PRESS DIGEST-Australian Business News - April 7

Compiled for Reuters by Media Monitors. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

THE AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW (www.afr.com) -- Dairy and juice group National Foods has failed to meet its calendar 2007 profit forecast of A$170 million, chief executive Ashley Waugh said yesterday. The company posted a 9 percent increase in revenue to A$2.3 billion, but earnings were weighed down by extra raw material costs of between A$130 million and A$140 million. 'We have had to adjust our cost structure,' Mr Waugh said. He declined to reveal the exact profit generated by the company. National Foods was acquired by Japan's Kirin Holdings (2503.T: Quote, Profile, Research) in December. Page 16. --The United Arab Emirates' national carrier, Etihad Airways, is today expected to announce four extra flights between Sydney and Abu Dhabi, starting from October 31 this year. The airline already has a daily flight on the route. Etihad, which started flying to Australia in March 2007, has approval to offer up to 28 flights a week in the next two years. Led by Australian-born chief executive James Hogan, the carrier has set itself a target of carrying 6 million passengers this year. Etihad carried 1.4 million passengers in the three months ending March 31. Page 16. --Oil and gas group Santos (STO.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) is today expected to approve development of one of the largest domestic gasfields in Western Australia, the A$800 million Reindeer project. Apache Energy, which has a 55 percent stake in Reindeer, has already given its go-ahead to the development. Santos holds the remaining 45 percent in the joint venture. The two companies plan to pipe gas from the Reindeer field to an onshore plant 100 km away at Devil Creek, where it will be pumped into the Dampier-Bunbury pipeline. Page 18. --Troubled transport ticketing technology company ERG Group (ERG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) has received an extension from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to lodge its half-year results on April 18. Trading in shares of the software developer, which has been suspended since January 24, will also resume on the same date. ERG's problems began early this year when the New South Wales Government scrapped its contract to provide a smartcard for Sydney's public transport and lodged a A$95 million damages claim against the company. Page 18. THE AUSTRALIAN (www.theaustralian.news.com.au) --Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) yesterday delivered the first trainload of ore from its Pilbara operation to port. 'This is the major step towards achieving first ore on ship, production ramp-up and overall project completion,' said chief executive Andrew Forrest. He said the company would ship its first ore by mid-May, opening up 'Australia's and one of the world's richest mineral provinces… [that] will assist the growth of the Chinese, Indian and broader Asian region economies through their critical steel industries.' Page 31. --Iron ore group Portman (PMM.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) on Friday raised its stake in explorer Golden West Resources (GWR.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) to nearly 13 percent. The latter's chairman, Con Markopoulos, said in a statement that Golden West 'welcomes Portman's investment as a clear vote of confidence in the company and its flagship Wiluna West iron ore project.' Golden West had been the target of a takeover bid by Fairfax Resources, but Fairfax lost control of about 10 million Golden West shares as part of its exposure to collapsed brokerage Opes Prime. Page 33. --Seven (SEV.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) and Nine (CMJ.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) networks have emerged as joint leaders in the television ratings battle, recording a 27.7 percent share in week six of the official ratings year. Ten (TEN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) had a 21.9 percent share and ABC achieved 17.5 percent in the same period. However, Nine had a bigger total share for the year to date with 28 percent against Seven's 27.8 percent and Ten's 22 percent. Nine was helped by the 967,000 viewers who tuned in the past week to watch a repeat of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Page 34. --A survey by Internet research group UsabilityOne has found a strong correlation between the success of an online video advertisement and its relevance to the content of the website. The study also found that users placed less importance on the duration of the advertisement. 'Users did notice the duration as being shorter, but what was more pronounced was that appropriateness still outweighed in importance to users' acceptance of video ads,' said UsabilityOne managing director Shefik Bey. Page 34. THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD (www.smh.com.au) --Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to take control of ventures in which it has stakes in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, the bank's Asia Pacific managing director, Alex Thursby, said yesterday. ANZ has a stake in a Malaysian bank, a joint-venture bank in Indonesia and a personal banking and stockbroking business in Vietnam. Mr Thursby said ANZ aimed to take its operations in these markets into the ranks of the top-four players in each country. ANZ would also expand its presence in China and India, he said. Page 17. --West Australian Newspapers (WAN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) has responded aggressively to Seven Network executive chairman Kerry Stokes' criticism of the publisher's board and holding it responsible for the allegedly falling standards of its flagship newspaper, the West Australian. In a leaflet mailed to its 30,000 shareholders, WAN said Mr Stokes' attack was 'self-serving and belies the facts.' Mr Stokes is pushing for most WAN directors to be removed, and wants himself and another Seven director appointed to the Perth-based publisher's board. Page 18. --British-based packaging group Linpac is seeking to offload its Australian and New Zealand subsidiary, Viscount Plastics. Deutsche Bank will handle the sale process, with expressions of interest being accepted over the next few weeks. Observers expect Viscount, which Linpac acquired in 2001, to sell for more than A$100 million. Linpac said the divestment was part of its plans to focus on markets in the Americas, Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, Linpac's owner, London-based private equity player Montagu, has decided to exit the company. Page 19. --Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association chief executive Belinda Robinson said on Friday that surging domestic coal-seam gas production would help boost liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. Ms Robinson said coal-seam was now 'an absolutely phenomenal resource in Queensland, and to some extent in NSW,' that would help lift annual LNG output from 20 million tonnes to 50 million or 60 million tonnes by 2017. Ms Robinson said 70 percent of new power stations could be gas-fired within a decade. Page 19. THE AGE (www.theage.com.au) --The receivers of collapsed stockbroker Opes Prime will this week initiate a sale of up to A$440 million worth of the firm's assets. 'There's a whole myriad of assets that are sitting there - anything from cars to interest in properties or loans against properties to lending to other public companies,' said Deloitte partner Chris Campbell, one of two receivers and managers appointed. According to the receivers, Opes Prime clients are owed between A$580 million and $600 million after accounting for debts and margin-lending arrangements. Page B1. --The chief executive of building materials group Fletcher Building (FBU.AX: Quote, Profile, Research) has questioned the ability of corporate environmental consultants to make a difference to climate change. 'One of the things that's happened in both New Zealand and Australia is this whole emergence of a consulting industry that's built around Kyoto,' Jonathan Ling said yesterday. He cautioned that the consultants could 'become self-perpetuating without ever saving a tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.' Fletcher Building is New Zealand's third-largest listed company. Page B2. --The Federal Government's export policy adviser, David Mortimer, has found that exports have played an increasingly smaller role in Australia's economic growth since 2001. According to the study, exports accounted for just above one-eighth of economic growth during 2001 to 2007, a steep decline from the one-third they contributed to growth during 1980 to 2001. Services exports during 2001 to 2007 recorded a rise of just half their long-term average, while growth in exports of manufactured goods fell sharply to an annual rate of 3 percent during the same period. Page B2. --The Federal Government is considering new proposals presented by economic policy reviewer Harold Lubansky. Among the proposals is the creation of a National Climate Change Savings Scheme and giving the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) the authority to ask for a payment to be made into this scheme when the RBA sees a need to curb inflation. 'What it does is work to soak up excess liquidity,' Mr Lubansky said. Individuals would be able to access the money paid into the climate change fund at a later date to spend on carbon reduction measures. Page B2.