Aside from the hedging, there will be a number of other updates...

Aside from the hedging, there will be a number of other updates from the company in the coming weeks.

Firstly, Centro have told us that they are working on the refinance and they will probably want to get that settled as soon as possible, especially with the prospects of rate rises looming large. Without doubt this will be successful. I only wish our crystal ball wasn't in for service so we could work out when it'll happen.

Secondly, we'll also get an announcement about the new CEO soon. We know they have been undertaking an exec search since Glenn announced he was stepping down. The fact that they have been able to hire new, experienced directors suggests that talent can be attracted to the group. For the right CEO candidate, shareholders will be happy to support a substantial remuneration package especially if there are CNP and CER share price targets included in the KPIs and incentives. Our board will not only be looking for someone capable of doing the job, they will be looking at an individual who will meet with lender, staff, customer and (more importantly) shareholder approval as well. This takes time, but is well underway.

Whilst there has been some short-term noise in the last day or so, we are on the cusp of a transition with Centro. Glenn has done a first class job in stabilising the group but with his departure, the time has now come for the company to either enter the next phase, submit itself to being taken over or break out and spin off US assets.

Most of us have been around long enough to know that a new CEO will bring a new master plan and a re-invigoration of the business. See Michael Cameron at GPT as an example. We'll see a further clean out of the senior team and new external relationships emerge. If we can get an less introverted CEO, we'll start to see more and more communication with stakeholders as well.

Thirdly, in about 3 weeks (pre-AGM), we'll get the quarterly trading update which should give an insight into how the business has been running in the Jul-Sep quarter. Trading updates are always a bit out of date and the company typically doesn't give anything forward looking on these. However we'll be looking for whether the numbers are in-line with some of the predictions made at the year end results and that the bottom is now past us.

Then there are the AGMs on 16th / 17th November.

Finally, on the 18th December we'll get an announcement about the half year distribution. I doubt we'll see anything for CNP but with the refinancing out of the way, funds starting to flow from CSF and a lot, lot less restructuring costs this half, there is a good chance CER will announce something to reward our patience.