Investor Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Amcor has been expanding significantly in overseas countries in recent years. To what extent have profits from these offshore operations been repatriated to Australia in the form of dividends?
A: In general terms, Amcor elects to utilise profits from offshore operations in further expansion or debt reduction in the country concerned. However, where feasible, funds are repatriated to Australia to repay debt and assist in the funding of dividend payments.
Q: Are Amcor dividends franked and to what extent?
A: Amcor intends that its dividends will be franked to the extent that credits can be made available. An increasing proportion of Amcor’s earnings is being earned outside Australia, and, as a consequence, franking capacity is small. The 2006/07 dividends had nil franking.
Q: Can I obtain information about Amcor’s individual operating businesses?
A: General information is available in the Businesses section of this website. More detailed information relating to subsidiaries and their operations can be obtained from perusing the various financial documents which are regularly filed by the company. These include the Full Year and Half Year Results and the Annual Financial Report. Anything more detailed than this is not publicly available. Legal requirements regarding disclosure mean that it is only possible to provide individuals with information that is available publicly.
Q: Can I request Financial Reports to be sent to me by email?
A: Yes, it is possible to be added to an electronic database to receive any of our reports via electronic means.
You can subscribe by contacting Investor Relations.
Q: Does Amcor have a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP)?
A: Yes, currently it does. Information on the Amcor’s DRP can be obtained from the appropriate section of the Shareholder Services section of this website or from the Share Registry. The DRP booklet can be downloaded from this website or copies can be requested by contacting Amcor by email, telephone or fax. Directors anticipate the continued operation of Amcor’s dividend reinvestment plan for the foreseeable future.
Q: Does Amcor have a hedging programme?
A: In relation to transactional foreign currency exposures, Amcor’s policy is to hedge all net forecast or actual foreign currency exposures greater than A$500,000 equivalent. The gains or costs on entering the hedge and the exchange difference up to the date of the purchase or sale are deferred and recognised as assets or liabilities on the Balance Sheet from the inception of the hedge contract, not when the specific purchase or sale occurs. At maturity, the costs and gains are included in the measurement of the underlying transaction.
With regard to balance sheet exposures, Amcor’s approach is to analyse the foreign currency denominated assets and hedge them with an appropriate mix of borrowings in relevant currencies to manage and optimise the exposure of the Group’s net assets. All material foreign currency liabilities are hedged or matched by equivalent assets in the same currencies, such assets representing a natural hedge.
In relation to translational exposures, no hedging is undertaken. Amcor has a global spread of operations and exposure to a number of major economies around the world. Part of this exposure is to movements in local currencies compared to the $A, which is reflected in the translation of local business results into the $A equivalent results of the global group. Importantly, however, these do not reflect cash or economic exposure to Amcor. Amcor’s overseas operations are self-sustaining and net profits are largely not repatriated.
Q: Does Amcor pay a dividend on its shares?
A: Yes, historically Amcor has had a policy of paying dividends to its shareholders. Dividends are normally paid in April and October. Please see the Dividends section.
Q: Does Amcor use derivatives?
A: Yes, however, Amcor does not at any time use derivatives for speculative or trading purposes. Amcor only uses derivatives such as interest rate and currency swaps to hedge underlying financial or commercial transactions. Details are provided in the Annual Report each year.
Q: Given Amcor’s presence in many different countries/tax jurisdictions, what is the Group doing to manage its tax risks?
A: We have in place an extensive Tax Risk Management Program, that is designed to identify where the Group may have an exposure, and have in place sufficient internal controls to manage and mitigate these risks as much as possible to ensure compliance with all taxation requirements.
Q: How can I obtain information about Amcor’s most recent financial results?
A: Please see the Investor Information section of this website.
Hard copies can be obtained by contacting Investor Relations.
Alternatively, copies of our financial results can also be obtained from other standard sources such as the ASX, Bloomberg, Reuters and, for information prior to June 2007, the US Securities and Exchange Commission website.
Q: How do I change my details if I am a shareholder?
A: This must be done by Amcor’s Share Registry. It is possible to do this over the Internet in most instances using facilities included in the Shareholder Services section.
Q: How does Amcor treat Goodwill on acquisitions in its financial accounts?
A: The company determines the value of goodwill, which is ordinarily the difference between consideration and paid and the fair values of assets acquired and capitalises this as a non-current asset in the accounts. Goodwill is allocated to the cash generating units to which it belongs and is tested at least annually for impairment.
Q: How does Amcor value its Employee Shares and Options?
A: The fair values of Amcor’s employee share options and incentive shares are calculated using the Black Scholes option-pricing model and is determined by various factors, including the option’s grant price, lifespan, share price volatility and dividend yield.
Q: How many shareholders does Amcor have?
A: At 30 June 2008, Amcor had 75,676 shareholders.
Q: If I am thinking of buying Amcor shares, who can I ask for information about this?
A: Amcor is happy to provide any publicly available information to prospective shareholders. This can be obtained by contacting us and requesting copies or through the extensive amount of information contained in this website. Amcor cannot, however, provide any advice or guidance. Amcor will counsel anyone thinking of investing in the stockmarket to seek professional investment advice from a licensed advisor.
Q: What affects Amcor’s share price and can the Company advise me on what the share price might do in the future?
A: It is not possible to predict the future and it is therefore not feasible for any company to try to predict what its share price might do in the future as there are so many issues at play over which we have no control.
There are a number of factors that drive share prices such as perceptions of the sharemarket as a whole and economic conditions that are beyond Amcor management’s control.
However, Amcor is achieving a major part of its sales to the non-cyclical food and beverage markets and has a broad geographic spread, which helps us to be resilient in difficult economic conditions.
To the extent that share prices are a function of profitability, we anticipate that the company will continue to exhibit good earnings over the medium term.
The company’s long term success is determined by factors including:
- Amcor’s strong financial position and management team;
- its clearly defined strategy; and
- the strength of Amcor’s well established businesses around the world
Q: What does Amcor expect its effective tax rate to be moving forward?
A: It is inherently difficult to be definitive on expected future tax rates due to one off permanent items, tax initiatives and occasional tax re-assessment in various jurisdictions. However, with the tax losses acquired with the Schmalbach Lubeca acquisition and the tax deductibility of goodwill in the USA plus efficient offshore capital structures, we think we can contain our global tax rate in the 20% to 25% range for the foreseeable future, but it will depend on the mix of earnings.
Q: What exchanges do Amcor securities trade on?
A: Amcor shares are traded on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). All shares are recorded on the principal share register of Amcor Limited, located in Victoria, Australia.
Amcor shares were traded in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) on the NASDAQ Stock Market in the US until 14 June 2007. Amcor ADRs can be traded in the US Over-The-Counter market (ref code AMCRY). Each ADS traded represents four Amcor ordinary shares. Information about ADRs is available from the depositary, JPMorgan Chase Bank.
The Eurobonds issued in March 2004 are listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Q: What is Amcor’s dividend policy?
A: With the transition to International Accounting Standards, goodwill amortisation will cease and the basis for measuring dividend pay-out ratios will be Net Profit After Tax.
On this basis, Amcor currently targets a pay-out ratio of 50-55% of Net Profit After Tax.
Q: What is Amcor’s ticker symbol?
A:
| Ordinary shares on the ASX | « AMC » |
| ADRs on the US Over-The-Counter Market | « AMCRY » |
| Eurobonds on the London Stock Exchange | « 81Bk » |
Q: What is Conduit Foreign Income?
A: Conduit Foreign Income indicates the extend that Amcor's earnings are derived outside of Australia. The extent of CFI affects the amount of Australian withholding tax paid on dividends to non-Australian shareholders. Amcor declared that 75% of the interim dividend for 2006/07 was sourced from Conduit Foreign Income.
Q: What were Amcor’s Earnings per Share (EPS) last year?
A: Please see the Investment Fundamentals page on this website.
Q: When has Amcor had stock splits, rights issues and other events which would have affected my initial shareholding?
A: We have provided a Investment Calculator in the Investor Centre that will enable you to calculate the current value of your Amcor shares.
Q: When is Amcor’s next General Meeting of Shareholders?
A: On Thursday October 23 2008. At the Park Hyatt - 1 Parliament Square, East Melbourne VIC 3002 Australia
Q: Where can I find historical information about Amcor’s financial results?
A: Please see the Investor Information section of this website.
Q: Who can assist me with share enquiries if I hold Amcor shares and am not located in Australia?
A: Holders of Amcor shares who are located overseas should still contact the share registry, Computershare Investor Services, located in Melbourne, Australia. Please see Shareholder Services section.
Q: Who is Amcor’s Independent Auditor?
A: Amcor’s external auditor is PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Q: Why does Amcor use long-term debt? Why use foreign debt vehicles when there are good Australian banks to borrow from?
A: As a matter of prudent long-term financial management, Amcor has moved to lengthen the average maturity of its debt portfolio to a range of 5-7 years. The US Private Placement of USD500 million made in 2003 has debt repayments spread over the period 2009-2017; while the Euro 350 million bond issue of March 2004 is not repayable until 2011. This avoids a concentration of debt repayments at a particular point in time and the fixed interest coupons of these notes allows for better management of interest rate risks over time.
These debt issues allow for much longer term funding than is available from banks and thus facilitates a more stable and diversified financing structure for the Group. It also provides USD and Euro borrowings which are matched against the USD and Euro-denominated assets of the group to better manage fluctuations in foreign currencies.
The banks’ lending capacity is focussed on shorter-term operational and working capital requirements.
Q: Will significant items continue to be included in Amcor’s results?
A: In accordance with current financial reporting standards, significant items are now included in the Company’s operating result and will continue to be disclosed separately by way of note.
Q: With regard to the Paperlinx demerger in 2000, what were the terms of the share allocations?
A: The terms of shares allocation were 1 Paperlinx (PPX) share for every 3 Amcor (AMC) shares. The Paperlinx shares were valued at $3.66 so the capital reduction of each Amcor share was one third of this – or $1.22. Shareholders therefore deduct $1.22 off the price they paid for Amcor’s shares pre the demerger.