Profits better than feared

Profits better than feared. While the economy has remained sluggish, earnings reports for the second half of 2014 were better than feared. Yes overall profit growth this financial year looks flat thanks to a roughly 25% fall in resources profits on the back of lower commodity prices and revenue growth is sluggish at around 2%. But banks are seeing solid profit growth of around 8% and industrials around 10%. 55% of December half profit results beat expectations against a norm of 45%, 66% saw profits rise from a year ago, 52% saw their share price outperform the day results were released, and 62% increased dividends. Key themes include ongoing cost control and solid growth in dividends of around 5% which is resulting in a rising payout ratio, albeit this is mainly in the resources sector. Click here for the full article: (VIEW LINK) @ampcapital