ELIZABETH REDMAN AND MITCHELL NEEMS FEBRUARY 24, 2014 BUSINESS SPECTATOR CALTEX Australia expects the transport fuels market to continue to become more competitive, saying it plans to grow its marketing business and make its Lytton refinery more efficient. On a replacement-cost basis, the group’s profit after tax fell by 28 per cent to $332 million in the year to December 2013, compared with $458 million in the prior year. The results are in line with a forecast the group issued in December, saying it expected a fall of up to 30 per cent to $320 million to $340 million. On a historical-cost basis, profit after tax surged by 830 per cent to $530 million in the year, compared with $57 million in the previous year, largely on the back of its Sydney bitumen business sale. Caltex said the figure included significant gains of around $26 million after tax, particularly from…

February 24, 2014 NACS Online The FDA has ordered a stop to the sale of four cigarette products made by Jash International, marking the first time the agency has exercised this type of authority under the Tobacco Control Act. WASHINGTON – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued orders on Friday to stop the further sale and distribution of four tobacco products currently on the market. According to a press release, the action marks the first time the FDA has used its authority under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act to order a manufacturer of currently available tobacco products to stop selling and distributing them. The products — Sutra Bidis Red, Sutra Bidis Menthol, Sutra Bidis Red Cone and Sutra Bidis Menthol Cone — were found to be not substantially equivalent to tobacco products commercially marketed as of February 15, 2007, also known as predicate products, says the…

Angela Macdonald-Smith February 25, 2014 The Age The Caltex Australia Ltd. Lytton refinery is silhouetted against a sunset in Brisbane, Australia, on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2010. The refining industry is in upheaval. Caltex Australia chief executive Julian Segal has dismissed concerns that tough new rivals in fuels retailing will eat into the company’s market share and margins, despite pointing to a likely step-up in competition in specific areas. After reporting a 27.5 per cent drop in benchmark full-year profit to $332 million, in line with guidance, Mr Segal retained Caltex’s forecast for 5 per cent annual growth in earnings before interest and tax for the marketing business. Marketing EBIT in 2013 rose 4 per cent to a record $764 million, a stark contrast to the $171 million deficit for the refining business, which is being restructured to stem losses. Australia’s refining and marketing industry is in upheaval, with refinery closures,…

FEBRUARY 27, 2014 AAP TOBACCO products in the EU will soon feature less attractive packaging and menthol cigarettes will be on their way out, in a move that mirrors Australia’s crackdown on big tobacco. The bloc’s parliament approved new rules on Wednesday aimed at curbing smoking. “By ensuring that tobacco products look and taste like tobacco products, the new rules will help to reduce the number of people who start smoking in the EU,” Tonio Borg, the bloc’s health commissioner, said on Tuesday. He argued that tobacco has a “devastating effect” on health, pointing to estimates that 700,000 Europeans die of tobacco-related diseases every year, that smokers live an average of 14 years less than non-smokers and that they spend more years “in poor health”. In a world-first Australia introduced plain packaging in late 2012 with all cigarettes and tobacco products now sold in drab olive-brown packs. The UK is…

LUCY CALLANDER FEBRUARY 25, 2014 MORNINGTON PENINSULA LEADER MORNINGTON Peninsula Shire councillors have slammed a decision by Planning Minister Matthew Guy to approve two super service stations alongside Peninsula Link. The councillors were due to discuss the proposal at last night’s council meeting but it was revealed the planning minister approved the plans on February 13. In 2012 plans for the super servos at Baxter were rejected first by the shire then by VCAT. It is believed there will be no further input from Mornington Peninsula shire or landowners close to the proposed sites, which fall within designated green wedge zones. Angry councillors condemned the decision by Minister Guy at last night’s meeting and said it had serious implications for all Victorians. “This is about people’s rights,” Cr Anne Shaw said. Leader is awaiting a response from Planning Minister Matthew Guy.