NAB offers workers pay rise, Mineral Resources responds to media speculation and Metcash continues sales momentum

National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) has offered its staff an extra week of leave and a 5% pay rise, in the major bank’s latest attempt to bargain with employees on a new enterprise agreement.

Workers earning less than $100,000 in total remuneration could receive the 5% pay rise initially, followed by a 4% wage increase the following year.

Employers making six figures or more a year would receive increases of 4.5% initially, followed by 3.5% the year after.

NAB head of people and culture Susan Ferrier shared the news to staff in an email on Tuesday, confirming the pay rise and leave extras.

“We want to provide a competitive pay increase to colleagues to continue attracting and retaining talented professionals,” she said.

The proposed changes await negotiating with the Finance Sector Union (FSU) as well as a vote from NAB’s staff.

However, FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano said the changes are unreasonable and are actually a pay cut, considering inflation.

“The pay offer from NAB represents an unacceptable real pay cut for our members and fails to address the cost-of-living crisis currently being faced by more than 30,000 employees covered by the enterprise agreement,” she said.

The FSU is aiming for a 6% pay rise for NAB workers, in support of the 87% of the workforce who voted against the suggested enterprise agreement because it wasn’t enough. 

Link Administration

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has granted Canada’s Dye & Durham approval to follow through with its $2.5 billion buyout of Link Administration (ASX: LNK).

After months of deliberations and market inquiries, the final approval will place the company at the final stages of a nine-month long effort to complete the acquisition.

Originally, the main concern was with Link’s most valuable asset, a 42.8% stake in PEXA, which has a near-monopoly operatorship in electronic conveyancing within Australia’s property settlement market.

Through the acquisition, Dye & Durham will acquire the 42.8% stake in PEXA that Link currently owns.

ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb said a court-enforceable undertaking for the sale of the existing Dye & Durham operations in Australia would be necessary, with the buyer requiring competition regulator approval.

Mineral Resources

Mining giant Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) has responded to media speculation this week surrounding the potential listing of its lithium business.

Reports were circling this week suggesting the Australian miner was considering spinning off and listing its growing lithium arm in the United States, in an effort to create mass value for investors.

The company’s lithium division is seen as its most valuable, owning direct interests in Mount Marion and Wodgina lithium mines, as well as a lithium hydroxide processing plant, Kermerton in Western Australia.

Mineral Resources told shareholders “any previously undisclosed potential strategic initiatives being considered by MinRes are not sufficiently advanced or certain to warrant disclosure”.

In line with the normal course of business operations, the company said it will continue to evaluate options to maximise value creation for shareholders.

Metcash

Australia’s leading wholesale distribution and marketing company Metcash (ASX: MTS) has released a trading update, highlighting its strong sales momentum from FY2022 has continued into the first half of FY2023.

The company said it has “continued in 1H23 in all pillars supported by continued preference for local neighbourhood shopping underpinned by the improved competitiveness of our independent retail networks, and by inflation.”

Several factors are said to have impacted sales throughout the opening half, including inflation lifting the value of sales across the business in food, liquor and hardware.

Also, heavy rain and floods have raised the cost of a number of fresh food items compared to a year ago, while higher energy and petrol costs have contributed to this year’s performance.

Metcash said group sales were up 8.9% across all its pillars, including supermarkets, hardware and liquor.

Food sales increased 4.3%, supermarkets sales were up 3.4%, hardware sales jumped 19.5%, and liquor sales increased 11.5%.

The company said it is doing its best to continue to keep customers satisfied, keeping in mind inflationary pressures.

“In the face of a higher inflationary environment, we have maintained our focus on keeping our independent retailers well stocked and price competitive to support their delivery of differentiated value for shoppers,” it said.

“We have continued to work closely with our suppliers and independent retailers to help shoppers manage the impact of inflation by providing better value options through offering a wider range of products at competitive prices”.

APA Group

Leading Australian energy infrastructure business APA Group (ASX: APA) has been selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of Basslink.

APA has commenced negotiations for a binding transaction of Basslink, which owns and operates the 370km high voltage direct current (HVDC) electricity inter-connector between Victoria and Tasmania.

APA was up against Merrick Howes’ Aviron Investment Management, with both parties having submitted binding bids.

Receivers FTI Consulting Vaughan Strawbridge said the binding offers were both considered in depth.

“We are now moving to final documentation which includes agreeing key operating agreements with stakeholders of Basslink and which will also include a deed of company arrangement to effect the restructuring being proposed to creditors for approval,” he said.