This has been a very eventful week so far with many S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) companies holding AGMs and releasing Q1 results at the same time. Nonetheless, there are several potentially contentious meetings still to be held this week. Some of these relate to companies that have received a lot of press coverage recently, while others concern businesses impacted particularly hard by the pandemic. Here are a few of the highlights to watch out for over the remainder of the week.
ASX 200 events on Thursday 22 October
At 7.30am on Thursday, ASX 200 company AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) will provide its Q3 update. On 2 September, AMP announced it was undertaking a portfolio review as it regularly received unsolicited offers for its assets and businesses. As a result, it has been rumoured that Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) has declared an interest in the company's real estate portfolio. Moreover, the company has flagged mass job cuts to try to bring costs under control.
At 10.00am, Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) will be holding its AGM. At present, Crown is enmeshed in an inquiry to determine whether it is fit to hold a license for the Barangaroo casino. Consequently, AUSTRAC has become involved recently, declaring it has "serious concerns" over money laundering, which has led to an investigation that could take up to two years. Moreover, the company's largest institutional investor, Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT), has voted to oppose the re-election of three directors.
In conclusion, the company chair, Helen Coonan, has said the Barangaroo casino will open its doors before the inquiry determines whether Crown can hold a casino license. All of these issues are likely to play out in the company's AGM.
At 11.00am, ASX 200 mall operator Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) will hold its AGM. Scentre is often one of the highest volume large cap shares traded on the ASX. Meanwhile, lockdowns, social distancing, and the government's code of conduct for commercial tenancies have had a significant impact on this company. Nevertheless, in August the company declared it had been able to collect 86% of rent payments. Indeed, the AGM and Q1 results will likely provide an insight into the degree of improvement in the mall business sector.
At 11.30am, National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) will publish its Q3 business confidence survey. The survey provides an overview of business confidence and business conditions. The company's 2Q report highlighted the difficult conditions resulting from lockdown restrictions faced by Australian business .
End of the week, Friday 23 October
At 11.00am on Friday, ASX 200 airline Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) will hold its AGM. Qantas has been one of the high profile casualties of the pandemic. In recent weeks, the company decided to end international joint ventures, place its super jumbos into storage, and resume trans Tasman flights. The Q1 results will provide an insight into how much the company has been able to mobilise on domestic routes.
