The Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) share price is in the red on Wednesday after the company revealed its production slumped 8% in the first quarter of financial year 2023.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) oil and gas producer’s activities were hampered by natural field decline, Cooper Basin flooding, and unplanned outages.

Right now, the Beach Energy share price is $1.4525, 5.68% lower than its previous close.

Beach Energy share price falls 6% as production, sales tumble

Here are the key takeaways from the energy giant’s quarterly report:

• Production fell 8% on the prior quarter to 5.2 million barrels of oil equivalent
• Sales revenue dropped 20% to $405 million
• Sales volumes fell 10% to 5.3 million barrels of oil equivalent
• Realised oil price dropped 6% to $157.10 a barrel
• Realised gas price fell 3% to $8.5 per gigajoule

Beach Energy’s quarterly production was dinted by flooding in the Cooper Basin, which caused shut-in of some wells and delays of well connections.

Meanwhile, national field decline continued in the Otway Basin amid continued high gas demand.

The company also recognised a one-off, non-cash revenue impact of $32 million due to aligning the Cooper Basin joint venture (JV) revenue recognition accounting treatment.

It ended the quarter with $638 million of liquidity and $38 million net cash. Its cash position was lower due to the timing of receipts, payment of full-year dividend, and higher tax and capital expenditure.

What else happened in Q1?

Beach Energy pushed forward with its financial year 2023 drilling campaigns in the first quarter.

So far, it’s clocked up one Western Flank oil discovery and four cased and suspended oil appraisal and development wells. It currently boasts a 100% success rate from 29 Cooper Basin JV oil and gas wells. Finally, five of six Waisia stage 2 development wells are now drilled and completed.

It also signed a sale and purchase agreement with bp [BP Singapore Pte. Limited, a BP subsidiary] for all Waitsia Stage 2 LNG volumes.

The Beach Energy share price fell nearly 14% over the quarter just been.

What did management say?

Beach Energy CEO Morné Engelbrecht commented on the news driving the company’s share price lower today, saying:

Beach has started the new financial year with strong momentum on delivery of our major projects, with production in the field being challenged from flooding in the Cooper Basin and unplanned production outages.

We achieved key milestones for our major growth projects in the Otway and Perth basins. These projects differentiate Beach by delivering material growth in production and free cash flow in the near-term.

[T]his quarter we will commence gas exploration drilling in the Perth Basin, the most exciting exploration play in Australia. We look forward to communicating the results over the next 12-18 months of drilling.

What’s next?

The company is progressing its major growth projects, expected to grow its East Coast gas market share by more than 30% and transform its LNG revenue in financial year 2024.

The company has also recently announced a new equity emissions reduction framework, targeting a 35% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions intensity by 2030.

Beach Energy share price snapshot

The Beach Energy share price has been outperforming of late.

It has gained 9.5% since the start of 2022. It’s also trading 4.3% lower than it was this time last year.

Meanwhile, the ASX 200 has fallen 10.5% year to date and 7.9% over the last 12 months.

The post Beach Energy share price sinks 6% as production tumbles appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• It’s a good day on the ASX 200. So why is the Woodside share price getting beaten up?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 BP. 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 Azure Minerals Ltd (ASX: AZS) share price has been a standout performer on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the lithium explorer’s shares were up as much as 30% to 28 cents.

The Azure Minerals share price has since pulled back a touch but currently remains up 22% at 26.2 cents.

Why is the Azure Minerals share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Azure Minerals share price higher today after the company released promising assay results.

According to the release, the company has received further high grade lithium assay results from the pegmatite exploration program on the Andover Project, located near the town of Roebourne in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia.

One of the samples contained a significant amount of coarse grained visible spodumene and returned the highest lithium grade received to date from the project of 3.32% Li2O. The release notes that it was collected from a pegmatite outcrop located 150m from historical artisanal mines and shallow surface workings from which beryl, tin, and tantalum were mined in the 1960s.

‘Very significant results’

Azure Minerals’ managing director, Tony Rovira, was very pleased with the results. He said:

It’s pleasing to report that our lithium-focused exploration program at Andover continues to deliver very significant results. The latest batch of assays returned high grades of lithium up to 3.32% Li2O, which is the highest lithium grade reported to date. Encouragingly, our geological mapping is identifying the presence of the preferred lithium-bearing mineral, spodumene, in many of the outcropping pegmatites.

We’re planning for the first drilling program to target the pegmatites and will commence as soon as we have received the necessary approvals. The lithium exploration continues in parallel with our Ni-Cu-Co exploration where drilling is currently in progress on the Seaview and Pipeline prospects.

The post Guess which ASX lithium share is rocketing 30% on ‘very significant results’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 ASX mining shares rocketing higher on big news

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) share price opened at 66 cents this morning, down 1.34%. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up slightly by 0.33% in early trading.

Joseph Koh, a senior analyst at Schroders, writes on Livewire that Zip has been a “cash burner” that has “pursued growth at just about any cost”.

He reckons the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company has been too caught up in chasing its large total addressable market (TAM). In the meantime, the Zip share price has absolutely tanked.

What’s next for the Zip share price?

Koh says “the cohort of cash-burning stocks in the ASX has significantly underperformed the broader market year-to-date”.

And how. The Zip share price is down 85% while ASX All Ords shares are down 12%.

Koh also said that “gains made in the false dawn of July have been relinquished”.

The Zip share price rose by 159% over the month of July. It reached $1.14 at the close on Friday 29 July. It’s dropped 42% since then, so not all gains have been relinquished in the case of Zip shares.

The stock is still trading 50% above its 52-week low of 44 cents.

Zip vs CSL vs REA

Koh compares Zip’s performance since it was founded in 2013 to that of ASX darlings CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) and REA Group Limited (ASX: REA) in their early days.

He said CSL and REA “did not have to incur many years of large losses and equity injections in their early days to achieve their strong growth and high returns (and dominant market positions)”.

Koh explains:

Based on Bloomberg figures, CSL, a year after listing in June 1994, made a net profit of US$18m in FY95, with US$7.4m of free cash flow.

REA incurred just over $18m of losses in the 3 years after its listing in 1999, with cumulative free cash flow of negative $8m – cash flows that were more than recouped in the subsequent 3 years.

Zip was founded in 2013 and has regularly incurred losses which have grown to more than $1.7bn in the last two years (FY21 and FY22), with negative free cash flows of more than $700m. 

Is Zip changing course from ‘growth at all cost’?

In short, yes.

As we’ve previously reported, Zip has announced various changes in its business. This includes abandoning some markets and targeting positive cash flow and profitability instead.

Zip is closing its Singapore and United Kingdom businesses, which form part of its non-core ‘rest-of-world’ market. In July, Zip and Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) mutually agreed to abandon plans to merge.

The company is now focused on its two core markets — Australia and New Zealand, and the United States.

Zip management sees the US as ‘a significant opportunity’. So much so that Zip CEO Larry Diamond has relocated to the US with his family, as reported last week.

Zip mapped out its strategy to become cash flow positive in its annual report in late September.

Zip will report its Q1 FY23 results tomorrow. A positive report will likely boost the Zip share price.

The post Has ‘growth at all costs’ been the undoing of Zip shares and what now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• If I’d bought $1,000 of Zip shares at their all-time high, here’s how much I’d have left
• After a horror year, what’s next for ASX BNPL shares in the new quarter?
• ‘Significant opportunity’ Zip share price turns red as CEO packs his bags for the United States
• Macquarie says Zip share price has further to fall
• Zip share price sinks 5% to 3-month lows

Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has positions in CSL Ltd., REA Group Limited, and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended Schroders (Non-Voting). The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA 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 Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is down 1% in early trade on Wednesday.

Northern Star shares closed yesterday trading for $8.09 and are currently trading for $8.01 apiece.

This comes as investors mull over the September quarterly results from the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gold share, released this morning.

Quarterly performance ‘slightly below plan’ pressures Northern Star share price

The Northern Star share price is in the red after the miner reported its September quarterly performance was slightly below intentions. But it expects the delayed production to be recovered in the upcoming quarters.

According to the release, gold sold over the three months reached 368,956 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of AU$1,788 per ounce.

Breaking that down by production centre, Northern Star said Kalgoorlie saw 215,224 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of AU$1,762 per ounce; Yandal had 102,562 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of AU$1,584 per ounce; and Pogo saw 51,170 ounces of gold sold at an AISC of US$1,581 per ounce.

Northern Star’s Australian mines accounted for 86% of quarterly gold production,

During the quarter, Northern Star spent AU$182 million on growth capital and AU$37 million on exploration.

As at 30 September, the miner had net cash (which includes bullion and deducts bank debts) of AU$173 million. Cash and bullion totalled AU$473 million, while the company held a $300 million corporate bank debt.

Over the quarter, Northern Star paid AU$155 million in stamp duty and AU$132 million in final dividend payouts, fully franked. At the current Norther Star share price, the miner trades at a trailing dividend yield of 2.8%.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results, Northern Star managing director, Stuart Tonkin said:

The September quarter has delivered a solid platform to leave us on track to achieve our FY23 targets…

While labour and cost pressures have stabilised in Western Australia, they remain at elevated levels and supply chains – globally – are still under pressure. Northern Star is positioned well with a highly dedicated and professional team to navigate what remains a challenging operating environment…

It has been another busy and successful start to FY23 as we work on executing our profitable growth strategy to create superior value for shareholders. This included the first share buy-back in Northern Star’s history, which we announced during the quarter and started implementing. Our focus remains on safety and sustainably producing profitable ounces from our world class gold assets in the tier-1 locations of Western Australia and Alaska.

What’s next?

The Northern Star share price could be getting some support after the company maintained its guidance for FY23 of 1.56 to 1.68 million ounces of gold, which it forecasts will be sold at an AISC of AU$1,630 to $1,690 per ounce.

The gold miner also maintained its FY23 growth capital budget outlook of AU$650 million, with an exploration budget of AU$125 million.

Northern Star share price snapshot

The Northern Star share price has outperformed most of the ASX gold shares in 2022 but is still down 15% for the calendar year. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 11% posted by the ASX 200.

The post Northern Star share price dips as quarterly performance ‘slightly below plan’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday
• Here’s how ASX 200 gold shares are reacting as gold price hits 2-week low
• Why did ASX 200 gold shares rise today?
• Is the Northern Star share price on the comeback trail? Check these charts out

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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Weak demand after two years of solid growth is taking a toll on personal computer (PC) sales in 2022, and market research firm IDC’s latest report suggests that the situation won’t get better anytime soon.

IDC reports PC shipments fell 15% year over year in the third quarter of 2022. Aside from Apple, all the major PC original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) saw a big decline in shipments last quarter. Market leader Lenovo, for instance, had a 16% decline in shipments over the prior year, while HP and Dell saw greater declines of 28% and 21%, respectively.

The sharp drop in PC shipments doesn’t bode well for Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). These chipmakers are reeling under the impact of already weak PC shipments that have led to a drop in the demand for their processors. IDC’s report indicates that things could be about to get worse for these semiconductor giants and their stock prices could drop further.

Nvidia, AMD, and Intel could see further sales declines

Nvidia sells graphics processing units (GPUs) that are used in PCs for content creation and gaming. Intel is the leading supplier of central processing units (CPUs). AMD, meanwhile, supplies both CPUs and GPUs for the PC market.

The sharp decline in PC shipments this year has weighed heavily on these companies. Intel’s revenue, for instance, dropped 17% year over year in the second quarter to $15.3 billion. Nvidia’s gaming revenue fell 33% year over year in the fiscal second quarter to $2.04 billion. The graphics specialist estimates that gaming revenue will drop further in the current quarter, and IDC’s latest report suggests why that’s going to be the case.

AMD, which seemed insulated from the PC market’s troubles in the first half of the year, has also succumbed to the end market’s weakness. The chipmaker slashed its Q3 revenue guidance by $1.1 billion to $5.6 billion. It expects year-over-year revenue growth of 29% now instead of the prior expectation of 55%. The company blamed “reduced processor shipments due to a weaker than expected PC market and significant inventory correction actions across the PC supply chain” for the massive reduction in its guidance.

IDC estimates that PC sales could drop nearly 13% for the full year to 305 million units, which points toward another year-over-year drop in sales during the fourth quarter. Total PC shipments stood at 226 million units in the first three quarters of 2022, which means that 79 million units are forecasted to be shipped in Q4. That would translate into a decline of nearly 15% over the year-ago quarter’s shipments of 92.7 million.

As a result, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel’s guidance for the final quarter of 2022 may not be up to investors’ expectations as the PC market’s contraction will limit their opportunities to boost sales or stage a recovery.

Analysts expect Intel’s revenue in the quarter that ends in December to decline 14% year over year to $16.7 billion. Nvidia’s revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter (which coincides with the final two months of 2022) is anticipated to drop 19% year over year. AMD is still expected to clock 26% year-over-year growth in Q4, which the company may be able to achieve thanks to strength in other areas such as gaming consoles and data centers.

However, it won’t be surprising to see a tempered forecast from AMD on account of lower processor sales and a drop in the average selling prices of CPUs, the two factors that affected its performance in Q3.

What should investors do?

Intel is trying to turn its business around and prevent more share losses to AMD. But that looks unlikely thanks to the latter’s advantage on the technology front. So, there’s a strong chance of Intel stock falling further. The stock is already down about 49% so far in 2022, which is why investors may want to hold off on the stock right now.

Nvidia stock is down about 59% in 2022. Given that gaming is one of its biggest businesses and produced 30% of the top line last quarter, the oversupply in GPUs on account of weak PC demand and higher inventories is likely to weigh on this segment as the company has been forced to reduce prices to sell its chips.

Additionally, the government-imposed restrictions on sales of Nvidia’s data center chips to China have knocked the wind out of the sails of its data center segment. As Nvidia stock trades at a rich 38 times earnings even after its sharp decline in 2022, a turnaround in its fortunes appears to be difficult since it may not be able to clock the high levels of growth required to justify the valuation.

AMD, meanwhile, looks like the only stock that may be worth buying amid the PC market weakness. The stock is not only cheap at 24 times trailing earnings and 12 times forward earnings, but AMD is also managing to post impressive growth despite the headwinds. As such, investors may want to accumulate AMD stock if it falls further due to negative investor sentiment as it is becoming more of a value play thanks to its impressive growth and cheap valuation.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

The post Tech sell-off: These Nasdaq stocks could drop further, but one looks like a screaming buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Amazon and these other leading tech stocks fell today

Harsh Chauhan 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 Advanced Micro Devices, Apple, Dell Technologies Inc., Intel, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2023 $57.50 calls on Intel, long January 2025 $45 calls on Intel, long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple, short January 2023 $57.50 puts on Intel, short January 2025 $45 puts on Intel, and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Apple and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has dropped into the red on Wednesday morning.

At the time of writing, the mining giant’s shares are down 1.5% to $39.06.

Why is the BHP share price falling?

Investors have been selling down the BHP share price today after the Big Australian’s first quarter production update fell short of expectations.

Here’s a summary of how BHP performed compared to consensus estimates:

• Copper production of 410.1kt (cons. 429kt)
• Iron ore production of 65.1Mt (cons. shipments of 72.3Mt)
• Metallurgical coal production of 6.7Mt (cons. 7.6Mt)
• Nickel production of 20.7Mt (cons. 21.1Mt)

As you can see, the company has missed on all four commodities, much to the disappointment of the market. A range of factors weighed on BHP’s production. These include wet weather, maintenance, and lower concentrator feed grades.

Were there any positives?

The good news is that it wasn’t all bad news. Despite this softer than expected production, management has reaffirmed its full year guidance for both production and costs.

This means that FY 2023 iron ore production guidance remains 249Mt to 260Mt, copper production remains 1,625kt to 1,825kt, and met coal production guidance remains 58Mt to 64Mt.

Also failing to support the BHP share price was commentary from BHP’s CEO Mike Henry. He spoke positively about the company’s outlook, saying:

We expect global macro-economic uncertainty in the short term to continue to affect supply chains, energy costs, labour markets and equipment and materials availability. BHP remains well positioned, with a portfolio and balance sheet to withstand external challenges and a strategy positioned to benefit from the global mega-trends of decarbonisation and electrification.

The post BHP share price falls after disappointing quarterly update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• BHP share price on watch amid Q1 production miss
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Is it wise to buy BHP shares amid falling iron ore prices?
• Why did the BHP share price melt down on Monday?
• Opportunities across the mining sector: Expert names ASX 200 shares to buy

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Novonix Ltd (ASX: NVX) share price is on ice this morning as the company prepares to release news of a “material funding arrangement”.

It comes just weeks after its auditor expressed concerns of the company’s ability to finance its ongoing growth.

For now, the Novonix share price will remain frozen where it closed Tuesday’s session – $2.13. That marked its highest close in more than a month.

Let’s take a closer look at what might be going on with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) tech stock on Wednesday.

Why is the Novonix share price frozen?

The Novonix share price has been put into the freezer on Wednesday. The battery technology and materials company is expected to end its halt with details of a material funding arrangement.

Many investors will no doubt be glad of the hint. The company posted a $71 million loss and $40 million of cash outflows for financial year 2022. It closed the year with $207 million of cash and equivalents.

Commenting in its annual report, the company’s auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers said:

[Novonix] remains dependent upon raising additional funding to finance its ongoing expansionary activities.

These conditions… indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the group’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Today’s trading halt might remind watchful investors of a similar freeze requested by the company in August last year.

That halt broke with news of Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX)’s US$150 million investment in the company.

Back to the present, the Novonix share price will remain frozen until the company releases news or the market opens on Friday, whichever comes soonest.

The stock rocketed nearly 19% on Tuesday despite the company’s silence. Its New York listing – Novonix ADS (NASDAQ: NVX) – also soared 20.4% overnight to close at US$5.61.

The post Why is the Novonix share price stuck on standby today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• CBA shares: Buy, hold, or fold?
• Is it time for ‘cashing in some gains’ on Pilbara Minerals shares?
• 3 ASX 200 companies among the top 10 lithium producers in the world
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why was the Fortescue share price on such a rollercoaster 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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is back over the $100 mark in early trade on Wednesday.

The $169 billion S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) giant plummeted 7% over the course of September – known to be the worst month for markets. It’s since picked itself up by the bootstraps, lifting 10% so far this month.

The CBA share price closed at $99.78 on Tuesday and, at the time of writing, is $100.69, a rise of 0.91%.

But with such a recovery under its belt, does the banking giant’s stock still offer investors upside?

Is now a good time to buy CBA shares?

CBA is the ASX 200’s biggest bank and a resoundingly popular share. But optimistic experts are few and far between.

JP Morgan is said to believe the banking giant “offers the best leverage to rising rates and has the most defensive loan book”. For that reason, the broker commented:

We struggle to see CBA underperforming its peers meaningfully.

Rate hikes, like the six implemented by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) this year, let banks reprice their loan offerings, thereby increasing their net interest margins (NIM) and, in turn, their profits. Though, rising rates also bring risks for banks’ loan books.

On a less positive note, CBA is JP Morgans’ least preferred ASX 200 bank, as my Fool colleague Bronwyn reports.

Turning to other brokers, Credit Suisse had a $102.80 price target and a neutral rating on the biggest bank’s stock late last month, my colleague James reports. That represents a potential 3% upside.

The broker also expects CBA to grow its dividends, tipping it to pay out $4.25 per share in financial year 2023. That would mark a 10% increase on the $3.85 per share CBA paid in financial year 2022.

Turning to the bears, Goldman Sachs rates the stock a sell while Morgan Stanley is said to have slapped it with an $85.50 price target, according to Livewire, representing a potential 14% downside.

Morgan Stanley is also said to be sceptical of the entire banking sector, expecting rate hikes and fiscal consolidation to continue for longer than previously predicted.

Finally, as my Fool colleague Zach covered in depth yesterday, CBA is both the most profitable ASX 200 bank share and the most expensive. It’s trading with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 18.

The post CBA shares: Buy, hold, or fold? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Is it time for ‘cashing in some gains’ on Pilbara Minerals shares?
• 3 ASX 200 companies among the top 10 lithium producers in the world
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Why was the Fortescue share price on such a rollercoaster today?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

JPMorgan Chase is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. 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 Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. 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 Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price has started the day positively.

In morning trade, the energy company’s shares are up 1% to $5.78.

Why is the Origin share price rising?

Investors have been bidding the Origin share price higher today after the company released energy markets earnings guidance for FY 2023 and FY 2024.

As a reminder, the company was previously guiding to energy markets underlying EBITDA of $600 million to $850 million for FY 2023. However, this guidance was withdrawn in June due to “material developments in global and Australian energy markets.”

It revealed that challenges with coal delivery to Eraring Power Station were expected to persist and result in a material increase in coal purchasing costs.

The good news is that trading conditions have improved meaningfully since June. And while it isn’t enough for its previous guidance to be reinstated in full, the top end of its new guidance range is within the old range.

Management expects energy markets underlying EBITDA to be $500 million to $650 million in FY 2023. This will be up 37% to 78% on FY 2022’s segment earnings.

This has been driven by an expected increase in natural gas gross profit, which is offsetting suppressed electricity gross profit due to higher energy costs only being partially priced into regulated tariffs.

Origin also advised that it has contracted 4.4 million tonnes of coal of a targeted 5 to 6 million tonnes and expects to reach its target by the end of the 2022 calendar year.

FY 2024 guidance

Also giving the Origin share price a lift is management’s commentary on FY 2024.

Although it hasn’t provided any concrete guidance, it advised that it “anticipates further growth in Energy Markets Underlying EBITDA.”

A higher contribution is expected from the electricity business as higher wholesale electricity prices flow through to customer tariffs. Though, it warned that electricity earnings are subject to coal contracting outcomes.

It also advised that the implementation of Kraken Origin is expected to deliver on the targeted $200 million to $250 million cash cost savings from an FY 2018 baseline.

The post Origin share price higher on earnings guidance update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Jumbo, Origin, Qantas, and Woodside shares are racing higher
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• What’s the outlook for ASX 200 mining shares in Q2?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 Scott Phillips.

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The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price has come under pressure on Wednesday.

In morning trade, the coal miner’s shares are down 7% to $9.67.

Why is the Whitehaven Coal share price Z?

Investors have been selling down the Whitehaven Coal share price in response to the company’s first quarter update.

According to the release, the company’s first quarter managed run-of-mine (ROM) production came in at 4Mt. This was down 37% on the June quarter and 22% on the prior corresponding period.

Management advised that this reflects a strong operational performance at the Narrabri underground mine, which was offset by significant wet weather and flood impacts on its open cut operations.

This weak production is particularly disappointing given that Whitehaven Coal was commanding a record average coal price of $581 per tonne for the quarter. It also meant that first quarter managed sales of produced coal were down 31% to 3.7Mt.

Nevertheless, the company still generated material cash of $1.55 billion during the quarter. This took its net cash position to $1.93 billion at the end of September.

Management commentary

Whitehaven Coal’s CEO, Paul Flynn, commented:

With demand for high quality coal continuing to outstrip global supply, coal prices set another record in the September quarter and continue to be well supported.

We delivered strong operational performance in the September quarter at our Narrabri underground mine but our open cut operations were impacted by wet weather and flood related road closures in September. With La Niña forecast to be a feature through the Spring season, we have been working constructively with councils and developing measures to minimise the impacts of weather delays and flood related road closures as much as possible.

Whitehaven generated $1.55 billion of cash in the September quarter and we have a net cash position of $1.93 billion at 30 September. The Company is performing well for the benefit of all of our stakeholders, and Whitehaven is extremely well placed to continue to support energy security for our customers and to deliver strong returns for our shareholders.

Outlook

Pleasingly, despite La Niña impacts and labour constraints, management notes that the company remains on track to deliver within the range of its production, sales, and cost guidance for FY 2023.

This is thanks largely to mine sequencing plans which allow for opportunities to lift volumes throughout the year.

Management ROM production guidance remains 20Mt to 22Mt, wiwth managed coal sales of 17.5Mt to 18.5Mt, and unit costs of $86 to $96 per tonne.

The post Whitehaven Coal share price sinks 7% on Q1 disappointment appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why Adbri, Rio Tinto, St Barbara, and Whitehaven Coal shares are dropping today
• Whitehaven Coal shares: Buy, hold, or fold?
• Missed the boat on Whitehaven shares? This other ASX coal share ‘screams value’: expert
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why has the Whitehaven share price already dived 7% so far this week?

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 Scott Phillips.

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