âRoom for improvementâ at Transurban, AGL and Telstra
Analysts expect boosted toll road traffic (barring further lockdowns) and a few more years of soft earnings at the energy provider but say the telecoms company has turned a corner.
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Transurban
Industry background: As a toll road owner and operator, Transurban has suffered from the pandemic because fewer people have been commuting to work and using its roads in Australia and North America. Its most lucrative road has traditionally been Melbourneâs CityLink, which connects with the cityâs airport, but it has suffered sharp declines in traffic (and a 29.5 per cent drop in toll revenues in the December quarter) because so few people have been flying. But traffic in Sydney and Brisbane has rebounded strongly after COVID-19 restrictions eased, even as people keep working from home, with some roads more congested than before the pandemic.
Penn says Telstra reversal not far off as earnings dive
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Eamon Gallagher
Net profit after tax dipped 2.2 per cent to $10.9 billion in the six months to December 31. Revenue in the first half of the 2021 financial year dived 9.7 per cent on the prior corresponding period to $10.9 billion, and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation fell 14.7 per cent to $4.1 billion.
Mr Penn disclosed that Telstra had fallen behind on key targets set as part of the massive T22 restructuring effort. It is lagging on an already reduced return on investor capital aspiration of about 8 per cent by the 2023 financial year and an aim to double active users by next financial year.