The key questions we will be asking companies during this reporting period will be closely ties to the sentiment and trends playing out in global macro environment. Understanding what is behind the numbers will, as always, be the central tenet in understanding how companies are placed for future prosperity and delivering increases on value to shareholders.
With regard to earnings growth, we are keen to establish how companies will provide this to investors – through cost cutting or through revenue growth (if through revenue growth, will be the first time in a number of years that this has occurred). Also, with regard to earnings and revenue, how /will companies offer guidance for the second half of the year due to lack of clarity in forward order books and trends?
We are also interested to hear from specialty retail and department stores on how they see the impact of lower petrol prices and interest rates – has this led to increased consumer spending or has that been all media talk?
Given the movements of the AUD over recent months, have providers of tourism services benefited?
And finally, will consensus commodity prices continue to be revised lower as a result of continued weakness in spot prices?
