"We await the final partial data (due tomorrow) which is expected to show a big boost from net exports, as well as a modest rise in public demand".- George Tharenou, Scott Haslem and Jin Xu, UBS Australia
The Bureau of Statistics business indicators data for the March quarter, showed a mixed outcome. The bad news was an unexpected slump in gross operating profits at Australian firms. After seasonal adjustments, profits dropped by 4.7% to $59.295 billion between January to March compared to the prior quarter, a figure that was well below expectations for an increase of 0.2%. The slump left gross operating profits down 8.4% on the same quarter a year earlier. It was the largest year-on-year decline registered since 2012, and was also the lowest quarterly figure since Q1 of 2010. Most of the slump in profits was due to three industries - mining, manufacturing and financial/insurance services. Mining profits slumped 9.6%, manufacturing 14.5%, and financial and insurance services saw gross operating profits collapse by 69.4%. This slide in corporate fortunes was partly offset by a surprise rise in wages and salaries, which rose 0.6% in the March quarter.