Dan Wilkie

Perth-based residential development group Peet has announced an interim profit of $22.2 million, driven largely by price and margin growth in Victoria.

Atlas Iron has announced a maiden profit result of $30.1 million for the half year ended December 31, and has flagged that profit will increase in the second half of financial year 2011.

WITH the date now set for a boardroom showdown, the battle for control of residential property developer Aspen Group is heating up.

The City of Perth has given its approval to four new city developments, including an eight-level office building at the Playhouse Theatre site, a luxury hotel at heritage-listed St George's House and a 19-storey mixed use development at the Carlton Hotel.

Rio Tinto has appointed Sinclair Knight Merz as the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor for the expansion of its Cape Lambert port in the Pilbara.

Coles will pay its milk processor, Brownes Dairy, an extra five cents per litre of milk to ensure West Australian dairy farmers are not impacted by recent cuts to retail milk prices.

Entrust Funds Management has called on Aspen Group to shed more light on its position in relation to a series of recommendations the group put to its shareholders earlier this week.

Accountancy firm PwC has signed a ten-year lease agreement with Brookfield Office Properties to occupy 8,500 square metres of office space in City Square.

Global procurement and supply chain manager ADG Global Supply has won a three year, $25 million-plus contract with Traverse Drilling International.

Perth based Amcom Telecommunications has increased its full year earnings guidance after announcing a 46 per cent increase in half-year net profit after tax of $7 million from its 100 per cent owned operations.

The Art Gallery of Western Australia is set to get a new look, with the state government committing $10 million to fund a restoration of the gallery's façade.

Bauxite Resources has been granted 13 additional exploration licenses in Western Australia's Darling Range, which the company says will strengthen its joint venture with China's Yankuang Group.

Residential developer Cedar Woods has increased its full year profit guidance after lodging a first half profit of $24.2 million, up from $9.9 million in the previous half-year.

The three Aspen Group directors subject to a movement to remove them from the company's board have denied claims that the group had lost its way and had underperformed since jettisoning co-founder Angelo Del Borello in June last year.

Chinese coal miner Blackgold International Holdings is set to list on the Australian Securities Exchange in Perth tomorrow, after its $70.2 million initial public offering closed oversubscribed.

Perth-based internet service provider iiNet says it is on track to reach its full year guidance after recording a one per cent increase in first half profit.

Computer and office equipment financiers ThinkSmart has lodged a 31 per cent rise in full-year profit on the back of lowered business costs and a 14 per cent increase in sales.

Advanced materials group Matrix Composites and Engineering met its own profit guidance today with a 159 per cent increase in interim profit, but the stock still slipped lower after its stellar run over the past year.

The state government has released an additional 13 residential lots at Perry Lakes, after a successful land auction in December.

WA's steel industry has called for the Barnett government to release more details on how much local work has been created by Chevron's $43 billion Gorgon gas project and Fortescue Metals Group's iron ore operations in the Pilbara.

Planning Minister John Day says he is hoping to stimulate population growth and economic activity in the Wheatbelt with the approval of two significant residential development proposals in Gingin and York.

UK finance group Standard Chartered has bought into Perth-based livestock exporter Wellard Group for $83 million, in a move Wellard says will boost its growth ambitions throughout Asia.

Nickel giant Minara Resources has lodged a 21 per cent full year profit increase on the back of an improved nickel outlook and has flagged an increase in output over 2011.

Besieged property developer Luke Saraceni has been ordered by the Supreme Court to place $1.3 million transferred out of Westgem Investment's accounts the day before receivers were appointed into a trust managed by his lawyers.

Mineral Resources has reported a 121 per cent increase in net profit for the half year ended December 31, on the back of record-high iron ore prices and improved performance from its contracting operations.

Shares in gold miner Ramelius Resources have jumped after it flagged a three-fold half year pre-tax profit increase.

Amcom Telecommunications says it has fast-tracked its entry into the growing cloud computing sector after entering into a strategic partnership with data backup firm BlueFire Corporation.

Toro Energy has entered an agreement to purchase additional uranium tenements adjacent to its Wiluna uranium project from Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel for $4.5 million cash and a conditional royalty.

Perdaman Chemicals and Fertilisers has finalised rail transport deals with WestNet Rail and QR National for its $3.5 billion urea manufacturing plant near Collie.

Iron ore junior Territory Resources has entered a non-binding agreement with its major shareholder, Hong Kong commodities trading house Noble Group, for a $20.9 million debt to equity conversion.

Radhika Oswal will argue in the Supreme Court of Victoria that ANZ invalidly appointed PPB Advisory as receivers and managers over Burrup Fertilisers, because she believes Burrup was never in default of its debt repayments to the bank.

Perth-based Atlantic has settled its issue of $US335 million ($A334.26 million) of notes to fund the completion of the Windimurra vanadium mine in Western Australia.