Qantas (ASX:QAN) to relocate: Aus shares steady at noon

The Australian share market opened higher this morning but is now steady at noon. Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR) is leading the top 200 gains at midday, up almost 7 per cent, with Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY), coming in last.

The S&P/ASX 200 index is steady at 5,897. On the futures market the SPI is 8 points down.

Company news

Qantas (ASX:QAN) is considering a possible move interstate as part of its recovery plan and efforts to cut overheads. The proposed change may result in bringing together several facilities, currently spread across Australia, in one state. The review is primarily focused on non-aviation facilities – including the national carrier’s leased 49,000 square metre head office in Mascot in Sydney and Jetstar’s leased head office in Collingwood, Melbourne. Some aviation facilities will be considered for possible relocation, such as flight simulator centres currently in Sydney and Melbourne as well as Qantas’ heavy maintenance facilities in Brisbane – particularly if there was an opportunity to bring some or all of these facilities together elsewhere within Australia.

Chief Financial Officer for the Qantas Group, Vanessa Hudson, said: “Like most airlines, the ongoing impact of COVID means we’ll be a much smaller company for a while. We’re looking right across the organisation for efficiencies, including our $40 million annual spend on leased office space. Shares in Qantas (ASX:QAN) are trading at 0.4 per cent lower at $3.93.

Best and worst performers

The best-performing sector is Information Technology, adding 1.6 per cent, while the worst performing sector is Energy shedding 1 per cent.

The best performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR), rising 6.9 per cent to $2.47, followed by shares in New Hope Corporation (ASX:NHC) and Mesoblast (ASX:MSB).

The worst performing stock in the S&P/ASX 200 is Cleanaway Waste Management (ASX:CWY), dropping 6.2 per cent to $2.19, followed by shares in SkyCity Entertainment Group (ASX:SKC) and Cooper Energy (ASX:COE).

Commodities and the dollar

Gold is trading at US$1,963 an ounce.
Iron ore price rose 1.4 per cent to US$130.17
Iron ore futures are pointing to a fall of 0.1 per cent.
One Australian dollar is buying 73.01 US cents.

Source: Finance News Network