The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) is expected to trade higher today with the Sydney Futures Exchange pointing to a positive open. Right now, the ASX 200 is priced 0.15% from its 52-week high of 7098.6.
Making investment headlines today is Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX:TLS), TPG Telecom Ltd (ASX:TPM) and AMP Limited (ASX:AMP).
ASX 200 News Today
1. Telstra Corporation Ltd
Telstra is our country’s oldest telecommunications business, having built the first telegraph line in 1854.
In the first half of its current financial year, the telco reported a 2.8% fall in total income or revenue, with a 6.4% fall in profit to $1.2 billion. A fully franked half-year dividend of 8 cents per share will be paid.
“We are continuing with our rollout and now have 5G coverage in selected areas in 32 cities and regional areas, on track for our target of 35 by the end of FY20,” CEO Andy Penn said.
Telstra expects to report total income of between $25.3 billion and $27.3 billion over the full year, however the NBN will continue to impact margins and squeeze the bottom line (profit).
2. TPG Telecom Ltd
TPG Telecom is one of Australia’s largest broadband and mobile phone providers, with around 2 million broadband subscribers. In 2018, TPG planned to merge with the owner of Vodafone Australia, Hutchison Telecommunications, in a potential $15 billion deal, with legal proceedings related to the merger ongoing.
TPG shares entered a trading halt this morning pending the Federal Court of Australia’s decision whether or not its merger with Vodafone Hutchison Australia (ASX: HTA) will be allowed to proceed. The court is expected to hand down its decision at 10:30 am today. TPG expects to remain in a trading halt until Monday, February 17th, or until it can digest the verdict and make an announcement.
3. AMP Limited
AMP is a diversified financial services company that has its primary operations in financial advice, including financial planning and wealth management. A big part of its business is licensing other planning groups to provide advice. AMP also has capabilities in investing (AMP Capital), banking and insurance.
The embattled financial services company today released its half-year financial records to investors showing a 25% fall in operating earnings.
“2019 was a year of fundamental reset at AMP,” CEO Francesco De Ferrari said. “We rebased our business, set out a new group strategy and strengthened our capital base to accelerate the execution of our strategy.”
The company’s net loss exceeded $2 billion thanks to a huge impairment charged incurred earlier in the year. No dividend will be paid.
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