• Venezuela’s Maduro vows to raise gasoline price as Iranian tanker nears

    Venezuela's Maduro vows to raise gasoline price as Iranian tanker nearsVenezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday pledged to begin charging citizens for gasoline, as the fourth cargo of a five-tanker flotilla bringing fuel from Iran approached the South American nation’s exclusive economic zone. Iran is providing the country with up to 1.53 million barrels of gasoline and components to help it ease an acute scarcity that has forced Venezuelans to wait in hours-long lines at service stations or pay steep prices on the black market. With the arrival of the gasoline, Maduro said he would end the policy of providing fuel effectively for free after more than two decades of frozen pump prices.

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  • Why the Nearmap share price has surged 15% higher today

    image of a city from above, Nearmap share price, aerial imagery

    The Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) share price has surged 15% higher in early morning trade today. This comes after Nearmap released a positive trading update on recent business performance and detailed the launch of its new ‘Nearmap AI’ product.

    Continued Nearmap growth across key segments 

    Nearmap informed the market that its overall recent business performance has been relatively strong. It’s seen continued month by month growth across its main industry segments despite challenging economic conditions triggered by the coronavirus crisis.

    The company reports its actual cash value (ACV) portfolio to be in excess of $102 million. It anticipates a closing FY20 ACV portfolio value of between $103–$107 million, on a constant currency basis.

    Sales activity levels were reported to have remained strong since the coronavirus onset and with customer churn to now be below 10% on a 12-month rolling basis. This is a significant reduction from the 11.5% last reported at the end of 2019.

    The company did indicate there has been some downward momentum on sales growth. Some customers have delayed their purchasing decisions, however, Nearmap sees minimal overall impact on their expanding sales pipeline.

    Cash flow break-even target on track

    Back in April, Nearmap announced that a number of cash management initiatives were to be implemented to preserve its cash position and strengthen its balance sheet to avoid the need to raise additional capital. These measures were aimed at reaching breakeven point by the end of FY 2020 through an approximate 30% reduction in operating and capital costs.

    Pleasingly, Nearmap reported today that it is currently on track to achieve its cashflow breaking target. The company predicts its cash balance to be between $32–$35 million by the end of this financial year.

    Launch of Nearmap AI product

    Nearmap announced that its new artificial intelligence (AI) product; Nearmap AI, is scheduled for initial launch on 1 June in both its Australian and United States markets. The launch of this new Nearmap AI product follows recent launches of the 3D and rooftop geometry products.

    Nearmap will initially be targeting Nearmap AI in the insurance, utility and local government markets. All three of these markets saw strong demand for the new product while it was still in beta mode.

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    Motley Fool contributor Phil Harpur owns shares of Nearmap Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Nearmap Ltd. 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 Why the Nearmap share price has surged 15% higher today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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  • 4 Australian fintech shares to make you rich

    piles of australian $100 notes, wealth, get rich

    While the market has recently rallied around tourism and bank shares, some mid-cap Australian fintech shares have enjoyed double digit growth. Checkout.com, the UK’s fastest growing fintech, recently purchased Perth based Pin Pay, underscoring the level of international interest currently being garnered by Australian fintech companies. This is primarily for our $33 billion business-to-consumer eCommerce marketplace, but also for our access to Asia. 

    These 4 mid-cap Australian fintech shares have each grown by over 30% this month alone.

    Australian fintech mid-caps

    Pushpay Holdings Ltd (ASX: PPH) has registered the largest amount of growth in May among the sector so far. If you invested in Pushpay at its low point on 16 March, your investment would have grown by 156%. The company is predominantly a donor payment management service. Its customers include faith based organisations and not-for-profit companies across Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

    The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has surged by nearly 63% month to date. Zip Co is 1 year older than Australian fintech rival Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT). The company offers credit lines and joined the buy-now-pay-later credit market in 2019 via acquisition. I personally think this company has a very long runway ahead of it. As a side note, the company also owns Pocketbook, a truly free budget planner.

    EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML) is the next largest growing mid cap Australian fintech for May. Its share price grew by 38% month to date with only a few trading days left. The company’s core revenue earner is one-off payments via gift cards at supermarkets. This is a high-margin activity that I believe is likely to enjoy further growth as we emerge from lock down. 

    Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR) has seen its share price rise by 37% month to date. From its lowest point on 19 March, the Tyro share price has risen 290%, almost 4 times. The company processes EFTPOS payments along with offering other merchant services such as e-commerce.  

    Foolish Takeaway

    The Australian fintech sector is attracting a lot of attention globally. Along with world leaders like Afterpay, we are fortunate to have a range of up and coming, mid-cap growth shares listed on the ASX. Each of the 4 shares I’ve looked at here represents a billion-dollar-plus company. I believe all of them offer good growth opportunities and I’d be happy to add them in my portfolio. 

    Before you go, download our free report on 5 more dirt-cheap, wealth-building companies.

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    Daryl Mather has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Emerchants Limited, Tyro Payments, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended PUSHPAY FPO NZX. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Emerchants Limited. 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 4 Australian fintech shares to make you rich appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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  • Results: Quidel Corporation Beat Earnings Expectations And Analysts Now Have New Forecasts

  • St. Louis Fed’s Bullard: Negative Interest rates would be ‘problematic’ in U.S.

  • Was The Smart Money Smart About Dave & Buster’s Entertainment (PLAY)?

  • Quidel’s Recently Approved Antigen Test For Coronavirus Is ‘Game Changer,’ Former FDA Chief Says