Die Veröffentlichung der endgültigen Zahlen zu den US-amerikanischen Unternehmensgewinnen (”Corporate Profits”) im dritten Quartal ergibt folgendes Bild: Rückgang zum Vorquartal um 20,5 Mrd. US-Dollar nach einem Anstieg im Quartal zuvor um 94,7 Mrd. US-Dollar.

Helmut Wüllenweber

In April Australian based Centro Properties Group completed a $3.7 billion acquisition of US based New Plan Excel Realty Trust, a purchased financed via the issuance of new Centro shares priced at AUD 9.80 apiece … and part of a bigger-picture, $9 billion expansion into the US commercial realty market.
In June, thanks in large part to Centro’s new exposure to 700 US malls, the
company posted a RECORD operating profit and + 14% yr-yr growth.
On Monday Centro suspended their dividend, stated that they were having
difficulty finding “sources of funding”, and said they would pursue a
counter-strategy centered on the sale of assets.
On Tuesday the share price collapsed, plunging (-) 76% to a new all-time low
of just AUD 1.36 … down (-) 86% from April’s (latest) offering price … on
RECORD volume equal to 14% of the entire ‘float’.
With debt pegged at 44.1% of assets (up from 29.8% at the end of 2006), and nearly $4 billion (USD) maturing in the next thirty days, the company is in BIG trouble. Indeed, this is a thought strongly supported by the chart on display below plotting the long-term weekly price action.

Of interest is the fact that one of Australia’s largest banks is the largest
single Centro share holder, as Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) holds a 13% stake … while Barclays holds a 9.2% stake, and Macquarie Group (MFD) holds 9.2% of Centro’s outstanding shares. Thus, Tuesday’s one-day loss for those three institutions totals $1.204 billion, ala the following breakdown:
CBA  … single-day loss of (-) $ 559 million
Barclays … single-day loss of (-) $ 396 million
MFD … single-day loss of (-) $ 249 million
Interestingly, CBA is also one of the largest LENDERS to Centro.