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Caltex Australia Ltd, the only listed oil refiner of Australia, posted a growth of 9% in its net profit for the year 2009. But the biggest oil refiner of the nation is very cautious for the coming year as the timing of the recovery in oil demand is still uncertain.

Caltex reported a net profit of A$203 million for FY 2009, increasing by 9% from the previous year figures of net profit as in FY 2008 the company posted a net profit of A$186 million. The profit posted by the company meets the expectations of the market analysts. The profit for FY 2009 also includes A$121 million in write downs.

ThinkSmart Ltd posted a record profit in the year 2009. The company reported a growth of 61% in its annual net profit as the company saw a strong growth it its business in Australia.

ThinkSmart has delivered a consistent growth over few years and according to the company officials the company reported a 21% compound annual growth rate over the last 3 years. The management of ThinkSmart is very optimistic for the coming future and expects a good growth for the coming fiscal.

The Seven Network, Australian media and investment firm, has announced its merger with WesTrac Holdings, a heavy equipment firm. The merger will be an all equity merger and as a result of this a new company would be created called Seven Group Holdings. The new company will be listed on the Australia Securities Exchange.

Mega sales boom of the Fairtrade products in the UK finally came to a halt in 2009, the Fairtrade Foundation said on Monday. Consolidated sales of all products grew just 12 per cent during the year as compared 71 per cent in
2007 and 45 per cent in 2008.

Customers' hesitation to go for the 'ethical and hence costlier' products during the recession was blamed for the decline in sales growth of such products. Overall sales for such products totaled to £799 million.

Fairfax Media Ltd, the Sydney based publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald, posted a profit in the first half after a long time. Also the publisher reported a growth of 2.5% in its advertising revenue in the first six months of the year while comparing with the same period previous year. This growth in the advertising revenue is for the first time in the history of the company.

However the profit in the first half was mainly attributable to the lower costs and growth at company's digital business.

Kingfisher Airlines and British Airways (BA) are negotiating to form an arrangement between the two airlines. If successful, BA would then be able to book its passengers on the Indian airline's flights, as per the details given by a newspaper on Monday. BA is the second largest carrier in Europe.

What is striking is that the arrangement is going to be the first of its kind between an Indian company and European aviation major.