Stock Pick

  • Tesla to cut car prices in North America, China

    Tesla to cut car prices in North America, ChinaTesla Inc said on Wednesday it will cut prices of its electric vehicles in North America as the firm ramps up car production at its Fremont, California, factory after the easing of coronavirus lockdowns. The price cut comes as states after lockdowns during which demand for cars waned. It was not immediately clear by how much Tesla was cutting its prices or when the cuts would take effect.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2X3yKFt

  • ByteDance Hit $3 Billion in Net Profit Last Year

    ByteDance Hit $3 Billion in Net Profit Last Year(Bloomberg) — TikTok parent-company ByteDance Ltd. generated more than $17 billion in revenue and more than $3 billion in net profit last year, figures that show the startup, already the most valuable in the world, is growing at a brisk rate, according to people familiar with the matter.The revenue for last year is more than double the company’s tally of about $7.4 billion in 2018. The people asked not to be identified because the financial details are private.ByteDance has emerged as one of the tech industry’s most surprising success stories, an innovative Chinese company that is challenging the global dominance of U.S. internet giants. It draws some 1.5 billion monthly active users to a family of apps that includes the TikTok short-video platform, its Chinese twin Douyin and the news service Toutiao. This month, the company poached Walt Disney Co. streaming czar Kevin Mayer to become chief executive officer of TikTok.ByteDance, led by Zhang Yiming, is becoming a viable rival to the dominant American online behemoths, Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. Facebook unit Instagram brought in about $20 billion in advertising revenue in 2019, Bloomberg previously reported. Google said its video unit YouTube recorded $15.1 billion in ad sales last year.ByteDance representatives didn’t respond to a request for comment.That success has come despite American lawmakers raising concerns about privacy and censorship. In a rare bipartisan effort in Washington, Republican Senator Tom Cotton and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer last year urged an investigation into TikTok, labeling it a national security threat.ByteDance is strengthening its operations in newer arenas such as e-commerce and gaming. This year, it kicked off a wave of hiring and envisions hitting 40,000 new jobs in 2020, hoping to match headcount of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. at a time technology corporations across the globe are furloughing or reducing staff.The company had very preliminary discussions about an initial public offering last year, but is in no rush to go public given its financial performance, people have said. It now has more than $6 billion of cash on hand, the people said.Bytedance, which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp., General Atlantic and Sequoia, is already the world’s most valuable startup, according to researcher CB Insights. Some private trades recently valued the Chinese company between $105 billion and $110 billion on the secondary markets, Bloomberg News previously reported. It has also traded as high as $140 billion, one person said, making it one of the most highly valued private companies of all time.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

    from Yahoo Finance https://ift.tt/2zqmLZX

  • Pro-Pac Packaging share price jumps 14% on COVID-19 trading update

    The Pro-Pac Packaging Ltd (ASX: PPG) share price is charging higher today on the back of a trading update and manufacturing site consolidation plans. At the time of writing, Pro-Pac Packaging shares are sitting 8.57% higher for the day at 19 cents per share after being up by as much as 14.29% in early trade.

    About Pro-Pac Packaging

    Pro-Pac is an international packaging company that operates a distribution and manufacturing network throughout Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

    The company supplies a combination of product and service solutions for primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging for most industry segments. Its vast product range includes flexible films, plastic bottles, gloves, cleaning supplies, and signs.

    Pro-Pac was established in 1987 and has been listed on the ASX since 2005.

    Why is the Pro-Pac Packaging share price spiking?

    This morning, Pro-Pac provided an update on its expected results for the year ending 30 June 2020.

    According to the ASX release, trading has been better than expected in the COVID-19 environment. Accordingly, the company expects full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of around $30 million, before significant items. For context, Pro-Pac achieved a $28.1 million EBITDA result in FY19, and a $16.3 million result in the financial year before that.

    Additionally, Pro-Pac has continued to target working capital improvements. As a result, it expects its net debt position at 30 June 2020 to be around $60 million. This is down from $82.9 million at 30 June 2019.

    Optimisation of manufacturing footprint

    In addition to the trading update, Pro-Pac also announced that it will relocate production from its Chester Hill facility in Sydney.

    The transition, which is expected to be completed by March 2021, includes the transfer of manufacturing volume from the Chester Hill factory to the company’s other facilities in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth. This is to optimise Pro-Pac’s manufacturing footprint and expand its service offering in an effort to reduce its cost base and grow profitability.

    According to the company, central to this initiative is the investment in a new 7-layer extruder and laminator. This piece of equipment will provide new capacity and capability for growth with existing customers, and also support expansion into new markets.

    The closure of the Chester Hill facility will involve capital investment of around $7 million and one-off costs of approximately $12.6 million – incurred over the next 2 years. The project will be funded from cash reserves and existing committed banking facilities, and is expected to result in annualised benefits of around $7 million from FY22.

    Commenting on today’s update, CEO Tim Welsh said:

    Leveraging our existing resources and obtaining the best possible returns on our investments, is an important priority. The consolidation [of facilities] will ensure our Flexibles division remains a leader in the delivery of flexible packaging products and services, for all of the critical markets we serve. The move will also optimise our other sites and enable the business to focus on innovation and growth.

    NEW. The Motley Fool AU Releases Five Cheap and Good Stocks to Buy for 2020 and beyond!….

    Our experts here at The Motley Fool Australia have just released a fantastic report, detailing 5 dirt cheap shares that you can buy in 2020.

    One stock is an Australian internet darling with a rock solid reputation and an exciting new business line that promises years (or even decades) of growth… while trading at an ultra-low price…

    Another is a diversified conglomerate trading over 40% off it’s high, all while offering a fully franked dividend yield over 3%…

    Plus 3 more cheap bets that could position you to profit over the next 12 months!

    See for yourself now. Simply click here or the link below to scoop up your FREE copy and discover all 5 shares. But you will want to hurry – this free report is available for a brief time only.

    CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE REPORT!

    More reading

    Motley Fool contributor Cathryn Goh has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

    The post Pro-Pac Packaging share price jumps 14% on COVID-19 trading update appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

    from Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/36ynQuA

The Latest