Category: Stock Market

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is tumbling lower this morning on news the company will be undertaking an acquisition.

Northern Star has agreed to buy Newmont Corporation‘s power business for US$95 million by acquiring its holding company.

At the time of writing, the Northern Star share price is $9.86, 1.99% lower than its previous closing price.

Let’s take a closer look at the latest news from the gold producer.

Northern Star’s new acquisition

The market is bidding the Northern Star share price down after the company announced it was purchasing GMK Investments Pty Ltd, the owner of the Newmont power business.

GMK also owns NP Kalgoorlie Pty Ltd which, in turn, has a 50% holding in Goldfields Power Pty Ltd.

To complete the circle, Goldfields Power owns the Parkeston Power Station.

The Parkeston Power Station primarily supplies electricity to Northern Star’s 50%-owned Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines (KCGM). KSGM is the operator of Kalgoorlie’s Super Pit.

Northern Star purchased its share of KCGM from Newmont Corporation for US$800 million in 2019. As part of the 2019 acquisition, Northern Star paid US$25 million for the option to purchase the Newmont power business.

That US$25 million will come off the top of the acquisition price, leaving Northern Star with a US$70 million bill for its newly announced purchase.

Northern Star managing director Stuart Tonkin said the acquisition will give the company more control of its power supply. He also stated:

The purchase means our Kalgoorlie power supply will now form part of our studies into ways to meet our commitment to becoming carbon-neutral.

According to Northern Star, the acquisition will bring plenty of other synergies and value. One such synergy will see cheaper power costs for KCGM.

Northern Star share price snapshot

The Northern Star share price is 22% lower than it was at the start of 2021. However, it has gained almost 4% since this time last month.

The post Northern Star (ASX:NST) share price slumps despite acquisition news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
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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. 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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has returned to form in 2021.

Since the start of the year, the telco giant’s shares have risen 35% to $4.08.

Why is the Telstra share price on form in 2021?

Investors have been bidding the Telstra share price higher this year due to the company’s increasing positive outlook, which is being underpinned by its T22 and newly announced T25 strategy.

In September, Telstra’s CEO, Andy Penn, noted that the T22 was based on transforming the company, whereas T25 will be about driving growth.

Mr Penn: “T22 has been one of the largest, fastest and most ambitious transformations of a telco globally and today we are a vastly different company. This means we are poised for growth as our society and economy increasingly digitises and we all work, study, transact and get our entertainment online. These fundamental shifts, together with T25, will underpin our future growth and shareholder value.”

Telstra is now aiming for sustained growth and value by targeting mid-single digit underlying EBITDA and high-teens underlying earnings per share (EPS) compound annual growth rates between FY 2021 and FY 2025.

Dividend optimism

In light of the above, a number of analysts believe that Telstra could be on the cusp of increasing its dividend for the first time in almost a decade.

Telstra last increased its dividend in 2015 but the team at Goldman Sachs believe there’s potential for an increase in FY 2024.

Goldman commented: “We note that High-teens EPS growth aspirations suggest upside risk to 16c DPS by FY24E, in-line with expectations.”

The broker has pencilled in an 18 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2024 and then a 19 cents per share fully franked dividend in FY 2025. Based on the current Telstra share price, this will mean yields of 4.4% and 4.65%, respectively.

Goldman currently has a buy rating and $4.40 price target on Telstra’s shares.

The post Is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) dividend heading up for the first time in almost 10 years? 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra Corporation 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 Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT) share price is in the green in early trade today, up 2.9% to $1.06.

Investors are pushing up Volpara Health shares after the medical technology software as a service (SaaS) player released its half-year accounts before the open.

It was a record year for the provider of breast imaging analytics, winning new business and growing recurring revenue while doing so.

Here’s a closer look at Volpara’s result for the 6 months ended 30 September 2021.

Volpara share price climbs on positive result

• Annual recurring revenue (ARR) increased by over US$1.8 million to US$20.4 million;
• Accounting revenues grew by NZ$2.9 million to NZ$12.3 million;
• The net loss for HY22 was NZ$8.5 million, an improvement of 4% from NZ$8.9 million in the prior period; and
• Full-year guidance of NZ$25–26 million retained.

What happened this half for Volpara?

The company posted its “best-ever” half-year result in terms of new business won. ARR increased by more than US$1.8 million to US$20.4 million, a gain of almost 10% from the end of FY21.

This came with a corresponding increase in accounting revenues of NZ$2.9 million to NZ$12.3 million, up 30% from $9.5 million for the first half last year.

Cash receipts delivered record growth for the company this half, increasing by more than 40% to NZ$13.5 million (or 48% in constant currency).

Volpara’s SaaS segment gained more steam this quarter too, with cash receipts from subscriptions growing approximately 50% to NZ$13.1 million. On this result, receipts from capital sales decreased approximately 55% to NZ$500,000 compared with NZ$1.1 million in the prior period.

Aside from this, the company made an initial investment into RevealDx, a lung artificial intelligence (AI) company based in Seattle. It further signed a collaboration agreement with Riverain Technologies, also US-based, each to expand Volpara’s lung market penetration.

The release also notes that Volpara’s software reached the milestone of featuring in 200 peer-reviewed articles. According to the company, this “clearly sets [it] apart from the competition. It demonstrates Volpara’s commitment to providing the most clinically validated breast density software available and the continual investment in research and development of core IP”.

The net loss for the half was NZ$8.5 million, an improvement of 4% from NZ$8.9 million in the prior period. Similarly, normalised earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) improved 4% from NZ$6.6 million to NZ$6.4 million.

The update seems to have pleased investors today. The Volpara share price also climbed when the company released its quarterly update back in October.

What’s the outlook for Volpara?

Volpara noted it is focused on delivering full-year guidance of NZ$25–26 million. It is also continuing to build out key strategic initiatives.

This includes “Analytics in Action”, a client-centred service exclusively for customers of Volpara Analytics. It is designed to help breast imaging facilities “develop a culture of continuous performance improvement and recognise technologists that meet quality benchmarks”.

It is also focused on building out its data platform of more than 49 million x-ray images and expanding its electronic health record (EHR) sales channel.

What is management saying?

Commenting on the news likely driving the Volpara share price today, its directorship said:

While clearly indicating an incredibly busy commercial HY, we also recognise that a focus for many of our employees and investors is impact. With coverage now of over 13.4M US women with at least one of our products, it is clear we are helping many women get safer, more comfortable, and more accurate breast cancer screenings. Results from studies like the DENSE trial show that such screenings lead to significant increases in the numbers of cancers caught early.

Volpara share price snapshot

Volpara is trading deep in the red over the past 12 months and has lost almost 24% in that time.

This year the Volpara share price is down around 28%, and is down almost 18% for the month.

The post Best-ever result: Volpara Health (ASX:VHT) share price jumps on half-year update 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 VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. 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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An Australian smartphone app is offering a return of 4.01% per annum paid out daily for users who buy the TrueAUD (CRYPTO: TAUD) cryptocurrency.

The Finder app claims more than 12,000 Australians are currently on the waiting list for its Finder Earn scheme, which launched this week for 1,000 users.

The feature is described as “a cryptocurrency-based loan” given from the user to Finder, which pays out 4.01% as compensation.

TrueAUD is a ‘stablecoin’ that’s theoretically pegged 1-to-1 to the Australian dollar.

“Based on the Finder Earn model, if you were to transfer the maximum initial balance of 10,000 TAUD to your Finder Earn wallet, you would make more than 400 TAUD in a year on your capital,” stated Finder.

A very competitive return

The 4.01% return per year is pretty attractive in the current near-zero interest rate environment.

With the Reserve Bank’s cash rate languishing at a historic low, even the best bank term deposits barely bring back 0.5% per annum.

While there are ASX shares that provide a dividend yield of 4% or more, there is no knowing whether your initial capital will grow or shrink.

Finder editor-in-chief Angus Kidman reckoned Finder Earn is an Australian-first.

“The financial world as we know it is changing and we are giving Aussies a chance to participate in this new ecosystem,” he said.

“Finder Earn is an exciting way of getting a more attractive yet stable return on your capital.”

Is TrueAUD truly true?

Even though TrueAUD is theoretically pegged to the real Australia dollar, buying and selling still depends on supply and demand. For example, on Tuesday morning, CoinGecko was showing that one TrueAUD was worth $1.24.

But the Finder app is guaranteeing instant fee-free liquidation, which is another massive advantage over locking money into a term deposit.

“You can withdraw your capital from your Finder Earn account at any time with no fees,” said Kidman.

“Our mission is to help people make better financial decisions. Understanding crypto is not easy and we are trying to demystify it.”

TrueAUD was created by a company named Trusttoken, which also makes stablecoins TrueUSD (CRYPTO: TUSD) and TruePound (CRYPTO: TGBP).

According to Trusttoken, TrueAUD currently has a market capitalisation of $30,917,724.

The post Aussie app promises 4%pa return on AUD ‘stablecoin’ cryptocurrency appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) share price is under pressure on Tuesday morning and trading notably lower.

At the time of writing, the auto parts retailer’s shares are down a disappointing 10% to $7.42.

Why is the Bapcor share price tumbling lower?

Investors have been selling down the Bapcor share price on Tuesday following the release of a surprise announcement.

According to the release, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Darryl Abotomey, is stepping down after a decade leading the company. Mr Abotomey intends to retire on 28 February 2022, but will remain available to the company until 30 June 2022 to assist with an orderly transition.

The outgoing CEO commented: “It has been a privilege to lead the Bapcor business over the last decade and see the company’s transformation over that time.”

“With a strong operating and financial position, it feels like an appropriate time in the company’s journey to step back and retire. I have appreciated and thank Bapcor’s passionate team members, franchisees, suppliers and shareholders for their support over the past ten years,” he added.

What now?

The release advises that an extensive global search process has commenced to appoint a permanent CEO. However, if a permanent CEO has not been appointed by 28 February, Bapcor’s Non-Executive Director, Mark Powell, will assume the role of Acting CEO.

Commenting on Mr Abotomey’s departure, Bapcor’s Chair, Margie Haseltine, said: “On behalf of the Board and the Bapcor team we thank Darryl for his outstanding commitment and wish him well for the future.”

The Board also took this opportunity to advise that there is no change to the previously issued financial guidance for FY 2022. This is for a profit result at least in line with FY 2021’s record result.

The post Why the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price is crashing 10% lower on Tuesday 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. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bapcor. 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 TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) share price will be on watch this morning.

This follows the release of the enterprise software company’s full year results.

TechnologyOne share price on watch after reporting strong growth

• Total revenue up 4% to $312 million
• Total annual recurring revenue (ARR) up 16% to $257.5 million
• Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) ARR up 43% to $192.3 million
• Profit before tax up 19% to $97.8 million
• Expenses down 1% to $214.2 million
• Cash flow generation up 12% to $63.9 million
• Total dividends increased 8% to 13.91 cents per share

What happened in FY 2021?

For the 12 months ended 30 September, TechnologyOne delivered a 43% increase in SaaS ARR to $192.3 million and a 19% lift in profit before tax to $97.8 million. The latter was at the top end of its guidance and underpinned by the continuing fast growth of its Global SaaS ERP solution.

The SaaS ERP solution continues to grow in popularity and is supporting strong recurring revenue growth. Pleasingly, with the company recently announcing the end of its On-Premise business by October 2024, this side of the business is expected to continue its growth in the years to come. So much so, management continues to target $500 million in ARR by FY 2026. This is almost double its current ARR.

Management commentary

TechnologyOne spoke very positively about its SaaS business and its outlook.

It said: “Our SaaS business continues to grow quickly. The quality of this revenue stream is exceptionally high, given its recurring contractual nature, combined with our very low churn rate of ~1%. Combined with our announcement of the end of our On-Premise business, this is driving our Annual Recurring Revenue growth.”

“Our Total ARR is $257.5m, up 16%. We are on track to hit our target of $500m+ ARR by FY26. Given the current ARR is $257.5m, this is an additional $242.5m of annual recurring revenue in the next 5 years. Our ARR stands at 90% of Total Revenue which means the majority of our revenue is locked-in at the start of the financial year. This positions us well to achieve strong continuing growth in the new year,” it added.

No real guidance has been provided for FY 2022, other than management’s expectations that revenue will grow by 15%+ per annum in the next few years. Management also expects its strong profit growth to continue in 2022.

The TechnologyOne share price is up 57% in 2021.

The post TechnologyOne (ASX:TNE) share price on watch following strong SaaS growth in FY21 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. 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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If you’re not sure which ASX shares to buy, then the two listed below could be worth considering.

These ASX 200 tech shares have been tipped as buys by the analysts at Citi. Here’s what they are saying about them:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The first ASX 200 tech share that Citi rates highly is Appen. It is an artificial intelligence data services company preparing the data that goes into the artificial intelligence and machine learning models of some of the biggest tech companies in the world such as Google and Facebook. While a reduction in investment from tech giants in these activities at the height of the pandemic weighed on demand for Appen’s services, the tide does now appear to be turning. Particularly given a recent update from rival Telus, which Citi highlights as pointing to improving trends for artificial intelligence data projects.

Citi currently has a buy rating and $17.10 price target on Appen’s shares. This compares to the latest Appen share price of $11.80.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

Another ASX 200 tech share that Citi is a fan of is NEXTDC. It is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s leading data centre operators. NEXTDC has been growing at a consistently strong rate for years thanks to the structural shift to the cloud. This has led to increasing demand for capacity in its growing network of world class data centres across Australia. More of the same is expected in FY 2022, with the company guiding to operating earnings growth of 19% to 22% year on year. Citi appears confident this solid form with continue beyond FY 2022 thanks to accelerating cloud adoption and digitisation.

The broker currently has a buy rating and $15.40 price target on the company’s shares. This compares to the latest NEXTDC share price of $12.47.

The post 2 ASX 200 tech shares Citi rates as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Appen 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 Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price was a positive performer on Monday.

The mining giant’s shares rose 2% to end the day at $15.80.

This means the Fortescue share price is now up approximately 9% since this time last month.

Is the Fortescue share price a bargain buy?

Opinion on the Fortescue share price continues to be highly divisive, with some brokers believing its shares are vastly overvalued and others believing them to be dirt cheap.

In respect to the latter, the team at Bell Potter continue to see a lot of value in the Fortescue share price.

A recent note reveals that its analysts have a buy rating and $19.75 price target on its shares. This implies potential upside of 25% for investors over the next 12 months.

In addition, the broker expects the iron ore miner to pay a $3.07 per share fully franked dividend in FY 2022. This equates to a very attractive fully franked yield of 19.4%, which stretches the total potential return to almost 45%.

In response to its first quarter update, Bell Potter said: “Strong free cash flows, good cost control and an ‘on-track’ production performance emphasise the quality of the business and we retain our Buy recommendation.”

What about the bears?

One of the most bearish brokers out there is Goldman Sachs. This morning the broker retained its sell rating and $11.00 price target on the company’s shares. Based on the current Fortescue share price, this implies potential downside of just over 30% for investors.

There are four key reasons why Goldman is bearish on Fortescue. These include its relative valuation, the widening of low grade iron ore discounts, execution and ramp up risks on the Iron Bridge project, and uncertainties around Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) diversification and Pilbara decarbonisation.

In respect to the latter, the broker believes decarbonising the Pilbara could cost Fortescue over US$7 billion and requires +US$50 per tonne carbon or a green premia to be NPV positive.

Goldman concluded: “We have an Underperform rating on FMGAU. In our view, FMGAU is set to face headwinds from lower iron ore prices and remains an unlikely IG upgrade candidate due to its concentrated portfolio (single-commodity exposure in one region of Australia) and the strategic uncertainty implied by its openness to entering other markets (e.g. renewables). The company is facing execution risk at Iron Bridge from increased project capex and a team reorganization.”

The post Is the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price dirt cheap or overvalued? 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. 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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There are plenty of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that have grown a lot over the last two years.

But over the next five or so years, there are some ASX 200 shares that are expecting their underlying earnings to continue to grow.

These two ASX 200 shares could be good options to consider:

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

Sonic Healthcare has operations all around the world, in places like the USA, Germany, Australia, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium and New Zealand.

The company is continuing to grow its base business, which excludes COVID-19 testing revenue. In FY21, base revenue increased by 6%.

But, it has been the COVID testing that has really driven the ASX 200 share’s profit higher thanks to higher profit margins. COVID surges continue to occur due to the Delta variant, with the northern hemisphere seeing elevated COVID cases again.

Sonic has performed many millions of tests, and the ASX 200 share has been utilising and leveraging its existing infrastructure. In FY21, revenue rose 28% to $8.8 billion and net profit grew 149% to $1.3 billion.

In the first four months of FY22 to 31 October 2021, its base revenue had increased by another 6% to $3.09 billion. That shows that the core business continues to grow. FY22 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 16% to $991 million.

According to Commsec, the Sonic Healthcare share price is valued at 19x FY22’s estimated earnings with an expected dividend yield of 2.4%.

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is one of the largest auto part businesses in the Australasian region. Its core business is the automotive aftermarket. Its businesses span the supply chain, including trade, commercial vehicles, specialist wholesale and retail.

Some of the businesses that it owns in its stable includes Burson Auto Parts, Precision Automotive Equipment, BNT (NZ), Truckline, WANO, Autobarn, Autopro, Midas, ABS and Battery Town.

Bapcor has started a Burson chain of outlets in Thailand, offering direct access to the Asian market. The ASX 200 share has also made an investment in Tye Soon, which Bapcor describes as the most prominent independent auto parts distributor in Southeast and Northeast Asia with 60 locations across Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia, Australia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

FY21 saw the business achieve revenue growth of 20.4%, pro forma EBITDA growth of 28.8% to $279.5 million and pro forma net profit after tax (NPAT) growth of 46.5% to $130.1 million.

The business is looking to expand its store footprint in Australia and New Zealand, to be the closes to the customer base, with an increase from 1,100 locations to 1,500 locations. It’s also working on its supply chain to be more efficient with new distribution centres. Another area of focus from Bapcor is to increase its profitability through its own brand expansion, from around 30% to 45% of sales.

According to Commsec, the Bapcor share price is valued at 22x FY22’s estimated earnings.

The post 2 ASX 200 shares that could be top buys for growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 recommended Bapcor and Sonic Healthcare 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 BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price and the Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) share price will be on watch on Tuesday.

This follows the release of a joint announcement after the market close on Monday.

Why are BHP and Woodside shares on watch?

BHP and Woodside shares could be on the move today after they provide an update on their plans to create a global energy company. According to the release, the two parties have signed a binding share sale agreement (SSA) for the merger of BHP’s oil and gas portfolio with Woodside.

This will see Woodside acquire the entire share capital of BHP Petroleum in exchange for new Woodside shares. The signing of the SSA follows the merger commitment deed announced on 17 August.

The release highlights that, on completion, the merger will create a global top 10 independent energy company by production and the largest energy company listed on the Australian share market.

Furthermore, the combined company will have a high margin oil portfolio, long life LNG assets, and the financial resilience to help supply the energy needed for global growth and development over the energy transition.

Management also estimates that the merger will unlock synergies of more than US$400 million pre tax. This will be from optimising corporate processes and systems, leveraging combined capabilities. and improving capital efficiency on future growth projects and exploration.

BHP’s CEO, Mike Henry, believes the company’s petroleum business and Woodside are better together and expects it to create value for BHP shareholders.

He said: “Merging our petroleum business with Woodside creates a large, more resilient company, better able to navigate the energy transition and grow value while doing so. Through the merger we will provide value and choice for BHP shareholders, and unlock synergies in how these assets are managed.”

What’s next?

Completion of the merger is targeted for the second quarter of the 2022 calendar year. Prior to completion, BHP and Woodside will carry on their respective businesses in the normal course. However, they will put in place appropriate plans to enable a smooth transition of ownership. The effective date of the merger will be backdated to 1 July 2021.

Upon completion, Woodside will issue new shares to BHP shareholders which are expected to comprise approximately 48% of all Woodside shares (on a post-issue basis) as consideration for the acquisition of BHP Petroleum.

However, while BHP has agreed to exclusivity arrangements with Woodside, these arrangements do not restrict BHP from considering superior proposals for BHP Petroleum. Though, a termination fee of US$160 million is payable in certain circumstances if the merger does not complete.

Scarborough given the go-ahead

Finally, BHP also released an announcement relating to the development of the Scarborough upstream project located in the North Carnarvon Basin, Western Australia.

According to the release, BHP has approved US$1.5 billion in capital expenditure for phase 1 of the development.  Final investment decisions have also been made by Woodside and the Scarborough Joint Venture.

Mr Henry commented: “Scarborough will be amongst the lowest carbon incremental sources of LNG to world markets. Scarborough will provide a reliable source of LNG for global customers and secure gas supply for the domestic market, as well as ongoing employment in Western Australia. Scarborough will provide important cash flows and value for shareholders of the enlarged Woodside.”

The post BHP (ASX:BHP) and Woodside (ASX:WPL) shares on watch amid petroleum merger update 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. 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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