order to maintain a monetary union.
Despite the short term risks, we remain positive on the longer term outlook for the global economy. We expect markets to be volatile and event driven, however the continuing urbanisation and industrialisation of emerging economies, which is still in its early stages, should provide strong structural support over the long term.
Commodities Outlook
The increase in prices across the majority of BHP Billiton’s core commodities during the December 2010 half year has been driven by a combination of robust emerging market demand, stronger than expected developed market growth and ongoing supply constraints. Adverse weather patterns in many producing countries, such as Australia, Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and Indonesia have had a substantial impact on supply, leading to tighter market fundamentals and stronger prices for commodities such as coal, iron ore and copper. There will likely be a lag effect before normal levels of production flow through to the supply chain.
Macroeconomic themes are still a dominant influence on short term price movements and sentiment. While we expect a slowdown in the growth rate of global commodity demand in calendar year 2011, the economic environment still underpins a robust near term outlook for our products.
The publication and implementation of China’s twelfth five year plan in March 2011 will have important implications for commodity demand in the medium term. We expect a slower but more sustainable economic growth model to lead to a reduction in resource intensity per unit of GDP, however absolute demand for our commodities is likely to remain strong.
Longer term, we remain confident in the outlook for our core commodities based on emerging markets being the principal drivers of growth. Prices will ultimately be determined by the marginal cost of supply, with the quality of our tier one assets well positioned to sustainably deliver strong margins and investment returns through the cycle.
BHP Billiton Announces Acquisition Of Chesapeake Energy Corporation's Fayetteville USA, Shale Assets
22 February 2011
BHP Billiton today announced it has agreed to acquire all of Chesapeake Energy Corporation's (Chesapeake) interests in the Fayetteville Shale, USA, including the midstream pipeline system, for US$4.75 billion, which BHP Billiton expects to fund from the Group's cash resources.
The acquisition is consistent with BHP Billiton's strategy of investing in large, long-life, low cost assets with significant volume growth from future development. It also supports our goal of diversification by geography, customer and product. BHP Billiton will become the operator of Chesapeake's operated interests in the field.
Chesapeake's Fayetteville shale assets include approximately 487,000 acres of leasehold and producing natural gas properties located in Arkansas, USA. This is the second largest position in one of the largest gas fields in the world. This acquisition will increase BHP Billiton's net reserve and resource base by 45 per cent. These assets currently produce over 400 million cubic feet of gas per day and include development options that will support substantially higher production over a 40 year operating life. BHP Billiton and Chesapeake have also agreed a 12 month services agreement to ensure the safe transfer of operations to BHP Billiton.
The assets acquired generate strong margins and returns on capital at today's prices. Depending on regulatory approvals, BHP Billiton expects to close in the first half of 2011.
"The Fayetteville Shale is a world-class onshore natural gas resource," said J. Michael Yeager, Chief Executive of BHP Billiton Petroleum. "This transaction marks BHP Billiton's entry into the US shale gas business. The operated position we are obtaining will immediately make BHP Billiton a major North American shale gas producer. It provides access to a competitive, long-life resource basin that benefits from our ability to invest through the economic cycles. Longer term, the expertise we gain here will be usable elsewhere as we continue to grow our business."