Whitehaven profit forecast lowered

UBS analyst Glyn Lawcock has lowered his net profit forecast for Whitehaven Coal by 23% in 2013 and 28% in 2014 following briefings managing director Tony Haggarty gave to UBS clients in Sydney last week, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Lawcock values the stock at $A6.20 a share including the impact of the carbon tax. His earnings forecasts are now near the bottom end of the market, but other brokers have been downgrading forecasts in recent weeks as a result of a deteriorating outlook for coal.

The spot price of coal from Newcastle is down to $US83.75 a tonne, well below the current annual contract price of $115/t.

UBS’s investment banking team is one of the advisers to Nathan Tinkler on his potential offer for the company, alongside BKK Partners, JPMorgan and Barclays Capital.

On Lawcock’s numbers, with $A256 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation next year, Tinkler would next year struggle to pay the interest on the $US2.5 billion bridging debt facility currently being arranged without selling assets.

Tinkler is believed to be preparing an offer of more than $A5 a share. Whitehaven shares closed 2¢ lower at $4.51 yesterday.

States strip $32B from utilities

The states are planning an unprecedented $32 billion raid on the profits of their utilities and other businesses over the next four years, raising fears of further price hikes on top of the carbon tax, and prompting new calls for privatisation, according to The Australian.

Its analysis of recent budget papers has found the states and territories expect to rip $6.8 billion in dividends and tax equivalents for this financial year – about $567 million above the forecasts in mid-year updates. Nationwide, the take will spiral upwards, hitting $8.8 billion by mid-2016.

The paper also revealed that the board of Snowy Hydro has forecast a special dividend to its government shareholders – the New South Wales, Victorian and federal governments – for 2012-13, leading to new calls to restart talks on a privatisation.

Shorten declares job website a hit

A jobs board website introduced by the federal government after a union backlash over its controversial enterprise migration elements, such as Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill agreement, has received 60,000 hits in its first week, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten told a CEDA conference in Canberra yesterday he was encouraged by the popularity of the board, which had 126 jobs advertised. The government was blasted by unions when Immigration Minister Chris Bowen approved Rinehart’s company bringing in 1715 temporary workers to her West Australian iron ore project.

Shorten has committed to act on the recommendations of the Fair Work review in the next two months and talking to stakeholders.

Abbott forced to quell backbench climate rift

Tensions have erupted in the Coalition over a key climate change policy less than two weeks before the introduction of the carbon tax from July 1, according to The Australian.

Tony Abbott was yesterday forced to stare down a backbench challenge to the party's support for the 20% Renewable Energy Target as senior backbenchers blamed it for adding to electricity prices amid a backlash over last week's 18% price increases in NSW and South Australia.