Survey finding spark is back
DOMINO’S Pizza is taking full ownership of its Japanese joint venture by buying out partner Bain Capital’s minority stake for $ 42 million.
Domino’s, which in May announced Bain’s intention to exit, said it would pay less than the $ 46.4 million it set aside for the deal in its full- year accounts.
The purchase will be funded by a combination of cash and existing debt facilities and should be completed by Friday.
Domino’s said the transaction would be earnings per share accretive in the current financial year, which started on July 3. The deal is the second in less than a week for Domino’s. Last week, the company continued its European expansion with the 32 million euro ($ A48.1 million) acquisition of German chain Hallo Pizza. A DROP in revenue from Southern Cross Media’s metropolitan radio business has contributed to a 7 per cent fall in the company’s quarterly revenue. Chief executive Grant Blackley said revenue from the Triple M and Hit radio networks in metro areas in the three months to September was down 6 cent on the same period a year ago, offsetting revenue growth in the company’s regional radio and regional television businesses. The sale of Southern Cross Media’s northern NSW TV operations in the past year was also a factor in the 7 per cent fall in the company’s total quarterly revenue, he told the company’s annual general meeting. BUSINESS confidence has strengthened in Townsville as companies look to boost sales heading into Christmas and win work on the back of major projects, a survey shows.
The PVW Partners December quarter Townsville Business Confidence Index has returned a score of 10 points, indicating a buoyant outlook among the city’s businesses about conditions for the December quarter.
The quarterly index surveys about 200 business owners and managers on their outlook for the quarter ahead, with a positive score indicating more optimists than pessimists.
The December quarter result of 10 points is about six points up on the previous quarter and near the March quarter result of 11.4, the highest score recorded in the survey in 10 years.
PVW Townsville partner Carl Valentine has said business people were likely encouraged by announcements on major projects such as Adani’s coal mine and a sense that the Townsville economy is recovering.
Its latest results show larger businesses with annual turnover above $ 10 million are more confident than small companies.
Mr Valentine said larger businesses were extremely positive across all parts of the index with sales levels and capital expenditure expected to increase by 82 per cent and 73 per cent of participants respectively.
He said the response was more muted among smaller businesses but that there continued to be increased levels of confidence in this group.
About 53 per cent of smaller business participants expected sales to increase, 44 per cent expected them to be constant and 3 per cent expected them to decline for the quarter.
Mr Valentine said 64 per cent of larger business participants and 31 per cent of smaller business participants expected to employ more workers.
He said this differential was not unexpected and was in line with past results during periods of sustained growth in business confidence.
“On a business by business basis, it can be easier for larger businesses to create more employment opportunities than smaller businesses,” Mr Valentine said. “However, this is offset by the far higher number of smaller than larger businesses in our economy.”
On labour market conditions, Mr Valentine said about 45 per cent of respondents were starting to see some shortages, including 15 per cent reporting shortages of key skills.
He said any shortages were likely partly caused by people having left the region in recent years.