Brisbane firm first
to use 3D manufacturing in commercial mass production. Ferra Engineering
with $200 million agreement with Lockheed Martin to make titanium parts for the
F-35 joint strike fighter (JSF). Additive manufacturing being hailed as the
third industrial revolution, uses lasers or ion beams to deposit plastic or
metal in layers to build a completed part. [CR:
Very cool, this is getting very Star Trek.]
Impact of China’s
one-child policy, 30-years on: Fertility rates in 2010 calculated at 1.4
(number of times women give birth), placing China among the countries with the
lowest fertility. Resulted in reduction of those in prime working age between
15 and 59, labour shortage combined with
increased demand led to rapid wage inflation. Potential annual GDP fell from
9.8 percent in 1995-2009 to 7.2 percent in 2011-2015 and is expected to be 6.1
percent in 2016-2020. Calls to avoid immediate visible policy changes aimed at
affecting short term actual growth (industrial policies, regional development strategies,
macro-economic stimulus plans). Address instead with impacts on long-term
potential growth rate (education deepening, reform to accept migrant workers,
eliminate barriers to moving product between regions). [CR: One challenge leads
to another. Will be interesting to see if China will have an internal
“globalisation” trend.]
New iPhone 5.0
expected to wipe 3-4 percent off Telstra’s margins due to increased handset
subsidy costs. iPhone 4S in October 2011 resulted in a 15 percentage drop in US
AT&T margins. Telstra margins reached a new high of 39 percent in year half
to June. Mobile revenues grew 8.5 percent to $8.7 billion in 2011-2012,
offsetting sharp decline in Sensis and fixed phone lines. iPhone 5.0 will be
the launch of the Telstra 4G network. Telstra faces competition from Optus and
Vodaphone, with unusually large number of customers rolling off contracts, at
risk of any one player deciding to sacrifice margins to buy market share.
Increased popularity of Android also raises potential for less of an impact on
customer growth than previous periods. [CR:
The market balances itself out to try and prevent any one player becoming
dominant. Would love to go forward in
five years to see which player we are dismissing now or does not exist at all comes
to the forefront.]
Over three-year delays
in IT backoffice superannuation management system. IT firm Superpartners,
owned by five industry funds – AustralianSuper, Hostplus, HESTA, MTAA, and
Cbus. Originaly scheduled for 2010, now slated for release 2013-2014. Original
price tag of $70 million, current estimates as high as $260 million. Reasons
for delays: the need to cater for the scale and complexity fo several major
superannuation funds, the need to “get it right”, and the fact that it is a
series of projects. [CR: Using “it’s just really complex” works as a reason?
Will need to try that sometime...]
Lululemon doing well:
Canadian yoga company selling $1.4 billion this year at 25 percent margins,
expect to add another $1 billion by 2015. Revenue growth has been at 30 percent
per annum for three straight years. [That’s a lot of rich yoga people. Great
market.]
MGM Holdings,
Hollywood studio behind James Bond, seeking initial stock sale before
October release of latest Bond flick. MGM exited bankruptcy in 2010. [CR: Always good to hear when they make a
comeback.]
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