Day: 28 July 2022

The Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) share price is surging higher on Thursday despite the lithium developer’s silence.

Though, it’s not alone in the green. Many of its lithium peers are also pushing higher.

At the time of writing, the Piedmont Lithium share price is 59.5 cents, 6.25% higher than its previous close.

The broader market is also in the green right now. The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is boasting a 0.98% gain.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on with Piedmont Lithium and its peers on Thursday.

Piedmont Lithium share price on the march

The Piedmont Lithium share price is continuing to charge up on Thursday after a period of woes for the stock.

It plunged around 45% between the end of May and the start of June amid a broader lithium sell-off. But last week marked a turnaround for the lithium developer.

Its shares picked up 12% over the course of five days to yesterday. It’s now seemingly building on that strong performance, adding another 6% to its share price.

Meanwhile, S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) materials shares are besting the market’s performance, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XIJ) lifting 1.13%.

Among its best performers are lithium stocks Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR), Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS), and Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE). They’ve gained 5.4%, 5.1%, and 4.7%, respectively.

Piedmont Lithium is developing a lithium project and lithium hydroxide plant in the United States. Its initial production is yet to be announced.

The company also holds interest in two further projects, located in Ghana and Canada. The latter is expected to begin production in 2023.

Sadly, this year hasn’t been kind to the Piedmont share price. It has fallen 23% since the start of 2022. It’s also currently 12% lower than it was this time last year.

The post Why is the Piedmont Lithium share price piling on 6% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why has the Piedmont Lithium share price tumbled 30% in a month?
• What’s clamping down on the Piedmont Lithium share price?
• These 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares are hitting new 52-week lows today

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. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is 2.86% higher today at $178.70 at the time of writing.

Australia’s ‘fifth big four’ bank held its annual general meeting and provided a Q1 FY23 update today.

As my Fool colleague James reported earlier, Macquarie said favourable trading conditions had resulted in a lift to net profit contributions above the prior corresponding period of Q1 FY22.

The highlight was its annuity-style businesses, which delivered a “significantly” stronger result on the pcp.

What did the Macquarie CEO say?

According to reporting in The Australian, Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake said rising interest rates should not hit infrastructure assets as hard as other investment asset classes.

She said infrastructure assets have historically performed better because operators can pass on the cost of rising rates to consumers.

In a media conference, Wikramanayake said:

Some of the reasoning behind that is these assets have very good inflation protection in them, whether they’re regulated utilities or they are toll roads.

Typically they’re able to capture the inflation aspects in the revenue line.

Despite discount rates going up in a rising rate environment and all asset prices being brought down, infrastructure-like assets have proven more resilient.

Macquarie share price snapshot

Like most ASX shares, Macquarie has declined in value over the year to date due to the market sell-off.

The Macquarie share price is down 13% since the opening bell on 4 January.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 8%. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) is down 4%.

The post Macquarie share price lifts as CEO spruiks ‘very good inflation protection’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Rio Tinto drops, tech shares jump, Macquarie impresses
• Macquarie share price on watch following strong Q1 update
• Experts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy right now
• Own Macquarie shares? Here’s what to expect from its Q1 update
• 5 ASX 300 shares this fundie has been buying at bargain prices

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in Macquarie Group 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 recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has come out of a trading halt to continue its steep ascent after rocketing 96% yesterday.

At the time of writing, the buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) share is up a massive 39.72%, at 98.5 cents.

It’s also worth noting that the Sezzle share price is up almost 360% in the past week.

What’s happened?

As baffling as it might suggest, investors were buying up Sezzle shares in droves regardless of the company keeping a quiet profile.

A sharp turnaround from trading 26 cents on Tuesday, the share price lifted off to hit as high as 79 cents yesterday.

This prompted the stock exchange operator, ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX) to issue a ‘please explain letter’.

Its shares were placed in a trading halt pending a response.

Sezzle didn’t reply until earlier today regarding the ASX price query.

The company said it is “not aware of any information concerning it that has not been announced to the market which, if known by some in the market, could explain the recent trading in its securities.”

It did note that “on the date in question that the entire sector strongly outperformed the market in terms of price and relative historical trading volume.”

An unusually large number of Sezzle shares were traded – more than 25 million in total for the day. Notably, this is the biggest volume that has exchanged hands since July 2020 during COVID-19.

Sezzle pointed out that it believes “investors led the increase in trading activity, because of the sector having been significantly down in recent weeks.”

The company’s shares hit an all-time low of 18.5 cents on 14 July following significant losses in the days prior.

My Foolish colleague, Brooke spoke about the negative sentiment surrounding Sezzle shares at the time.

Today’s share price movement also appears to be supported by a strong trading session on the NASDAQ overnight.

The benchmark index rose 4.26% to 12,601 points – the highest level it has been since early June.

Sezzle share price snapshot

It has been a difficult 12 months for the Sezzle share price, tumbling by almost 90% despite the recent gains.

The company’s shares have suffered from what most economists are predicting as a gloomy economic outlook for the near term.

Year-to-date, Sezzle shares are down almost 70%.

The post Sezzle share price surges another 40% following speeding ticket response appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Sezzle share price rockets 95% before being frozen. What’s going on?
• Why are ASX buy now, pay later shares rocketing higher today?
• Own Sezzle shares? Here’s why the BNPL company is suing GameStop
• How to beat the market with ‘boring’ ASX shares: fundie
• 3 ASX All Ords shares sidestepping the selling today

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 Scott Phillips.

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ASX lithium shares are broadly enjoying a strong run today, with industry heavyweight Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) up 4.3% during the lunch hour.

The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is also up a respectable 0.7% on the back of positive investor reaction to the US Federal Reserve’s 0.75 interest rate hike.

But three ASX lithium stocks leading the charge today are up 13%, 19% and 17% respectively.

ASX lithium shares charging higher

First up we have Neometals Ltd (ASX: NMT).

The Neometals share price is up 13.0% today. The miner closed yesterday trading for $1.04 per share and is currently trading for $1.117 per share. That gives it a current market cap of some $625 million.

There’s been no fresh market sensitive news out from the company since it announced a shakeup in its battery recycling project schedule on 14 July. But investors are continuing to favour the ASX lithium share, which is now up 24% over the past month.

Also charging higher today is Africa-focused battery minerals explorer Prospect Resources Ltd (ASX: PSC).

Prospect Resources finished the day yesterday trading for 8.3 cents and is currently trading for 9.9 cents per share, an intraday gain of 19.3%.

If you’ve been following along with Prospect Resources, you’ll have noticed that the ASX lithium share appeared to crash yesterday, tumbling from $1.01 to close at 8 cents, down 92.1% for the day.

But as the Motley Fool reported yesterday, this crash wasn’t actually bad news for shareholders. It came after the company distributed most the proceeds from the sale of its holdings in the Arcadia Project for the tidy sum of US $342.9 million “by way of a 96 cents per share distribution”.

Yesterday Prospect Resources traded ex-capital return, seeing the share price drop 93 cents as new investors will no longer be eligible for the 96-cent share distribution.

Rounding off today’s leaders list

Rounding off the ASX lithium shares going gangbusters today we have Lithium Power International Ltd (ASX: LPI).

Lithium Power shares closed yesterday at 46 cents and are currently trading for 54 cents, up 17.4% in intraday trading. That gives the explorer a market cap of $185 million.

The last market sensitive news from the company came out more than a month ago.

But as with Neometals, Lithium Power has had a tremendous month, with shares up 31% since 28 June.

That momentum looks to be carrying on today as investors broadly reward ASX lithium shares amid a strong demand outlook for the critical battery metal.

The post 3 ASX lithium shares going gangbusters on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Did ASX mining share Prospect Resources really just crash 90%?
• Why is the Neometals share price up 5% today?
• Neometals share price higher on lithium battery recycling update
• Neometals share price soars on ‘compelling’ vanadium recycling results

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) share price is rallying well into the green in afternoon trade on Thursday.

At the time of writing, the Tyro share price is trading 17.61% higher at 83.5 cents. That’s a shade above its 52-week low of 60 cents on 30 June but way down on its 52-week high of $4.39 recorded back in September last year.

In broad market moves, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is up 2.28% on the day.

What’s up with the Tyro share price?

Despite no news out of Tyro today, the financial technology company did post its weekly transaction value (TV) update on Monday.

Recall that Tyro committed to providing weekly TV updates until its FY22 results were released.

In the first round for H1 FY23, the company showed a 46% year-on-year increase from 1 July to 22 July.

This equalled roughly $2.4 billion compared to FY22’s $1.63 billion up until the same point in July. However, the Tyro share price fell 5% on the day of the release.

Aside from that, the payments sector is up today amid the release of Australia’s latest inflation data.

As Banking Today notes: “Tyro’s business model is highly exposed to over-the-counter card transactions.” That’s a potential tailwind in a high-inflation environment.

This comes after the US Federal Reserve announced another 0.75% interest rate hike overnight to a range of 2.25%–2.5%.

Fed chair Jerome Powell said he “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range for the federal funds rate will be appropriate”.

The move is “the fastest tightening of monetary policy since former Fed Chair Paul Volcker battled double-digit inflation in the 1980s”, Reuters reported.

Surprisingly, bond markets received the news quite well, with yields on long-dated Australian and US government bonds continuing to retrace downward in a longer-term trend.

The yields on long-dated treasuries often serve as a proxy for the valuation of risk assets, tech shares in particular. An increase in yields results in a de-rating to tech multiples, for example.

Hence, with the pullback in yields, the field is ripe for ASX tech shares such as Tyro to catch a bid, as seen below.

Despite this, the Tyro share price is down more than 75% in the past 12 months.

The post Why is the Tyro share price tearing 18% higher today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• FY22 was a lousy period for ASX fintech shares. Here’s why
• Is FY23 going to be a winning year for ASX fintech shares?
• Why is the Tyro Payments share price blasting 10% higher?
• Why BWX, Sayona Mining, Tyro, and Woodside shares are sinking
• Why Carsales, EOS, Imugene, and Tyro shares are sinking today

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

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The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is rising 1.47% today, but one ASX mining share is storming much higher.

The Dreadnought Resources Ltd (ASX: DRE) share price is soaring 15.79% at the time of writing and is currently trading at 6.6 cents.

So what are the details of this company’s new discovery?

ASX mining share makes high-grade rare earth discovery

Dreadnought today released assay results from the first drill line at the Yin rare earth ironstone, located at the company’s Mangaroon project in Western Australia.

Laboratory assays confirmed thick, high-grade rare earth mineralisation at the project.

Results show up to 16% total rare earth oxides (TREO) with an average NdPr (neodymium and praseodymium) ratio of 30%. Dreadnought said this is nearly double the global average.

Infill drilling at the site is taking place now and an initial JORC Resource will be released in the December quarter.

Commenting on the results fuelling this ASX mining share today, managing director Dean Tuck said:

Drilling at Yin continues to exceed expectations. With a second rig mobilising to site this month, we are confident that Yin will produce a substantial initial JORC Resource by the end of 2022.

Tuck said once drilling is complete, the rigs will proceed to the Y3 ironstone and C1-C5 carbonatites. He added: “We are seeing genuine scale here with runs already on the board and 66 further anomalies to be assessed by September 2022.”

Dreadnought share price recap

The Dreadnought share price has soared 61% in the year to date and 65% in the past month.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) has fallen nearly 9% year to date and 4% in the last month.

This ASX mining share has a market capitalisation of nearly $185 million based on the current share price.

The post Guess which ASX mining share is rocketing 16% on a new rare earths discovery appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• ‘Genuine scale’: Why is the Dreadnaught share price surging 10% today?

Motley Fool contributor Monica O’Shea 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 Scott Phillips.

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It’s been a pretty pleasant day so far for ASX shares. At the time of writing, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has added a robust 0.68% and has risen above 7,080 points. But it’s been even better for the Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) share price today.

Laybuy shares have rocketed an astonishing 55.84% so far today. The buy now, pay later (BNPL) share closed at 7.7 cents a share yesterday, but is now going for 12 cents at the time of writing after opening at 9.1 cents this morning. What’s more, this company went as high as 15 cents earlier in today’s trading session, which was worth a rise of almost 95% at the time.

The strange thing is that this stratospheric share price gain seems to have come out of the blue. There has been no news or announcements out of Laybuy itself today. Or indeed since 30 June.

But this isn’t the first time Laybuy shares have given investors a day to remember. Just yesterday, the company rose from 4 cents a share to 7.7 cents, a one-day increase of almost 100%. Today’s pricing means that Laybuy is now up 200% since Tuesday afternoon.

Laybuy shares get an ASX speeding ticket

These incredible gains have not gone unnoticed by the higher powers of the ASX. Just before market open this morning, Laybuy revealed that it had received a ‘speeding ticket’ from the ASX for yesterday’s rocketing gains.

When asked if the company can explain yesterday’s gains, Laybuy responded that it knew of nothing that could explain these share price moves. However, it did point the finger at some other factors that could have been in play.

Here’s some of what the company said:

Laybuy notes the very material share price increases of other companies in the Buy Now Pay Later sector during the course of 27 July 2022, in particular Sezzle, Zip and Openpay. Laybuy believes that the recent trading in its securities may have been driven by the same factors that influenced the trading in some or all of those other securities.

ASX BNPL shares jump on a rocket

Indeed, it’s not just Laybuy shares that have been throwing off impressive gains of late. The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price rose more than 21% yesterday and is up another 14% today so far at $1.42 a share.

Openpay Ltd (ASX: OPY) shares rose 30% yesterday and are up another 32.84% so far today at 44 cents a share.

And Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) shares rose more than 97% yesterday and a further 17.7% so far today to 83 cents a share.

Zip and Openpay have not yet been pinged by the ASX for these massive increases in valuation (at the time of writing). However, Sezzle shares were halted from trading yesterday afternoon after the company received a speeding ticket of its own. The shares have obviously returned to trading today.

So all in all, no one knows why Laybuy and these ASX BNPL shares have jumped on a rocket this week. It just seems to be the result of some very potent buying pressure at this stage. But no doubt there are many ASX BNPL share investors out there today who are in a very jubilant mood.

The post Why did ASX buy now, pay later share Laybuy just rocket 95%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Openpay share price explodes 33% on ‘record-breaking quarter’
• ASX 200 midday update: Rio Tinto drops, tech shares jump, Macquarie impresses
• Zip share price rockets again and is now up 225% in four weeks
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why is the Openpay share price up 55% in a week?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is trading in the red on Thursday despite the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s day in the sun.

In fact, the telecommunications giant is its sector’s worst-performing stock right now.

At the time of writing, the Telstra share price is $3.905, 0.38% lower than its previous close.

For comparison, the ASX 200 has gained 0.63% so far today, while the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Index (ASX: XTJ) is up 0.58%.

So, what might be going wrong for Telstra shares? Let’s take a look.

What’s going on with the Telstra share price?

The Telstra share price is struggling against its ASX 200 peers on Thursday despite no news having been released by the telco giant.

In fact, the last time the market heard price-sensitive news from the company was a fortnight ago when it announced it had completed its acquisition of Digicel.

Though, a deal between the telco and tech giant Microsoft was announced earlier this week. Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said the agreement – one of the largest Microsoft has ever signed with a telco – is “on a scale not seen before in Australia”.

Sadly, news of the deal didn’t bolster Telstra’s stock. It’s fallen 1.4% this week so far.

Meanwhile, many of its ASX 200 communication peers are well and truly in the green today.

The communication sector is being led by shares in Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) and SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK). They’ve gained 4% and 3.6%, respectively, at the time of writing.

Fortunately, this week’s struggles haven’t seriously dented the company’s longer-term performance.

The Telstra share price has outperformed the ASX 200 year to date, falling 7% compared to the index’s 10% tumble. The stock is also currently almost 4% higher than it was this time last year.

The post Why is the Telstra share price lagging the ASX 200 on Thursday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are 2 ASX dividend shares to buy right now according to experts
• Own Telstra shares? Here’s the latest on the telco’s new Microsoft deal
• 2 ‘good value’ ASX 200 shares offering what investors want right now: expert
• The Telstra share price has lost 4% over the past 5 years. Have the dividends been worth it?
• Analysts name 2 top ASX 200 dividend shares to buy

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. has positions in and has recommended Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Corporation Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) share price is rocketing today after the graphite miner obtained a binding loan facility from the US Department of Energy (DOE).

The loan, of A$146 million (US$102 million), is for financing the initial expansion of the ASX mining share’s Vidalia active anode material facility in Louisiana, USA.

Syrah shares caught a bid following the news and are currently up by 9.3% at $1.41 apiece.

What did this ASX mining share announce?

The Syrah Resources share price is on the rise after the company entered into a binding documentation for a loan facility with the US DOE for its subsidiary, Syrah Technologies, LLC.

Syrah will receive the loan under the DOE’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program.

The ATVM is a $15.1 billion loan authority established to support the manufacture of eligible advanced technology vehicles, including electric vehicles (EVs), and qualifying components and materials, in the US.

Speaking on the announcement boosting the ASX mining share today, Syrah Resources managing director and CEO Shaun Verner said the loan “highlights Vidalia’s strategic position in the USA”. He added:

[The loan] provides strong validation of Syrah, Vidalia and the Vidalia initial expansion.

Importantly, the loan will allow Syrah to accelerate its growth strategy in its downstream business and support the rapidly growing EV and battery supply chain in the USA.

The loan is the first released from the ATVM program since 2011, according to Syrah. It is also the first loan made from the program to a materials processing facility.

The loan will mature in April 2032 and there are no early repayment penalties, despite a number of covenants embedded into the contract.

Terms also include a maximum of approximately $4 million in capitalised interest, with interest rates applicable to long-dated US Treasury yields.

Both parties hope the loan will be finalised by the end of September 2022, with the first advance within the December 2022 quarter.

The ASX graphite miner’s share price is up by just over 1% over the past 12 trading months. However, it has slipped around 21% into the red this year to date.

The post This ASX graphite miner just got a $146m loan from the US Government, and its share price is surging appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Scott Phillips.

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The Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price is on fire today after the company released its quarterly update for June.

The lending and payments fintech said it had “delivered another record-breaking quarter with market-leading margins and low bad debts”.

The Openpay share price opened Thursday’s session at 46 cents and quickly ascended to 52 cents. That’s 53% above its previous closing price. It is now trading at 45 cents, up 33%.

Openpay share price flies on record results

The highlights for the June quarter are as follows:

• 1.8 million active plans, an increase of 50% on the previous corresponding period (pcp) of Q4 FY21
• 321,000 active customers, an increase of 21% pcp
• More than 4,100 active merchants vs. 3,700 in Q4 FY21
• Record total value transaction (TTV) of $97.6 million, an increase of 54% pcp
• Total quarterly revenue a record $8.5 million, up 80% pcp
• 8.1% revenue margin, up from 7.3% pcp
• 3.4% net transaction margin (NTM), up from 2% pcp
• (1.1%) net transaction loss (NTL), up from (1.5%) pcp
• 1.1% arrears, down from 1.9% pcp
• 1.5% net bad debts, down from 2.3% pcp

What else happened in FY22?

Openpay said its OpyPro platform attracted a record-breaking 6,000 new accounts in the June quarter. That’s a 114% bump on the pcp. The platform’s total transaction value was $16.6 million, up 463% pcp.

In January 2022, Openpay sought to simplify its business by withdrawing from the UK market. More recently, it has announced its withdrawal from the US market. This means it will continue operating in these countries but will no longer proactively invest in its broader development there.

The company argues that this will enable it to accelerate its pathway to profitability in Australia.

Moving forward, Openpay said it will continue to look for commercialisation opportunities for its US and UK platforms “in a capital-light manner”.

What did management say?

Openpay CEO Dion Appel said:

This last quarter saw Openpay take some further tough but important decisions which has allowed the Company to focus on its core operating platform in Australia (across both B2C but also B2B via
OpyPro).

As these quarterly results highlight, the ability to focus our capital, people and strategy on Australia (which has always been our home market) versus multiple jurisdictions is delivering the outcomes we are seeing in the continued growth in TTV and revenue, the strength of our gross and net margins (arguably the strongest in our peer set), whilst at the same time continuing to deliver and improve our extremely low arrears and bad debts.

We will continue to optimise the business on an ongoing basis as well as look for opportunities to accelerate to profitability should they present themselves.

What’s next?

Openpay is hoping to deliver cash profitability in Australia by June 2023.

In its statement, Openpay said it “remains focused on delivering its targeted approach of larger lends over longer periods of time”.

It says this strategy has consistently resulted in market-leading margins and low net bad debts.

Openpay share price snapshot

The Openpay share price has fallen 42% in the year to date.

This is a larger fall than the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), which is down 29% year to date.

The post Openpay share price explodes 33% on ‘record-breaking quarter’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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 Scott Phillips.

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