The Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) share price is up 59.2% year-to-date and has more than doubled in the past 12 months from $27.58 to higher than $60.

At the time of writing, the Mineral Resources share price is up 2%, trading at $61.19.

Looking back, shares in the mining company only started to gain traction in mid-2020, following the surge in iron ore prices.

How has Mineral Resources changed in recent years?

Mineral Resources has fundamentally been the same company over the years, operating mining services as well as iron ore and lithium production.

However, the weighting of these operations has drastically changed in the past two years.

In FY19, mining services delivered $209 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA).

By comparison, iron ore and lithium production generated $214 million and $70 million in EBITDA respectively.

Fast forward to FY21, and the company’s earnings are far more skewed towards iron ore.

Mining services delivered EBITDA of $464 million, more than doubling FY19 figures.

However, iron ore EBITDA fired up almost fivefold on FY19 figures to $1,537 million.

During this time, iron ore production had lifted from 11.362 million tonnes in FY19 to 17,274 million tonnes in FY21.

Are iron ore prices driving the Mineral Resources share price?

Iron ore prices were relatively stagnant between 2017 and mid-2020, mostly trading around the US$85/tonne level.

During this time, the Mineral Resources share price also traded sideways between highs of ~$20 and lows of ~$12.

In early June 2020, Mineral Resources broke above pre-COVID highs of $19.59, the beginning of its monster run to $60.

During this time, iron ore prices rallied from ~US$100 in June to peak at ~US$230 in May.

What’s the outlook?

The recent weakness in iron ore prices is likely a contributing factor to the stalling Mineral Resources share price.

The Australian reported commentary from UBS analyst Myles Allsop, who said: “We are cautious on iron ore prices in the medium term as supply is lifting and demand is moderating.”

Allsop expects iron ore prices to stabilise by September, before falling to about US$100 a tonne next year, implying more than 50 per cent loss of value from the peak.

The post What can we learn from the Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) share price history? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Alexium International Group Ltd (ASX: AJX) share price is on the radar again as we close out the trading week.

Alexium gave further clarity on its “BioCool product – sales update“, that was announced after the company placed its shares in a trading halt on Thursday.

As of 12pm today, Alexium shares have recommenced trading, and have slipped 18% into the red to 7.9 cents. Here we discuss the reasons behind the trading halt and today’s share price action.

Let’s find out what this announcement from the specialty chemicals producer means for investors.

BioCool products clarification

Recall that Alexium rebranded its flagship materials product as BioCool last year. On 12 August, in a sales update, Alexium advised that sales traction and market adoption of BioCool had gained considerable steam.

In the update, Alexium said BioCool now accounts for almost 50% of total sales in its mattresses segment.

Moreover, the company believes BioCool products will capture revenue embedded into adjacent textile markets, such as foam bedding, moving forward.

As a result of the sales update, Alexium shares were placed in a trading halt on Thursday, while the company sought to provide “clarification” on its BioCool products. At this time the Alexium share price was 9.7 cents.

Alexium offered the clarification in the release that was put to market just before lunch today.

In it, Alexium stated that sales of BioCool “began in earnest” in April this year, and “already accounted for around 48% of (its) revenue streams from the mattress market segment by July 2021”.

The mattress market segment “contributed US$5.3 million” to the company’s FY21 revenue, in both foam and textile.

However, in Alexium’s “conversion of customers to BioCool products”, the company “does not have insight into the exact end-use” for its customers. This is even though the “sales are to new and established businesses”.

From what it seems, this serves as the clarity Alexium sought to provide investors. However, the market hasn’t welcomed the news well, pushing the Alexium share price into the red in afternoon trade.

What did the company have to say?

Touching on the BioCool products themselves, Alexium stated:

More than a year of research and product development went into this technology, and is strong evidence of our strategies in action. In the Quarterly Report, the company announced that the introduction of its BioCool products had seen strong market adoption with an expected upward sales trend into the first half of FY22.

Expanding on the growth vision of BioCool, the company added:

This rapid adoption by our customers of this new BioCool product demonstrates the significance of ecoconscious products to the US bedding market. Consumer demand for these goods is on the rise, and the company’s commercialisation strategy for BioCool has positioned us to maximise the value of the opportunity.

Alexium share price snapshot

Investors have reacted unfavourably to the company’s announcement today, driving Alexium shares into the red as they recommenced trading from midday.

The Alexium share price has posted a year-to-date gain of 67%, and a 12-month climb of 33%.

These results have outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% over the past year.

In the last month alone, Alexium shares have climbed 94% into the green.

The post What’s going on with the Alexium (ASX:AJX) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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The author Zach Bristow has no positions in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) share price is lifting off today, up 5% in early afternoon trading.

This comes as the New South Wales government is set to debate a potential increase in the number of poker machines for Sydney’s Star casino.

Why the extra pokies for the Sydney Star casino?

Star’s share price bump could be aligned with the news that up to 1,000 extra pokies may soon be given the green light for its Sydney asset.

But these won’t be new pokies. Meaning they’ll be moved from smaller, regional gambling outlets in other parts of New South Wales.

That’s because the government remains concerned about money laundering issues tied to gambling in general and Crown specifically.

As the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

The NSW government is likely to support the transfer of poker machines licences to the Star because it believes the casino can be more highly regulated than some smaller venues in regional NSW.

The New South Wales government is scheduled to debate the proposal on Monday.

Of the 96,000 registered poker machines spread over 4,000 locations in New South Wales, the Star currently has only 1,500. Should the proposal pass on Monday, that figure could almost double to 2,500.

Star share price snapshot

Star’s share price has managed to navigate around the wider issues of money laundering plaguing the gambling industry over the past year. In the past 12 months Star’s share have gained 29%, surpassing the 25% gains posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Year-to-date the Star share price has struggled, down 6% in 2021.

Star pays a 2.7% dividend yield, fully franked.

The post What’s lifting the Star (ASX:SGR) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Clean TeQ Water Ltd (ASX: CNQ) share price rose strongly at one point today following a significant contract award.

During early morning trade, the metals recovery and water treatment solutions company’s shares hit an intraday high of 77 cents. However, some profit-taking has led its shares to retrace to 73.5 cents, up 3.52%.

What did Clean TeQ announce?

Investors are pushing Clean TeQ shares into the green after the company revealed it won an important contract.

According to its release, Clean TeQ Water advised it has been selected to design and deliver a High Recovery Reverse Osmosis (HIROX) water recovery plant in the Middle East.

The facility will be used to treat bore water used for enhanced oil recovery with minimum waste within the region.

Clean TeQ Water’s technology is able to attain more than 90% water recovery compared to traditional methods which achieve around 30%. The treatment involves reducing sulphate in bore water to prevent scaling when the water is used for reinjection.

The HIROX plant will produce approximately 1,200 tonnes per day of treated water.

Clean TeQ Water’s counterparty on the contract, National Energy Services Reunited Corp (NESR) will assist with delivery of the project.

NESR is one of the largest oilfield services providers in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company has a water conservation and management business focused on improving water availability and reuse in the oil and gas sector.

Under the agreement, NESR will be the owner and operator of the plant’s first installation.

The contract is expected to generate revenue of roughly $3 million.

Clean TeQ Water CEO, Willem Vriesendorp commented:

The award of this significant contract is further testament to our ability to provide the best water treatment solutions across multiple industries.

The Oil and Gas sector is a tremendous opportunity for the adoption of high recovery water and reuse technology. Our HIROX process is one of our world-leading treatment technologies that will ensure Clean TeQ Water can compete with the world’s best water treatment companies.

About the Clean TeQ Water share price

Since debuting on the ASX boards on 2 July, Clean TeQ Water shares have flatlined. The company’s share price hit an all-time high of $1.45 in mid-July and have treaded lower ever since.

Clean TeQ Water presides a market capitalisation of about $32.8 million, with more than 44.6 million shares outstanding.

The post Clean TeQ Water (ASX:CNQ) share price edges higher on contract win appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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