It’s been a bouncy but overall negative day so far this Wednesday for ASX shares. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is sitting at around 7,110 points, up an anaemic 0.05% so far. But it’s looking a lot worse for the Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price today.

Core Lithium shares have had a clanger so far in today’s session. This ASX 200 lithium stock has copped a 4.7% drop at the time of writing to $1.42 a share after closing at $1.49 yesterday and opening at $1.47 this morning.

Soon after market open, Core Lithium fell all the way down to $1.36 a share, which was a drop of almost 8% at the time.

So what’s going on here?

Why has the Core Lithium share price cratered today?

Well, there’s nothing out of the company itself this Wednesday that explains this rather sizeable drop. The last major piece of news out of the company was the exploration update Core Lithium released on Monday.

This prompted enormous investor excitement at the time, with the Core Lithium share price rising more than 10%.

But Core Lithium shares have been on a tear for far longer than that. Over the past month, this ASX lithium stock has gained an impressive 50%. Year to date, Core Lithium shares are up a whopping 126% or so.

So perhaps the weakness we are seeing today is an acknowledgement that this extraordinary share price run had to end at some point. Notably, we are seeing weakness across most of the ASX lithium share space today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Liontown Resources Limited (ASX: LTR) are also both down today, although not by as much as Core Lithium shares.

At the current Core Lithium share price, this ASX 200 lithium stock has a market capitalisation of $2.46 billion.

The post Why is the Core Lithium share price careering 5% lower today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 3 ASX 200 shares having a super start to the week
• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Monday
• Why BlueScope, Carsales, Core Lithium, and Nearmap shares are racing higher

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is currently in the red by more than 2% even though the oil and gas ASX share just announced its FY22 half-year report that included huge returns.

It revealed a record result and much larger shareholder returns in the form of a dividend and share buyback.

On top of that, it also announced a final investment decision on Pikka.

HY22 result

It said that underlying profit grew by 300% to US$1.27 billion, statutory net profit jumped 230% to $1.17 billion and free cash flow went up 199% to $1.71 billion.

Santos benefited from the “significantly higher” oil and LNG prices, due to stronger global energy demand as well as a higher interest in PNG LNG after the merger with Oil Search.

It grew the interim dividend by 38% to US 7.6 cents. It also increased its previously-announced on-market share buyback from US$250 million to US$350 million. Profit and shareholder returns can have a big impact on the Santos share price.

Santos also revealed it’s in advanced discussions with a shortlist of parties for the sale of a 5% interest in the PNG LNG project. Expected proceeds are in-line with the market consensus valuation, according to management. Santos said it intends to retain a 37.5% interest in PNG LNG.

Pikka final investment decision

As operator of the Pikka phase one oil project located on the north slope of Alaska, Santos announced that the project will proceed.

The expected production is 80,000 barrels per day, with first oil anticipated in 2026. The 2P reserves are 397 million barrels gross pre-royalties. Santos’ share of capital expenditure is US$1.3 billion.

Santos is expecting an internal rate of rate (IRR) of 19% at a long-term oil price of US$60.

The ASX share is committed to the project being net-zero, in terms of scope 1 and scope 2. It has entered into memorandums of understanding with Alaska Native Corporations to deliver carbon offset projects.

Santos said this project would add further diversification to its portfolio and reduce geographic concentration risk.

Santos share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, Santos shares have risen by 6%. It is down 20% since 8 June 2022.

The post Santos share price slips despite record profit and dividend boost appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Santos share price on watch after 300% first half profit growth
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• What’s impacting the Santos share price today?
• Is the Santos share price a buy following the energy giant’s latest acquisition?

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 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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1) The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price fell around 4% in Wednesday trade to $285. This comes after the popular biotech reported a 6% fall in FY22 net profit on revenue growth of just 3%.

For a company trading on a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 40 times, the growth is underwhelming, to say the least. 

Admittedly, the past year has not been an easy one, with CSL Chief Executive Paul Perreault saying…

“CSL has delivered a good result at the top end of our guidance, demonstrating our resilient performance against the ongoing challenges presented by the global COVID pandemic.”

CSL is anticipating a return to growth in FY23, forecasting an uplift in profits of around 8%. 

Once the darling of the ASX, the CSL share price first hit these levels coming up to three years ago now, lagging the returns of the ASX 200.

Given its competitive advantage, CSL might be seen as a safe investment, but trading on 40 times earnings, going forward it’s unlikely to deliver anything like the bumper returns from years gone by.

2) With the ASX 200 up around 10% from its June lows, it feels like the easy “rebound” gains have already been made.

Results season has largely been “as expected” for many of the large-cap stocks that have so far reported. 

Resource and commodity companies: booming profits and dividends in FY22, but expecting lower commodity prices and higher costs in FY23. BHP Limited (ASX: BHP) has been the standout, with the BHP share price now trading on a fully franked dividend yield of around 11%. Just don’t bank on that same yield going forward. 

Tech stocks: still posting losses, but with a keen eye on breakeven. Many share prices have made a partial recovery, albeit from falls of up to 80% or more, as tax loss selling hit them for six. 

Reporting today, SaaS stock Whisper (ASX: WSP) said it’s “on track for positive EBITDA in FY23 as it reported an FY22 EBITDA loss of $10.6 million. The Whispir share price is up 67% from its June lows, but down 75% from its July 2020 highs. I own the stock, for my sins.

Bank stocks: a decent FY22, but a more challenging FY23. After holding up reasonably well during the “inflation correction”, the CBA share price now looks downright expensive, and only trades on a fully franked dividend yield of 3.9%.  

3) So, where to from here?

I’m pinning my short-term hopes on a few ASX microcap stocks I own, many of which have (sadly, for me) not participated in the stock market recovery of the past two months.

One is MSL Solutions (ASX: MSL), a leading SaaS technology provider to the sports, leisure, and hospitality sectors. Its share price is showing signs of life on Wednesday — up 10% on modest volume — but is still trading lower than when it updated the market on May 31 with a strong forecast for FY22.

MSL Solutions reports tomorrow. It has forecast revenue growth of around 30% and trades on a forecast EBITDA multiple of around 12 times. MSL shares are not exactly cheap, but with a decent level of predictable revenue, I think the company should be able to keep growing nicely into the future.

The post An ASX 200 market darling in the past, but don’t expect fireworks from the CSL share price going forward appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• CSL share price drops despite expectations of growth in FY23
• CSL share price on watch following FY22 results
• Brokers say BHP and this ASX 200 share are buys
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

Motley Fool contributor Bruce Jackson has positions in MSL Solutions Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL Ltd. 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 Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price is outperforming the market despite the company’s silence. The retailer has been joined in the green by many of its S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) peers.

Indeed, consumer discretionary is up 1.37% at the time of writing. And the Wesfarmers share price is its fifth best performer, having gained 2.15% to trade at $48.93.

At the same time, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is slipping 0.2%.

So, what might be driving the stock and its peers higher on Wednesday? Let’s take a look.

What’s boosting the Wesfarmers share price today?

The Wesfarmers share price is on the up-and-up today. Its gain follows a strong session for retailers on Wall Street. Many were buoyed by earnings from consumer discretionary giants.

The Walmart Inc (NYSE: WMT) share price lifted 5.1% overnight on the back of the retail monolith’s quarterly earnings. The company posted US$152.9 billion of revenue – an 8.4% increase on that of the prior corresponding period (pcp) – while its operating income fell 6.8% to US$6.9 billion.

Fellow retailer Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD) also posted quarterly results, boasting US$43.8 billion of sales, a 6.5% lift on those of the pcp, and US$5.2 billion of net earnings – an 11.5% improvement. The stock gained 4% on the back of the release.

Other New York-listed retailers such as Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE: BBY) also saw their shares rise 4.5% and 4.4%, respectively.

Meanwhile, a continuing short squeeze saw the Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ: BBBY) share price surge 29%, as The Motley Fool reports.

Such international action has seemingly moved the ASX 200 on Wednesday. Consumer discretionary is leading the way today, coming in as the market’s top performing sector.

Outperforming the Wesfarmers share price on the index are those of Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) – which reported today, City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX), Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) – another company that dropped earnings today – and Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV). They’ve gained 8%, 3.8%, 2.8%, and 2.3% respectively.

The post Why is the Wesfarmers share price smashing the ASX 200 today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Did you know you’re investing in lithium when you buy Wesfarmers shares?
• Do any ASX lithium shares pay dividends?
• ASX 200 better buy: Wesfarmers or Woolworths?
• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares experts rate as buys
• What’s impacting ASX 200 retail shares 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 positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited, Target, and Walmart Inc. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Bapcor and Premier Investments 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 Aussie share market is relatively flat today after Wall Street recorded a mixed bag overnight.

In midday trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is shedding 0.11% to 7,097.8 points.

Also heading south is the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price.

At the time of writing, the banking giant’s shares are down 1.51% to $99.93 apiece.

CBA shares trade ex-dividend

Following the release of the bank’s full-year results earlier this month, investors are eyeing CBA shares as they go ex-dividend today.

This means if you purchased the company’s shares yesterday or before and still own them, you will be eligible for the latest dividend.

Traditionally, when a company reaches its ex-dividend day, its shares tend to fall in proportion to the dividend paid out. This is because investors try to make a quick profit after securing the dividend.

For those eligible for CBA’s final dividend, shareholders will receive a payment of $2.10 per share on 29 September.

This brings the full-year dividend to $3.85 per share, reflecting an increase of 10% compared to the prior corresponding period.

The dividend is also fully franked.

Under the company’s capital management framework, the dividend payout ratio was 68% of the bank’s cash earnings.

CBA advised it will continue to target a full-year payout ratio of 70-80% of cash NPAT and an interim payout ratio of approximately 70% of cash NPAT.

Are CBA shares still a buy?

Following the bank’s financial scorecard for the full year, analysts at Morgan Stanley weighed in on CBA shares.

According to ANZ Share Investing, the broker raised its 12-month price target by 1.2% to $83.00. Based on the current CBA share price, this implies a downside of 17%.

Similarly, Goldman Sachs cut its rating by 4.4% to $86.86 apiece.

It appears both brokers are in agreeance with what they believe CBA shares should be worth in the current climate.

CBA share price snapshot

Since the beginning of 2022, the CBA share price has travelled in circles to post a small loss of 1%.

In comparison, the benchmark ASX 200 index is down almost 5% over the same time frame.

CBA has a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 18.52 and commands a market capitalisation of roughly $170 billion.

The post Why is the CBA share price sliding today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ‘Green premium’: What could it mean for the Vulcan Energy share price?

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Lake Resources N.L (ASX: LKE) share price has seen better days than today.

Around midday, shares in the lithium exploration company are southbound despite the absence of any news. At present, the Lake Resources market capitalisation is 8.5% lighter than it was yesterday, with a share price of $1.23.

Let’s take a closer look.

Cool your jets

Some investors are calling time on their Lake Resources investment on Wednesday. Though, the lack of announcements from Lake directly suggests there could be other factors at play.

On Monday, we reported on the heightened short interest in Lake Resources shares. The lithium explorer managed to make the top 10 most shorted ASX shares last week, attracting a noteworthy 10.8% short interest.

To give some context, the Lake Resources share price had been on a tear prior to Thursday last week. In the space of less than a month, investors bid the company’s shares up more than 150%. A rewarding return for those lucky shareholders.

Hence, it’s unsurprising that some investors might be opportunistically taking their bags of cash and running for the hills.

Looking at lithium more broadly, the landscape remains relatively unchanged. In fact, S&P Global reported on Friday that industrial-grade lithium carbonate prices had edged higher. Furthermore, Trading Economics shows lithium carbonate prices holding steady at around US$70,500 per tonne.

Lake Resources is slated to report its full-year results on 30 September.

Lake Resources share price in review

Today might look grim for Lake Resources shares, but zooming out, it looks a whole lot better. In the last 12 months, the lithium explorer has notched a gain of 116%. That is a severe outperformance of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and its dismal fall of 5.5%.

However, the mighty return doesn’t coincide with mighty margins. For now, Lake is yet to derive any revenue from operations. In turn, the company recorded a $6.1 million loss for the 12 months ending 31 December 2021.

The post Why is the Lake Resources share price sinking 8% on Wednesday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Here are the 3 most heavily traded ASX 200 shares on Tuesday
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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 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 Dexus Property Group (ASX: DXS) share price has given back some small early gains and is currently down 0.7%.

Dexus shares closed yesterday trading for $9.16 and are now at $9.10.

This comes following the release of the commercial real estate group’s full-year results for the 12 months ending 30 June (FY22).

Dexus share price wobbles despite strong FY22 results

• Net profit after tax (NPAT) increased 41.9% year on year to $1.62 billion
• Distributions of 53.2 cents per security, up 2.7% from FY21 and beating guidance
• Occupancy of 95.6% for the Dexus office portfolio and 98.1% for the Dexus industrial portfolio
• $1.9 billion of cash and undrawn debt facilities as at 30 June

What else happened during the year?

Dexus attributed much of its NPAT boost to fair value gains on investment properties, share of net profit of equity-accounted investments, and a favourable net fair value movement of interest rate derivatives.

Milestones during the year included securing $1.6 billion of investment onto its funds management platform with “a number” of new investors coming aboard.

Also topping the list in FY22 was Dexus’ agreement to acquire AMP Capital’s real estate and domestic infrastructure equity business. The company said it remains focused on completing the transaction, which will provide it with up to $21.1 billion of funds under management.

On the environmental, social and governance (ESG) front, Dexus highlighted that it was the only real estate company to achieve a Gold Class distinction in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook 2022.

What did management say?

Commenting on the results, Dexus CEO Darren Steinberg said:

We’ve achieved a lot this year in what has been a complex environment. We have selectively recycled assets and made investments to support long term growth which involved over $10 billion of industrial, office, retail and healthcare transactions across the group.

Sustainability is integrated across our entire business. For more than a decade, we have been focused on energy efficiency as well as reducing the group’s emissions and environmental footprint.

Dexus’ CFO Keir Barnes added:

Dexus achieved 2.7% growth in distributions per security for the 12 months ended 30 June 2022. This result is particularly pleasing given our initial market guidance for distribution growth of not less than 2% which was upgraded in the second half to growth of not less than 2.5%.

What’s next?

The Dexus share price is likely facing some headwinds today after the company forecast a challenging period over the next two years. Dexus cited increasing interest rates, continuing supply chain disruptions, the global energy crisis and geopolitical risks as creating ongoing uncertainties.

Looking ahead, Steinberg said:

Based on current expectations regarding interest rates, continued asset sales and barring unforeseen circumstances, Dexus expects distributions of 50.0 – 51.5 cents per security for the 12 months ended 30 June 202313, below the 53.2 cents per security distribution delivered in FY22.

In 2024 and beyond, he added, “We are set to emerge as one of the leading real asset managers in the Asia-Pacific region positioned to capitalise on underlying structural trends, and we are confident of continuing deliver long-term value.”

Dexus share price snapshot

The Dexus share price is down 19% in 2022. That compares to a year-to-date loss of 7% posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

The post Dexus share price wobbles amid strong FY22 results and reduced FY23 dividend guidance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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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The ReadyTech Holdings Ltd (ASX: RDY) share price is in the red in midday trade amid the company reporting a strong performance in its FY22 results.

Shares of the software as a service (SaaS) company are currently changing hands for $3.18 each, a fall of 1.24% on the day so far.

Let’s go over the highlights of the report.

What did ReadyTech Holdings report?

• Revenue up 16.8% year on year (YoY) to $78.3 million
• Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 45.50% YoY to $27.5 million
• Net customer revenue retention rate of 106%, up from 104% in FY21
• Gross opportunity pipeline up 31.57% YoY to $25 million

The company reported healthier top and bottom lines combined with a strong net customer retention rate. Sales momentum also picked up, with the company significantly growing its opportunity pipeline.

ReadyTech reported a 27% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for its revenue over the last four years.

This was helped through the company onboarding 48 marquee brands, each contributing $50,000 in subscription and implementation revenue. The combined total of these companies was said to be $8 million.

What else happened in FY22?

The company announced four acquisitions in various sectors to boost the brand’s competitive standing. These included Open Windows, Avaxa, Itvision, and PhoenixHRIS. During the financial year, these companies contributed revenue of $4.3 million.

However, the company’s operating expenses also grew 63.1% to $50.8 million, with most of the increase attributed to increased research and development (R&D) and sales and marketing costs.

A major contributor to the company’s finances was the justice sector, contributing $23.9 million in revenue and $8.8 million in earnings. These figures grew 18.6% and 25.7% respectively on a YoY basis.

What did management say?

ReadyTech co-founder and CEO Marc Washbourne said:

FY22 was a highly successful year for ReadyTech driven by the disciplined execution of our vertical SaaS playbook strategy. Our investments in product-market fit, sales and marketing – with a particular focus on enterprise accounts – saw the Company deliver strong organic growth across all verticals.

What’s next?

ReadyTech said it’s expecting organic revenue growth to be in the mid-teens for FY23, with $2 million added to its income statement from its acquisitions.

The company said the justice sector continues to be a major tailwind. ReadyTech said its delivery of case management solutions represents a serviceable market of $250 million. This is spread across courts, legal services, tribunals, and public prosecutors.

The company also stated it has already partnered with the Ministry of Justice in the UK, providing a scheduling and listing module. It also has the potential to port its products to other Commonwealth countries.

ReadyTech share price snapshot

The ReadyTech share price has taken a beating over the last year, down 17% year to date

But it’s still fared better than the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX). It’s lost more than 24% over the same period.

At its current share price, ReadyTech has a market capitalisation of around $350 million.

The post ReadyTech share price slips despite earnings increase appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Matthew Farley 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 Pact Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: PGH) share price is bleeding today after the rigid packaging plastics manufacturer delivered its FY22 full-year results.

The Pact Group share price opened at $2.03 this morning, down 6.9% on yesterday’s closing price of $2.18. The shares have since fallen to $2.01, down 7.8% for the day so far as investors digest the news.

Pact Group is the largest rigid packaging plastics manufacturer in Australia and New Zealand, with a growing footprint in Asia.

Let’s take a look at their results.

Pact Group share price slides on profit drain

Here are the key points of Pact’s results:

• Revenue of $1.838 billion, up 4% on the prior corresponding period of FY21 (pcp)
• Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $156 million, down 15% on pcp
• Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $70 million, down 25% on pcp
• Net debt of $561 million, $24 million lower than pcp
• Final dividend of 1.5 cents per share with 65% franking to be paid on 10 October.

Pact Group said revenue was up due to “solid demand for sustainable packaging and recycled products”.

It said a 25% drop in underlying NPAT was “due in part to the absence of one-off revenue in the Contract Manufacturing segment recorded in FY21”.

The underlying EBIT for the contract manufacturing segment was in the negative at ($4 million) in FY22 compared to $24 million in FY21, a 117% drop.

The EBIT was down but in line with the guidance that Pact Group provided in its 1H FY22 update.

The total dividends paid in FY22 will amount to 5 cents per share compared to 11 cents in FY21.

What else happened in FY22?

Pact talked up its cost recovery initiatives, saying they “broadly offset” increased material prices and labour costs due to supply chain challenges and “the cost of the continuing impact of COVID-19“.

In an investor presentation released with the results today, Pact Group said its vision was to “lead the Circular Economy through reuse, recycling and packaging solutions”.

Progress on its circular economy strategy in FY22 included acquiring Synergy Packaging, a specialist manufacturer of PET and 100% recycled PET packaging for health and beauty packaging.

It also commenced operations at Circular Plastics Australia, a PET recycling facility in Albury-Wodonga. The facility has international food grade certification and produces recycled resin for Pact Group’s joint venture partners.

Pact Group aims to be the largest PET plastic recycler in the Australasian market. In its statement, Pact said its recently announced sustainability partnership with Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) is “proof that the company is the end-to-end provider of recycled content into recycled packaging”.

Pact Group has set an emissions target to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 in Australia and New Zealand from an FY21 baseline. It also aims to increase its average recycled plastics to 30% by FY25.

The Pact Group share price halved in FY22. It reached a 52-week high of $4.63 in August 2021 after the company released its FY21 full-year results. It reached a 52-week low just last month of $1.80.

What did management say?

Pact Group managing director and CEO Sanjay Dayal said:

We achieved sound revenue during the 2022 financial year, against the backdrop of a challenging market and tough economic conditions. While we continue to see escalating demand for recycled content, our performance was impacted by higher costs of both input materials and labour, as well as additional costs due to the ongoing impact of COVID and supply chain disruption.

We were able to recover some of these costs during the latter half of the year and will continue to do so and our focus remains on cash flow generation.

What’s next?

Pact Group said it expected a continuation of supply chain availability issues, rising raw material costs, and elevated energy prices in 1H FY23 before normalisation in 2H FY23.

As a result, the company expects underlying EBIT to “grow slightly in FY23”.

Pact Group share price snapshot

The Pact Group share price is down 21% in the year to date.

This compares to a 7.5% fall in the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

The Pact Group has a market capitalisation of approximately $750 million.

The post Pact Group share price tumbles on 25% profit decline and halved dividends in FY22 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen 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.

It’s been four months since Pershing Square’s Bill Ackman unloaded his short-lived stake in Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX). He sold the position on April 20, as the stock plummeted following a brutal quarterly report for the leading premium streaming service. Netflix stunned the market with a sequential dip in global subscribers, forecasting a much larger decline for the second quarter.

Ackman held Netflix for less than three months, and it proved costly. The stock’s swift decline accounted for a 400-basis-point hit on Pershing Square’s performance. The hedge fund’s filing this week confirms the April sale, and that Ackman didn’t buy back into the company. 

It’s a shame. Depending on when someone cut Netflix loose on April 20, the shares are 2% to 17% higher as of Monday’s close. This doesn’t mean that Pershing Square is feeling any seller’s remorse (at least not yet). Many of Ackman’s investments in his concentrated portfolio have fared better. However, with some interesting catalysts working Netflix’s favor, it could be more than just the recent gains that he will be missing out on. 

Tudum

Things did get better for Netflix after Ackman took the proceeds from his realized loss elsewhere. Netflix would go on to lose less than half as many net subscribers in the second quarter than it was expecting. It also sees a return to sequential membership growth in the current quarter. It’s a good start, but the company will still have to do better than that if it wants to win back its racing stripes.  

Netflix isn’t dead as a growth stock. Even after back-to-back quarters of retreating subscriber counts, revenue is still 13% higher now on a constant currency basis than it was a year ago. As a globetrotter with 56% of its revenue being generated outside of the U.S. and Canada, reported growth is feeling the pinch of the potent greenback. Whether or not that continues to be a headwind, Netflix has a lot of interesting things working in its favor. 

Let’s start with Disney (NYSE: DIS), the company that has emerged as its biggest threat given the swift success of Disney+ and Hulu. Disney shares have been climbing since the House of Mouse announced that the monthly rate for Disney+ in its current ad-free form will soar 38% later this year. Hulu is also getting a price boost. Disney will be rolling out an ad-supported tier at the old price. 

If you like Disney’s move of introducing a new ad-supported plan, well, Netflix has been public about working on the same thing for months. If you can trace back the steps of the Netflix sub slide, you may find yourself at an ill-advised January price hike. Will Disney suffer a similar fate — or worse, since this is a much larger increase? Netflix should be a beneficiary of Disney trying to make its flagship streaming service profitable within the next two fiscal years.

There are also some homegrown catalysts cooking at Netflix beyond its upcoming ad-backed option. It’s been working on mobile games and in-person experiences based on some of its more popular proprietary content. There’s also chatter about Netflix rolling out live programming, as well as theatrical runs for some of its high-profile movies. 

There’s a glut of premium streaming video platforms these days. Netflix is still the king of streaming service stocks, but it’s not content about the state of its content. With subscriber counts growing again this summer and new toys for it to play with, investors may want to think twice about following Ackman through the exit door.

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

The post Did Bill Ackman give up on Netflix too soon? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Rick Munarriz has positions in Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Netflix and Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2024 $145 calls on Walt Disney and short January 2024 $155 calls on Walt Disney. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Netflix and Walt Disney. 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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