what to look for in the announcement, page-24

Thanks for your comments all. Good to see you back Buffett.

Just to clarify a few points:

The legal costs I refer to are in relation to the shareholder class action against the company. We know of two class actions currently underway but whether these will succeed or not is unclear. If these progress further, I can see the company having to make sizable provisions.

I wasn't actually referring to Pelorus in the post but despite the article from the AFR today, it appears Pelorus want to continue the fight. See here:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23630866-25658,00.html

I don't actually think this will come to anything. Systems error my foot.

Diligent, the $1.1bn is mainly non-cash items, but not entirely due to property write-downs. You say it has no impact on net profit but it has had a massive impact this half - I think you mean no impact on revenue or income perhaps?

The main items contained in the $1.1bn are:

1. $578m impairment loss on the SuperLLC investment (68c per CNP share!). As you will see from p24 of the Appendix 4d, this is not just confined to property re-values.

2. $460m loss on equity accounted associates (almost 50c per share). As you will see from p22, $286m is property revals in SuperLLC; another $200m odd is as a result of DPF/DPFI which has reduced in value in part because of write-down in CRIT. Once the refinancing is complete, DPF and DPFI will almost certainly revalue this up again along with their equity holding in CNP & CER. Here is where some non-cash income will found.

3. Mark to market of derivatives accounted for a further $85m loss (10c per share). Since 31st Dec, interest rates have gone up in Aus (where 1/3 of the assets are located) but down in the US (where 2/3 of the assets are located). There have also been swings in the AUD/USD fx rate. Without further information on the actual positions, we have no idea what these will be next half.

As for when the ann will come, CNP is going to want to get this out as soon as the ink has dried. They are under intense regulatory scrutiny which means absolutely no delays. I reckon the PR, media, comms, etc. is ready to go. 18 trading hours and counting....