Day: 23 August 2021

The Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND) share price is crashing lower on Tuesday following the release of its full year results.

In morning trade, the engineering company’s shares are down 14% to $10.17.

Monadelphous share price crashes on subdued FY 2022 outlook

• Revenue up 18% to $1.95 billion
• Net profit after tax up 29% to $47.1 million
• Cash flow conversion rate of 35%
• Fully franked final dividend of 21 cents per share, taking the full year dividend to 45 cents per share
• Cash balance of $175.7 million.
• Secured $950 million of new contracts and extensions
• Outlook: Revenues to be lower in FY 2022

What happened in FY 2021 for Monadelphous?

For the 12 months ended 30 June, Monadelphous reported an 18.3% increase in revenue. Management advised that this reflects increased demand for its services as the resources industry recovered from the delays and disruptions experienced during the initial phases of COVID-19.

In addition to this, it notes that its customers were seeking to capitalise on strong commodity prices, especially in the iron ore sector. This supported a 59% increase in revenue in its Engineering Construction division to $979 million.

Demand for maintenance services within the iron ore sector was also strong, with reduced levels experienced in the oil and gas sector.

However, a COVID-related shortfall of available skilled resources was unprecedented and resulted in labour cost and productivity pressures across the industry.

What did management say?

Monadelphous’ Managing Director, Rob Velletri, appeared pleased with the result and remains positive on the future.

In respect to the latter, he commented: “While market conditions are expected to be strong, COVID-19 impacts and the skills labour shortage will continue to be a major challenge for the industry. Our attraction and retention initiatives, strategic approach to targeting new work and collaborative working relationships with our customers will become more important than ever.”

What’s next for Monadelphous?

One thing that appears to be weighing on the Monadelphous share price today is its outlook.

Management has warned that “with several large construction projects all completing in the next six months, full year 2021/22 revenues are likely to be lower than the previous year due to the timing of award and commencement of new major projects.”

It also noted that “the shortage of skilled labour will continue to be the major challenge for the Company’s operations in Australia.”

The Monadelphous share price is down 26% in 2021.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Last Thursday, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) hosted its AI Day event. Elon Musk has branded these presentations as a recruiting opportunity, a way for the company to attract top talent in the field of artificial intelligence. But they also allow Tesla to showcase its technology, giving investors a glimpse of what the future will hold.

With that in mind, here are two of the most important takeaways from Tesla’s AI Day.

1. Tesla is more than an electric car company

Tesla is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles (EVs), capturing 15.2% market share through the first half of 2021. But Tesla is not an EV company; it’s an AI company that makes EVs.

Case in point: Tesla introduced the D1 chip last Thursday, the processor that will power its Dojo supercomputer. The D1 represents the second semiconductor designed internally by Tesla, following the in-car supercomputer released in 2019. At the time, Musk called that innovation “the best chip in the world.” But this new technology is even more impressive.

Each D1 packs 362 teraflops (TFLOPs) of processing power, meaning it can perform 362 trillion floating-point operations per second. And Tesla combines 25 chips into a training tile and links 120 training tiles together across several server cabinets. I’ll do the math for you: Each training tile clocks in at 9 petaflops, meaning Dojo will boast over 1 exaflop of computing power. Put another way, Dojo will be the most powerful AI training machine in the world.

Why does that matter? Artificial intelligence requires two things: Massive amounts of data, and a powerful computer that can use that data to train deep neural nets. With over 1 million autopilot-enabled EVs on the road, Tesla already has an edge over other automakers. 

Now, with the introduction of an exascale supercomputer, which management says will be operational next year, Tesla has reinforced that advantage. In short, the company has more data and better technology, meaning it’s miles ahead in the race to build a self-driving car. And autonomy is the future of the automotive industry.

2. Tesla plans to build an autonomous humanoid

Near the end of the AI Day event, Tesla delivered some surprising news in a very dramatic fashion. After a dancer dressed like a robot briefly entertained the audience, Musk announced that Tesla is, in fact, working on an AI-powered humanoid robot.

The so-called Tesla Bot will weigh 125 pounds, walk up to 5 miles per hour, and will be 5-foot-8 tall. It will also be able to carry up to 45 pounds. According to Musk, the bot will eventually eliminate the need for humans to take part in boring, repetitive, and/or dangerous tasks. For example, Musk referenced sending the Tesla Bot to the grocery store.

No, this is not a gimmick. Given Tesla’s expertise in artificial intelligence, the company is well-positioned to build an autonomous humanoid. That being said, investors shouldn’t get too excited just yet. Musk mentioned that a prototype would be ready next year, but Tesla has a history of making over-ambitious promises. However, as an investor, I appreciate seeing an enthusiastic management team, and this is definitely something to watch in the coming years. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Trevor Jennewine owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Tesla. 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.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) share price is in the green after the company released its results for financial year 2021 (FY21).

Right now, the HUB24 share price is $26.22, 0.96% higher than its previous closing price.

HUB24 share price jumps on 237% increase to funds under administration

Here’s how the investment-focused fintech company performed in FY21:

• Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $36.2 million, a 47% increase on that of FY20
• $58.6 billion funds under administration (FUA), up 237%
• Net profit after tax of $9.8 million, after $7.5 million was spent on strategic transactions
• $110 million revenue – 34.4% more than FY20’s
• 5.5 cent fully franked final dividend. That brings HUB24’s full year dividends to 10 cents per share, 43% more than its FY20 dividends

The HUB24 platform – which houses the company’s investment and superannuation offerings – also reported significant growth.

HUB24 reported $8.9 billion of platform net inflows, 82% more than in FY20.

Additionally, HUB24’s platform’s FUA reached $41.4 billion, a 141% increase on that of the previous period. 51% of that was in HUB24’s Investor Directed Portfolio Service while the other 49% was in its super offering.

Finally, HUB24’s platform revenue was $101.1 million for FY21, a 36% improvement.

HUB24 saw its expenses increase 49% in FY21. The higher costs were mostly due to the company hiring more staff.

HUB24’s cost to income ratio improved from 69.5% in FY20 to 67.1% in FY21. This was partially offset by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate cuts which lessened its revenue by around $9 million.

HUB24 completed a $50 million placement to institutional and sophisticated investors in October 2020. It also issued 1 million shares at $20 per share as part of a share purchase plan in November.

During FY21, the company secured a new ANZ loan facility for $12.5 million. The new facility is on top of the company’s $5 million undrawn overdraft it has with ANZ.

What happened in FY21 for HUB24?

FY21 was a productive time for HUB24 and its share price.

The company’s platform market share grew to 3.9%, up from 2.5% in FY20.

HUB24’s footprint in financial services also grew through FY21, driven by numerous strategic transactions.

Throughout FY21, HUB24 completed three strategic transactions and the sale of its licensee business.

HUB24 acquired Ord Minnett PARS in November 2020. The company is currently working to transition PARS from Ord Minnett systems to HUB24, which is expected to be completed next quarter.

Then, in February 2021, it completed a proportional takeover of Easton. HUB24 also completed the acquisition of Xplore in March 2021.

According to HUB24, the Xplore Wealth and Ord Minnett teams’ integration is going well.

It also sold its licensee business, Paragem, to Easton Investments in February 2021. The transaction saw a capital return of $3.2 million and 3,333,333 shares in Easton Investments Limited as consideration.

Finally, HUB24 launched its first private label offerings in FY21. In May, the bulk transition of $1.4 billion in FUA was completed from ClearView Wealth across to the new ClearView Wealth private label solution on HUB24. Then, in December, HUB24 made an agreement with IOOF to develop a private label offering for its customers.

The financial year just gone saw HUB24 achieve record organic growth. During FY21, the number of advisers using HUB24’s platforms increased by 48.3% and 117 new distribution agreements were signed.

HUB24 also launched a digital onboarding experience as well as a ‘cobrowse’ solution that allows its customer service representatives to train advisers.

What did management say?

HUB24’s managing director Andrew Alcock spoke of the results driving the company’s share price today:

FY21 has been an extremely successful year for HUB24, delivering record platform net inflows of $8.9 billion, a 47% increase in Group Underlying EBITDA to $36.2 million, and fully franked dividends totalling 10 cents per share for the year. I am proud that HUB24 has been recognised as Australia’s Best Platform Overall with the highest level of adviser satisfaction. We have tripled our platform market share to 3.9% over the last two years, and the current market dynamics provide significant opportunities for further growth. HUB24 is well-positioned for ongoing success.

What’s next for HUB24?

Here’s what might be driving the HUB24 share price in FY22:

HUB24 stated market conditions are positive and it’s well placed to continue its growth.

The company is targeting a platform FUA range of between $63 billion and $73 billion by the end of FY22.

HUB24 plans to continue investing and building its platform, as well as working with licensees, advisers, and other wealth industry providers.

HUB24 share price snapshot

The HUB24 share price has gained 21% year to date. It’s also 67% higher than it was this time last year.

The post HUB24 (ASX:HUB) share price gains on 43% bump to dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 Ltd. 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 Spark Infrastructure Group (ASX: SKI) share price is edging higher today after the electricity distribution company reported its FY21 half-year earnings.

In early trade today, Spark shares are swapping hands for $2.83, a gain of 0.35%.

Spark Infrastructure share price gains on growth in operating cash flow

The company outlined several investment highlights in its report, including:

• 4.5% growth in regulated and contracted asset base to $6.9 billion
• Look-through net operating cash flow of $201 million, a gain of 6.6% on the year
• Standalone net operating cash flow up 14.7% to $51.6 million
• Look-through earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $402 million, down 7% year-on-year
• Interim 2021 distribution of 6.25 cents per security, with franking credits of 1.5 cents per security

What happened in FY21 for Spark Infrastructure?

In a plus for the Spark Infrastructure share price, the company recognised a 4.5% increase in its regulated and contracted asset base as TransGrid undertook a “number of significant augmentation upgrades” to its network.

As a result, it grew operating cash flows considerably over the year, with standalone net operating cash flow expanding approximately 15% in 1H FY21.

Spark has a 15% interest in TransGrid, and through this company was able to reach a final investment decision to build EnergyConnect. This is a “900km high-capacity electricity interconnector” that will run between SA and NSW.

The company received a total of $1.8 billion in “regulatory capital allowance” for the project in 2017–18.

Moreover, Spark recorded an “investment-grade balance sheet” with “debt facilities of $400 million, with cash and equivalents of approximately $53 million”.

Finally, the company received a binding offer for acquisition from a consortium of investors in a “scheme implementation deed”, for an all-cash offer of $2.95 per stapled security.

This represents a 4.2% premium to the current Spark Infrastructure share price.

What did management say?

Spark Infrastructure chair Dr Doug McTaggart said:

The Board of Spark Infrastructure is pleased to deliver an interim distribution of 6.25 cents per security to our securityholders in line with guidance provided at the beginning of 2021. The high proportion of regulated and contracted assets in our portfolio of high quality and scarce essential infrastructure businesses provides us with confidence around cash flows and enables us to deliver sustainable growth to support the energy transition while ensuring our distributors remain attractive and reliable.

What’s next for Spark Infrastructure and its share price?

Spark has guided a final distribution of 6.25 cents per security for FY21, bringing the annual payment to 12.5 cents. Further, it expects a tax refund of approximately $45 million in 2H FY21.

The company outlined it had received “new determinations” for SA and Victoria power networks. Hence, this provides “regulatory certainty for the next 4 and 5 years respectively”.

Moreover, Spark is “growing (a) high-quality pipeline of early-stage renewables projects”. These include the Dinawan Energy Hub for instance.

In addition, the acquisition scheme with the consortium of investors will be put to vote in meetings that are pencilled in for the end of CY2021.

What effect this will have on the Spark Infrastructure share price remains to be seen.

Spark shares have climbed 34% this year to date, outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of about 14% since January 1.

The post Spark Infrastructure (ASX:SKI) share price up after 15% hike in operating cash flow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) share price is having a bumper start to the day after the company released its FY21 full-year results this morning.

Once coined “the next CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)”, Nanosonics has struggled to live up to expectations following weak FY21 first-half and FY20 earnings. The Nanosonics share price fell 8.15% and 9.61%, respectively following the release of these results.

But today it’s a different story with investors clearly pleased by how the company has been performing. At the time of writing, Nanosonics shares are trading 16.89% higher at $6.885.

Nanosonics share price rockets higher despite profit fall

Despite today’s gains, the Nanosonics share price is still down by around 16% year to date. So this morning’s rally will come as welcome news for shareholders. Key highlights of the company’s FY21 performance include:

• Revenue up 3.0% against the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $103.1 million.
• Significant recovery in the FY21 second half, with revenue up 39% compared to the first half.
• The global installed base rose 13% to 26,750 units.
• Earnings before interest and tax was down 7% to $10.8 million.
• Profit after income tax fell 15% to $8.6 million.

What happened for Nanosonics in FY21?

FY21 proved to be a challenging year for the Nanosonics share price.

But despite what could be seen as a relatively flat financial performance, today’s results announcement focused on the narrative that the company experienced a “significant recovery” in the second half of FY21. The second-half recovery was driven by an improvement in market conditions and hospital procedure volumes recovering towards pre-COVID-19 levels.

Breaking down the company’s revenue of $103.1 million, 1H21 revenues fell 11.3% on the pcp to $43.1 million, while 2H21 revenues bounced back 16.3%.

The recovery theme was reflected across the company’s business divisions including consumables, services and capital.

Nanosonics continues to invest in its strategic growth agenda with operating expenses up 12% to $70.8 million. It cited that, as market conditions improved in the second half, Q4 expenses of $20.3 million represented 29% of total operating expenditure as the company returned to its intended investment run rate.

Management commentary

Nanosonics CEO and president Michael Kavanagh commented on the challenging year:

The 2021 financial year was an important year of progress where the Company successfully adapted to the global challenges associated with COVID-19. Despite varying constraints and disruptions, the Nanosonics team continued to progress many aspects of our strategic growth agenda. Significant growth was achieved in the second half of the year as market conditions improved. This saw total revenue growing 39% compared with the first half resulting from strong growth in the installed base as well as ultrasound procedures trending back towards pre-COVID-19 levels.

What’s next for Nanosonics?

In comparison to many of its peers, the Nanosonics share price still has a lot of catching up to do in 2021. The S&P/ASX 200 Health Care Index (ASX: XHJ) is up 12% year to date.

Nanosonics has continued to increase its investments in infrastructure growth and market expansion across key geographic regions.

The company is currently finalising the registration of a wholly-owned foreign enterprise in China and preparing for regulatory submission to approve its trophon2 product for commercialisation.

Encouragingly, Nanosonics said that “Despite the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with COVID-19, in particular those emerging with different strains of the virus, Nanosonics remains optimistic that the improved market conditions will continue as vaccination numbers increase across all major markets.”

Assuming that such trends continue, the company anticipates a return to double-digit growth in total revenue in FY22.

Nanosonics share price snapshot

As well as a lacklustre year-to-date performance, prior to today, the Nanosonics share price had also fallen by around 14% over the past twelve months. This morning’s boost, however, has eradicated those losses to put the company’s shares 0.2% higher for the past year. Based on the current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $1.8 billion.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nanosonics Limited. 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 Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price shot up 3.51% in early trading Tuesday. This follows the oil and gas company releasing its first-half results for FY21 before the market open.

At the time of writing, Oil Search shares are residing at $3.83. All eyes will be on the $7.7 billion Papua New Guinean oil producer as the market comes to life today. In the past month, the Oil Search share price has struggled as it moves towards a merger with Santos Ltd (ASX: STO).

Oil Search share price in focus after swinging back into profit

Below are the highlights of the Oil Search’s results:

• Revenue up 7% to US$668 million, benefiting from oil price recovery
• Total production of 13.5 million barrels of oil equivalent in the first half
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and exploration (EBITDAX) of US$488.8 million, down 8% on the prior corresponding period
• Net profit after tax of US$139 million, swinging from a loss of US$266 million in 1H FY20
• Interim dividend of US 3.3 cents per share, exceeding analyst expectations of 1.8 cents.
• Basic earnings per share (EPS) of US 6.7 cents

What happened in 1H FY21 for Oil Search

The Oil Search share price is in the crosshairs of investors on Tuesday after reporting its first-half results for FY21. Positively, the ASX-listed oil and gas giant exceeded the expectations of analysts at Goldman Sachs across a number of metrics.

According to the company’s release, Oil Search delivered US$668 million in sales revenue for 1H21 – representing an increase of 7% from the prior corresponding period.

This robust performance was helped along by the improving price of oil during the reporting period. Specifically, the realised price for oil and gas condensate increased 80% from the prior year. Meanwhile, realised prices for LNG and gas were down 5% compared to 1H20.

Furthermore, reductions in expenditure alleviated the company of its loss-making status. A 90% decrease in exploration costs, a 25% fall in finance costs, and a decrease in production costs meant Oil Search became profitable during the half.

The company reported a profit of US$139 million, compared to analysts’ expectations of US$107 million. This was in stark contrast to the US$266 million loss that Oil Search had made this time last year.

Although revenue and profits increased, production fell year-over-year to 13.5 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe). This represented an 8% reduction compared to 1H20. Similarly, sales volume dipped 2% to 13.3 mmboe.

What did management say?

Commenting on the result, Oil Search Acting Chief Executive Officer Peter Fredricson said:

Oil and LNG markets have continued to recover from the initial economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic led by a robust demand rebound in Asia. We have seen a significant increase in core earnings, reflecting higher realised oil prices and a sustained focus on reducing underlying costs, whilst a lower net debt position has contributed to a significant improvement in the company’s overall financial strength.

Additionally, regarding the company’s step towards net-zero carbon emissions, Mr Fredricson said:

In support of our ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we have implemented a carbon abatement program and commenced programs that aim to deliver a 30% reduction in GHG intensity across our operated facilities by 2030.

What’s next for Oil Search?

Looking ahead, Oil Search suggested that strong performance is expected to carry into the second half. This will be underpinned by PNG LNG and barring major COVID-19 impacts on operations. Additionally, the full extent of the higher oil price tailwind is expected to occur in the second half due to the lagging nature of LNG pricing.

Regarding guidance, the company estimates FY21 production between 25.5 mmboe to 28.5 mmboe. On the same note, FY21 unit production costs are expected to be in the range of $10.50 to $11.50 per boe.

Oil Search share price snapshot

The Oil Search share price has performed reasonably well over the past year. As the price of oil recovered from the COVID-induced crash, so did the company’s value.

Compared to the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), Oil Search delivered a return of 23.3%, versus a gain of 22.2% from the Aussie benchmark.

The post Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price rises on $139m profit for first-half appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has shown tremendous strength on the charts since the end of July.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has climbed 1.2% from July 30 until today, Afterpay shares are 38% in the green.

Moreover, Afterpay is pencilled in to report its FY21 earnings on Wednesday. Given these facts, it’s worthwhile checking the rear-view mirror to see how the Afterpay share price fared after its last earnings report back in February.

What did Afterpay deliver back in February?

Afterpay outlined several investment highlights in its half year results, including:

• A 106% increase in sales to $9.8 billion; $10.1 billion on a constant currency basis
• Total income growth of 114% to $385.2 million in constant currency terms
• Mammoth 521% growth in EBITDA to $47.9 million
• Loss after tax of $79.2 million.

Afterpay explains its recognised loss of almost $80 million on the bottom line stemmed primarily from the net loss in fair value on its financial liabilities of about $65 million from its Clearpay business.

Conversely, the company grew its number of active customers to 13.1 million, an 80% increase year over year.

How did the market react?

Firstly, after its report was released, Afterpay announced a trading halt on its shares to undertake a capital raise.

Next, investors were less than impressed regarding the company’s net loss after tax back in February, so it seems.

Perhaps many expected the company would turn a net profit; nonetheless, on the day of resuming trade, Afterpay shares immediately sunk 14% and closed at $119.52. That was a 21% drop into the red from the week prior.

Following this, the Afterpay share price continued its descent until April, partially reclaiming the losses sustained over the month prior.

The Afterpay share price has not recovered to its all-time high just prior to its earnings release in February. To illustrate, the Afterpay share price is still around 12.5% off its record high, despite its recent run on the charts.

Doubtlessly, there have been other catalysts along this time that have added further downward pressure on the company’s share price.

However, Afterpay shareholders will no doubt be hoping for a different reaction when the buy now pay later company reports its FY21 earnings on Wednesday.

Especially as the Afterpay share price has gained 25% over the last month.

Afterpay share price snapshot

The Afterpay share price has climbed around 13% this year to date, after a choppy period from February to July.

This extends the previous 12 month’s gain of 61%, which has far outpaced the broad index’s return of about 25% over the past year.

Afterpay has a market capitalisation of $38.5 billion at the time of writing.

The post The Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price fell 14% last time the company reported appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price is being sold off after the release of its full year results.

At the time of writing, the ecommerce company’s shares are down 8% to $12.10.

Kogan share price sinks after results release

• Gross sales increased 52.7% to $1,179 million
• Revenue jumped 56.8% to $780.7 million
• Gross profit rose 61% to $203.7 million
• Adjusted net profit after tax up 43.2% to $42.9 million
• Reported net profit after tax down 86.8% to $3.5 million
• Kogan.com active customer base up 46.9% to 3,207,000, Mighty Ape up to 764,000
• Cash balance of $12.8 million and no final dividend
• Outlook: No guidance but poor start to FY 2022

What happened in FY 2021 for Kogan?

As you would see from looking at the Kogan share price performance over the last 12 months, FY 2021 was a difficult year for Australia’s leading ecommerce company. Despite delivering a 56.8% increase in revenue, inventory management issues ultimately led to the company reporting an 87% reduction in net profit after tax to just $3.5 million.

In respect to the latter, management notes that excess inventory significantly increased storage costs, driving a 123% increase in variable costs to $44.9 million. It also led to an increase in marketing costs through promotional activity to rebalance inventory levels.

Positively, management believes the worst is behind the company now. It notes that following the end of the second half, inventory is approaching the right level for the business. As a result, it expects improved operating leverage moving forward, especially since growth in sales has resumed in FY 2022.

Nevertheless, that wasn’t enough for the company to continue paying a dividend. The Kogan Board has decided to conserve cash for business investment and growth purposes and has paused dividends. This news could be weighing on the Kogan share price today.

What did management say?

Kogan’s Founder and CEO, Ruslan Kogan, said: “Over the past 12 months, Kogan.com turned 15 years young, surpassed $1 billion in Gross Sales for the first time ever, surged past three million Active Customers, had record-breaking Black Friday sales, and made our largest ever acquisition to accelerate our expansion into New Zealand. And those are just the highlights.”

“While we recently celebrated our 15th birthday, we feel like we’re just getting started. Over the next year we’ll be rolling out new and exciting projects to further support our loyal Kogan Community with Kogan First membership rewards, new and improved delivery solutions, and further enhancements to the online shopping experience.”

“Over the past 18 months we have witnessed a massive swing towards the eCommerce retail revolution, one Kogan.com has been ready and waiting for, for well over a decade. We look forward to continuing our quest to delight our customers by making the most in demand products and services more affordable and accessible,” he concluded.

What’s next for Kogan?

Another key thing that could be pulling down the Kogan share price today was its poor start to FY 2022.

In July, the company reported gross sales growth of 5.1% but an ~80% decline in EBITDA to $2.1 million. Management notes that the latter reflects higher operating costs, which are gradually reducing.

It also revealed that it had inventory of $215.4 million at the end of July. This comprises $177.9 million in warehouse and $37.5 million in transit. As a comparison, the company ended FY 2020 with inventory of $112.9 million, comprising $32.5 million in transit and $80.4 million in warehouse. So there’s still more than double the inventory in its warehouses since this time last year.

And while its performance has improved month on month, no comparison has been provided for the same period last year. Instead, the company has provided a comparison against July 2021’s performance for selective metrics.

The first 18 days of August 2021 have seen gross sales increase 24.5% and gross profit lift 25% over the same period in July. No EBITDA figure has been provided to help with comparisons.

The Kogan share price is now down 45% over the last 12 months.

The post Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price sinks 8% after FY21 results and weak start to FY22 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. 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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Along with pretty much the entire ASX banking sector, the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price has been having a pretty decent month over August so far. Since the end of July, Westpac shares are up 5.14%, based on yesterday’s closing Westpac share price of $25.78.

At this share price, Westpac is now offering a trailing dividend yield of 3.45%. That dividend comes fully franked, so this yield grows into 4.93% grossed-up with franking credits.

That yield figure comes from Westpac’s last two dividend payments. They would be the final dividend of 31 cents per share that the bank paid out in December last year, and the interim payment of 58 cents per share that investors received back in June.

This is certainly heading in the right direction for investors. But it’s also a stark reminder of what has happened to Westpac’s dividends over the past 2 years. Back in 2019, this ASX bank was paying a biannual dividend of $1.92 a share (or two payments of 96 cents apiece).

That’s a long way from the payments investors have enjoyed over the past 12 months. And remember, Westpac actually missed its interim payment in 2020, the only big four bank to do so. That was the first time Westpac hadn’t paid two dividends in one year in decades.

The major ASX banks’ dividends compared

A trailing dividend yield of 3.45% is a whole lot more in annual yield than you can expect from a Westpac savings account or term deposit these days (or any other ASX bank for that matter). But how does it compare to Westpac’s rival ASX bank shares? Let’s take a look.

On recent pricing, Westpac’s current yield is pipped by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA’s dividend, which has been recently hiked, is now offering a yield of 3.49%, just squeaking in ahead of Westpac.

But what of National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) or Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)?

Well, at yesterday’s closing price, NAB shares are offering a yield of 3.29%, slightly below Westpac. Meanwhile, ANZ shares are carrying a yield of 3.71%, which tops the major ASX banks. So Westpac’s 3.45% is actually right in the middle of what the major banks are offering right now.

Will the Westpac dividend keep growing?

One broker who thinks there is a fair chance of this happening is investment bank Goldman Sachs. Goldman is currently rating Westpac shares as a ‘buy’ with a 12-month share price target of $29.93 a share.

But more pertinently, the broker is also forecasting Westpac to pay another 58 cents per share final dividend for FY21 (an FY21 total of $1.16 per share). Goldman is also forecasting this to increase to a total of $1.28 per share for FY2022 and $1.41 per share for FY2023.

That may not be back to the glory days of 2018, but it’s certainly going in the right direction if Goldman’s predictions are on the money.

At the current Westpac share price, this ASX bank has a market capitalisation of $94.5 billion.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price is now trading on a forecast 3.5% fully franked dividend yield appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited. 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 Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) share price is on watch this morning after the company’s latest full-year results.

Boral share price on watch as revenue falls

Some of the key takeaways from the 2021 financial year (FY21) result include:

• Revenue from continuing operations down 6% to $2.92 billion
• Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) excluding property up 11% to $157 million
• Underlying earnings per share (EPS) from total operations up 42% to 20.6 cents
• Return on funds employed (ROFE) down 50 basis points (bps) to 8.3%
• No final dividend declared

The Boral share price is one to watch in early trade following its latest update.

What happened in FY21 for Boral?

Boral noted challenging market conditions in FY21 after reporting a 3% decrease in Roads Highways Subdivisions & Bridges (RHS&B) revenue. There was also a 7% decrease in the company’s other engineering revenue during the year.

There was the arm wrestle again Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) as the Aussie conglomerate lobbed a takeover bid for the Aussie building materials company.

Boral reported 201,000 total housing starts in FY21, up 16% from the prior year. That included double digit percentage growth across NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

What did management say?

Boral CEO and Managing Director, Zlatko Todorcevski, commented on the Group’s progress during the year:

We have made substantial progress in our strategy to transform Boral into a stronger, better performing, more customer-focused organisation, with a core portfolio of businesses that deliver value throughout the cycle.

Our full-year FY2021 results reflect the mixed market conditions we are continuing to experience in Australia during the pandemic.

As we finished the last financial year there were encouraging signs of improving demand. However, the new financial year has started with early challenges as a result of pandemic-related lockdowns.

We expect that FY2022 market conditions will be mixed. Infrastructure activity, particularly road construction, is expected to improve slightly in the second half of FY2022 and moving into FY2023.

What’s next for Boral and its share price?

Uncertainty and “mixed” market conditions were a theme of today’s results. Boral said the impact of COVID disruptions in the first quarter of FY2022 may total around $50 million.

The Aussie building materials company is targeting FY2022 transformation benefits of $60 million to $75 million net of inflation, with capital expenditure of around $300 million.

The Boral share price has surged 37.8% in 2021 amid the ongoing takeover bid from Seven and is outpacing the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this year.

The post Boral (ASX:BLD) share price on watch as revenue falls appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The Boral (ASX:BLD) share price fell 8% last time the company reported
• The Boral (ASX:BLD) share price is down 7% in a month. Here’s why
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• Boral (ASX:BLD) share price falls as Seven wins takeover and outs chair
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Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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