It's currently the season for quarterly reports, which tends to also be a good time to see what the brokers are saying about companies which have reported, or are just about to.
I've selected three reports from Macquarie on companies which fit the bill, two of which reported just in recent days.
So let's have a look what they're saying.
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Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
This week, Whitehaven Coal released its quarterly report. The company revealed it had generated sales of 6.8 million tonnes of coal for the March quarter, broadly in line with the December quarter.
But while production was flat, the company received better prices for both its metallurgical and thermal coal. Given the continued troubles in the Middle East, this is expected to continue.
As the company said:
Long-term demand for seaborne high caloric value thermal coal, together with a structural supply shortfall from underinvestment in new mines and depletion of existing supply, remains a driver for longer-term price support for high caloric value thermal coal. In developing economies, thermal coal continues to play a critical role in delivering affordable and reliable access to electricity. This focus on energy security is expected to further support long-term demand for high-quality thermal coal. Disruptions are likely to continue to impact supply across the global energy complex for a period following cessation of Middle East tensions.
Macquarie has a price target of $9.75 on Whitehaven shares, compared with $8.28 currently.
Aurelia Metals Ltd (ASX: AMI)
Also this week, Aurelia Metals reported gold production of 13,000 ounces for the quarter, and that it had increased its cash balance from $85.6 million at the end of December to $94.7 million at the end of March.
Aurelia also increased its full-year production guidance, saying gold production was now expected to come in at 45,000 to 50,000 ounces, compared with the previous guidance of 35,000 to 40,000 ounces.
Forecast copper production, however, reduced from 3,000 to 4000 tonnes to 2.5-3000 tonnes.
Macquarie said in its research note on the company that gold production came in 17% higher than consensus estimates, although the company's base metals production was weak.
Macquarie maintained its price target of 40 cents on the company's shares. This is materially above its current share price of 31 cents, which increased 9.8% on Wednesday.
Amcor Ltd (ASX: AMC)
Amcor is yet to report its quarterly results, which are scheduled to come out on May 6, however Macquarie has put out a research note in advance.
The broker said they were expecting $200-$250 million in adverse working capital movements from an increase in raw materials costs, "which is likely to reduce AMC's $1.8-$1.9 billion full year free cash flow guidance''.
Macquarie has reduced their earnings per share assumptions and therefore reduced their price target on Amcor from $86.50 to $84.63, however this is still well above the current share price of $54.13.
