The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price charged ahead in 2022, despite it being a rollercoaster ride for the ASX lithium miner.

Shares in Sayona Mining soared 46% from 13 cents on 31 December 2021 to 19 cents apiece at the close of trade on 31 December 2022.

Let’s take a closer look at how 2022 played out for the company, and the outlook for 2023.

What happened in 2022?

The Sayona Mining share price was up and down like a yo-yo in 2022. Sayona shares soared 192% in the first four months, touching a 52-week high of 38 cents apiece on 19 April.

That share price party swiftly ended, however, as the share price plummeted a hefty 68% between the market close on 18 April and 23 June.

In another big bounce, Sayona shares exploded again, rocketing 200% between 23 June and 13 September before declining 47% in December.

A major highlight in 2022 was news that the North American Lithium (NAL) operation was on track for its first lithium production.

Sayona advised on 4 August it planned to recommence production in the first quarter of 2023 after investing $100 million in the restart. Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL) has a 25% stake in this project.

On 20 December, Sayona told the market that the NAL operation had made further progress towards this target, with 99% procurement complete. The company has also awarded contracts for critical installation items, and received environmental approvals.

What’s ahead?

Sayona Mining’s year in 2023 will likely be impacted by a range of factors, including lithium sector momentum, lithium prices and the company meeting its goals.

All eyes will be on Sayona Mining’s NAL operation in 2023. Production is slated for the first quarter of this calendar year.

Lithium prices may also weigh on Sayona shares. A recent report from the Office of the Chief Economist is tipping spodumene prices to rise from an average of US$2,700 a tonne in 2022 to US$4,010 a tonne in 2023 before sliding to US$3,130 in 2024.

The report also predicts lithium hydroxide prices to rise from US$39,900 in 2022 to US$61,200 in 2023 before falling to US$48,500 in 2024.

The lithium price impacts the amount of profit lithium companies make in sales from production at the mine.

Share price snapshot

The Sayona Mining share price has soared nearly 67% in the last 52 weeks.

Sayona Mining has a market capitalisation of around $1.95 billion based on the current share price.

 

The post The Sayona Mining share price exploded 46% in 2022. Can it keep up the momentum this year? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
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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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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed the first week of 2023 in the green. It gained 0.65% on Friday to close at 7,109.6 points. That marks an 1.01% week-on-week gain.

In the lead today was the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ), which lifted 3% with lithium shares driving it higher.  

The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) also traded higher today, gaining 1.6%. That was a notable change in fortunes following the 3.9% tumble it posted over this week’s first three sessions.

On the other end of town, however, S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate Index (ASX: XRE) stocks struggled, with the sector falling 1.1%.

The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) also slumped 0.2%, with the Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) share price its biggest weight. The stock dumped 10.5% on news the company’s funds under management (FUM) fell $2.6 billion in December.

So, with all that in mind, which ASX 200 share posted the biggest gain on Friday? Let’s take a look.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

The best performing ASX 200 share in Friday’s session was lithium favourite Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). It gained 8.56% to close at $1.205.

While there was no news from the company to explain today’s rise, it was joined in the green by many of its lithium-focused peers.

Today’s biggest gains were made by these shares:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)	$1.205	8.56%
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)	$1.43	8.33%
Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA)	$0.225	7.14%
Lake Resources NL (ASX: LKE)	$0.83	7.1%
Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN)	$83.54	6.94%
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)	$3.96	6.45%
Perseus Mining Limited (ASX: PRU)	$2.33	4.95%
Allkem Ltd (ASX: AKE)	$11.91	4.93%
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)	$4.25	4.42%
Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN)	$2.02	4.39%

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

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• These are the top 3 ASX 200 shares in the first week of 2023
• Why BHP, Core Lithium, Santos, and Winsome shares are charging higher

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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It’s the first Friday of the new year. So I’m back with my now-regular Friday format.

Have a great weekend!

Redundancy, where art thou?

(No, not that sort of ‘redundancy’, boss!)

Apparently, there are moves afoot to do away with a co-pilot on some commercial flights, leaving the cockpit with just one pilot.

Now, I’m no aviation expert, but that feels risky to me.

It also feels emblematic of the last three years — both government and business.

I’m all for ‘efficient’ government. It makes sense to get full value for our tax dollars and to eliminate waste and duplication, doesn’t it?

Except when it leaves us in the lurch.

Companies face similar pressures. If they have too much cash and not enough debt, the balance sheet is considered ‘lazy’ by investors who are keen to juice their returns by getting the company to pay out that cash and increase borrowings (leverage — using ‘other people’s money’ — can mean (much) higher returns, if nothing goes wrong).

You don’t even have to think too hard to find examples of where this has brought us unstuck:

• We had insufficient PPE when COVID struck, and woefully unprepared quarantine options.
• We have no gas or oil reserves to absorb a price shock. (Or, frankly, a national oil and gas policy to speak of.)
• Companies like Webjet had to almost double the number of shares on issue to stay afloat during the worst of the pandemic because they didn’t have enough cash on hand.
• Qantas needed a massive government bailout (don’t get me started on the fact they’re not going to pay any of it back, despite a billion-dollar-plus forecast profit!).

We’re used to the ‘r-word’, redundancy, being applied to jobs.

But it applies – in a positive way – to planning.

It means making sure we have a fallback. A Plan B. It doesn’t mean we need to do away with efficiency, but it makes sure we’re still alive and kicking when the good times come again.

Now, I have some views on the political and policy arena, but those are for another day.

But, investing-wise, it’s something I reckon we need to keep front and centre.

In two ways:

Firstly, set up your own finances accordingly. Don’t use too much margin debt. Preferably none at all. And have a rainy day account, so you’re not wiped out if the unexpected happens.

And secondly, think about the businesses in your portfolio. How do their finances look? Are they playing an ‘all or nothing’ game? Or are they making sure they’re covered if things don’t work out as well as they hope?

I think we want a second pilot in the cockpit of commercial airlines. And I think we need to set our finances up the same way.

Remember both parts of investing returns

As we go into a new year, I wanted to share an evergreen reminder.

There are two parts to an investment return: What happens and how the market responds to what happens.

And it may not be as obvious as it seems.

The COVID crash is a good reminder. Shares fell 38% before anything had actually happened economically. But the market was anticipating. 

Similarly, the market recovered before the economy, and profits, started to move upward.

Again, anticipation.

Meaning?

Well, the general expectation is for a tougher economy in 2023.

I have no idea what will happen, but that expectation does seem reasonable, given the pressures.

And share prices?

That’s trickier. And, in the short term at least, relies on sentiment.

I can’t give you a forecast. I do think, in many circumstances, share prices already seem to reflect a decent amount of pessimism, so that might provide opportunity.

But I wouldn’t be at all surprised if 2023 has more than its share of volatility.

Quick takes

Overblown: Predictions. No one knows what the future will bring. Moreover, the more likely the outcome, the less valuable it is. And if it’s not likely, then the odds of it being right are… long. In other words? Useless, in either case. We humans love certainty. And we love the idea that maybe, somehow, we could get a glimpse of the future. But we can’t. Make your peace with it.

Underappreciated: I wrote, in this space a few weeks back, about ‘small wins’. But I want to expand, just a little. Life is always changing. Some of those changes get headlines. Others stop being ‘newsworthy’, but don’t stop happening. I saw some new figures about the continued growth of e-commerce during the week. Tech job cuts are getting the headlines, but the overall trend continues. I reckon you should invest accordingly. And look for other similar trends.

Fascinating: Housing is going to be fascinating to watch in 2023. Rates have further (upwards) to go, but rental vacancies remain tiny. I’d expect prices to keep falling while rates rise, but I’m not sure how long that’ll continue to be the case once the RBA is done. On the flip side, those low vacancies should support the building industry for a while to come. (We have to have a population debate at some point, too. But that’s a prickly one, with too much room for xenophobia if handled badly.)

Where I’ve been looking: Yes, I still think there are lots of options for investors prepared to do the legwork. Everyone looks like a genius when the market is rising and (almost) every stock is going up. But when the market is pessimistic, you can assume babies will be thrown out with the bathwater. That doesn’t mean success will be quick, even if we’re right, but it should be worth it in the long run. 

Quote: “I think we judge talent wrong. What do we see as talent? I think I have made the same mistake myself. We judge talent by people’s ability to strike a cricket ball. The sweetness, the timing. That’s the only thing we see as talent. Things like determination, courage, discipline, temperament, these are also talent.” – Rahul Dravid

Fool on!

The post <strong>Redundancy, where art thou?</strong> appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 profitable ASX shares you probably have never heard of
• This under-the-radar ASX battery metals share is leaping 15% on Friday. Here’s why
• Why is Core Lithium charging 7% higher today?
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• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy now

Motley Fool contributor Scott Phillips 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 easy to get stuck in our old ways, looking at the same handful of ASX shares. What we don’t often realise is that we could be ignoring high-quality companies by only paying attention to those that make the most noise.

In fact, investing in under-the-radar companies that others may be overlooking can sometimes give you an edge as an investor. By doing the leg work to gain an in-depth understanding of a company prior to others, you can potentially capitalize on the undiscovered potential.

With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at these five ASX shares that you may not have come across before.

ASX shares building the world around us

If you asked someone on the street if they had ever heard of Maas Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: MGH), the answer would probably be, ‘Who?‘. Yet, Maas is a leading construction materials company boasting profits of $61.6 million on $517.1 million of revenue in FY22.

The company is growing top-line aggressively by making several debt-fuelled acquisitions. In 2022 alone, Maas made five acquisitions including quarries, plant hire, and maintenance services. Maas shares are down 45% over the last year and trade on a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.2.

Similarly, Emeco Holdings Ltd (ASX: EHL) is another ASX share that most people couldn’t tell from a bar of soap. But for such an unrecognisable name, the company sure has built up an enviable heavy machinery rental company.

In FY22, net profits after tax (NPAT) were ratcheted up by 22% to $69 million. The company achieved this result despite labour shortages, supply chain interruptions, and adverse weather events. Emeco shares are 7% in the hole over the past 12 months and are trading on a P/E ratio of 6.6.

Now, if anyone knows Capral Limited (ASX: CAA) by name, I would be impressed. At a market capitalisation of $130 million, it could easily slide by undetected by most investors. However, the aluminium product manufacturer pulled in $638.7 million of revenue in FY22 at a profit margin of nearly 8%.

While profits have since been retreating, the company still maintained a fully franked dividend — producing a dividend yield of 9.5%. Capral shares are 22% lower than where they were a year ago with the company trading on a P/E ratio of around 3.

Cars and healthcare

This next ASX share is the most profitable, in percentage margin terms, out of the bunch mentioned here. Eclipx Group Ltd (ASX: ECX) doesn’t ring bells quite like Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS), but the vehicle fleet leasing and management company does tout a better profit margin.

At the end of September 2022, Eclipx netted $103.3 million in profits for the previous 12 months, representing a 15.3% margin. The below industry average P/E of 5 times earnings possibly reflects the lack of top-line growth over the last five years or so.

Finally, what if I told you there is an ASX share doing over $10 billion in revenue annually and you still probably don’t know it by name? Ever heard of a pharmaceutical retail giant by the name of EBOS Group Ltd (ASX: EBO)?

Maybe not… but I’d say there’s a good chance you do know TerryWhite Chemmart, or Pharmacy Choice, or Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse… EBOS Group operates these businesses and many others across Australasia.

The company operates on paper-thin margins of around 2% but has successfully done so for 100 years. EBOS shares are up 7% over the last year and trade on a P/E of 32 times earnings.

The post 5 profitable ASX shares you probably have never heard of appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• This ASX All Ordinaries share shrugged off the red to reach a new 52-week high today
• Why AGL, Invictus Energy, Maas, and Mach7 shares are pushing higher today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

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 positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. 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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