Brokers are chipping away at FY15 earnings expectations, as catalysts for growth remain elusive

Brokers are chipping away at FY15 earnings expectations, as catalysts for growth remain elusive. Last month saw the largest earnings per share downgrades from brokers in two years. Much of this was due to sliding iron ore prices, but weakening domestic conditions also played their part. In a recent note to clients, the big broker UBS said earnings per share growth forecasts for the next financial year have been trimmed from 8.5 per cent six months ago to 5.2 per cent now. Deutsche Bank's strategy team has EPS growth for 2015 pegged slightly higher at 6.2 per cent, but noted that this is an unusually low forecast for the start of a financial year - typically brokers start with double-digit forecasts and start chipping away as the year progresses. So earnings per share are expected to grow, but it is growth starting from a very low base. (VIEW LINK)