The Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) share price is edging higher on Thursday after the Aussie miner reported a 48% surge in net profit for the year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21).

Perseus share price lifts after first ever dividend

Some of the big takeaways from today’s FY21 results release include:

• Revenue up 15% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $679.7 million
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) up 11% on pcp to $303.1 million
• Operating cash flow up 42% on pcp to $302 million
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 48% on pcp to $139.4 million
• Basic earnings per share (EPS) up 18.4% on pcp to 9.57 cents
• Final dividend of 1.5 cents per share

The Perseus share price has edged higher on Thursday following the results update.

What happened for Perseus during the year?

The Aussie gold miner produced 328,632 ounces in FY21 at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$1,016 per ounce. Those production numbers exceeded guidance as the group’s Yaouré mine boosted performance higher.

The group’s sales revenue was underpinned by an average realised price of US$1,642 per ounce alongside the record production result. Perseus said it was on track for 500,000 ounces per annum of gold production and well-positioned for future growth.

Following the strong financial performance, the board decided to implement a dividend policy, starting with the first ever dividend for investors announced today.

What did management say?

CEO and managing director Jeff Quartermaine was positive about the latest results:

FY2021 has been a transformational year for us, during which we have successfully brought our third gold mine, Yaouré, on stream and as importantly, converted our group’s strong gold production into improved earnings and cash flow.

Looking to the future, we expect this trend of improved earnings and cash flow to continue as we close in on our corporate objective of producing more than 500,000 ounces of gold per year, a target that we expect to achieve for the first time in FY2022.

What’s next for Perseus and its share price?

Perseus is tracking for 500,000 ounces of annual production with 1H FY22 guidance of 225,000 to 255,000 ounces. The Aussie gold miner is expecting an AISC of US$925 to US$1,025 per ounce and is planning a “significant” reduction in capital expenditure.

The Perseus share price has edged 0.34% higher to $1.48 on Thursday following the FY21 results update, and remains up 10.2% in 2021.

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Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) shares have lost 0.47% on Thursday after the Federal Court slapped the bank with an $18.5 million penalty.

NAB stocks were trading for $27.54 mid-afternoon as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed it had won its landmark civil case.

The court found NAB has breached its responsibilities as an Australian financial services licence holder in failing to disclose fees to clients.

Specifically, the bank charged fees for personal financial advice without giving customers compliant disclosure statements. 

When it did provide disclosures, it did not provide them within the required timeframe. And the disclosures contained “false or misleading” information about the charges and the services provided in return.

It was the first time ever a court has penalised a company for fee disclosure breaches under the Corporations Act.

“NAB’s system failures resulted in significant fee disclosure failures over an extended period,” said ASIC deputy chair Sarah Court.

“This caused harm to customers as the inaccurate information meant they couldn’t make informed decisions about the financial services they were paying for.”

‘Customers need to have confidence’

Federal Court justice Jennifer Davies said fee disclosure statement obligations are “specific consumer protection measures enacted for the safeguard of the interests of clients”.

“They are strict obligations, underscoring the seriousness of the contravening conduct.”

As well as the massive fine, NAB was also ordered to pay ASIC’s legal costs.

According to ASIC, the failures occurred because NAB didn’t have systems or procedures to identify whether:

• Its services matched what was recorded in client agreements
• The fee disclosure statements were compliant
• The bank was banned from charging service fees

“Customers need to have confidence in their financial services providers that they will be charged correctly for the services they receive and given accurate and timely information,” Court said.

“The penalty of $18.5 million handed down to NAB is a timely reminder to financial services licensees to ensure they meet their obligations to their clients.”

The court took into account NAB’s early admissions when determining the final penalty.

Despite the loss on Thursday, NAB shares have gained more than 6% in the past month and 20% so far this year.

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The Wisr Ltd (ASX: WZR) share price is soaring on Thursday after the lending company announced its FY21 results.

At the time of writing, the Wisr share price is up 8.93% to 30.5 cents.

Wisr share price lifts on triple digit growth revenue

Wisr achieved significant financial and operational milestones in FY21, with key highlights including:

• Operating revenue up 280% to $27.2 million
• Total new loan originations up 168% to $365.8 million
• Total loan originations of $611 million as at 30 June 2021
• Maiden positive operating cash flow in the month of June
• Customer profiles on the Wisr Financial Wellness Platform lifting 80% to over 450,000

What happened to Wisr in FY21?

The Wisr share price has been a top performer in 2021, rallying 60.5% year-to-date.

The company continues to find success by redefining the consumer finance experience and providing its users access to a suite of financial wellness tools.

Wisr’s loan originations continue to go from strength to strength, lifting 52% in 2H21 from 1H21 to $221 million.

The company is exploring additional verticals to expand its loan book, launching a secured vehicle loan product in 1Q21. Wisr believes this opens up a potential $51 billion market opportunity in the consumer vehicle finance space.

To help drive growth, the company successfully tapped into the global debt capital markets, pricing a $225 million asset-backed security (ABS) transaction to help scale its loan book.

That’s in addition to a $55 million capital raising to accelerate the growth of its loan book and improve its technology stack.

While Wisr is still a loss-making business, the company is showing signs of improvement at the bottom line. In FY21, the company had a loss for the year of $17.6 million, a 25% improvement compared to the $23.5 million loss in FY20.

At the end of the period, Wisr remained well capitalised with cash of $92.4 million, driven predominately by the $55 million capital raise in June.

Management commentary

Wisr CEO Anthony Nantes commented on the results, saying:

The accelerated revenue growth of 280% to $27.2M is an exceptional result as the superior loan unit economics of the Wisr Warehouse funding model come into full effect. Now with our second major competitive product, secured vehicle loans, in market, there remains a huge opportunity for Wisr to grow market share by attracting Australia’s most creditworthy customers with a smarter, fairer deal, underpinned by an exceptional customer experience that actually improves a customer’s financial wellbeing.

What’s next for Wisr?

The Wisr share price is within an arm’s reach of its all-time high of 34 cents.

The business wants to put its “strong balance sheet to work” and accelerate the pace to achieve its medium-term target of a $1 billion loan book.

To drive loan book growth, the company aims to expand its total addressable market by exploring new markets and growth opportunities.

Its recent expansion into secured vehicle loans is already showing promise, representing 20% of the company’s loan book as at 30 June.

In late March, the company executed a term sheet to invest in European financial wellness fintech platform, Arbor. The company believes this potentially opens up an entry pathway to the circa $1.76 trillion European consumer finance market.

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Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) share price has been smashed on Thursday following the group’s latest full-year results release.

At the time of writing, the Platinum share price is down 8.26%, trading at $4.00.

Platinum share price smashed after FUM declines

Some of the key takeaways from Platinum’s results released late on Wednesday include:

• Average funds under management (FUM) down 2% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $23.4 billion
• Management fee revenue down 4% on pcp to $265.3 million
• Total revenue up 6% on pcp to $316.4 million
• Profit before tax up 6% on pcp to $234.2 million
• Diluted earnings per share up 5% on pcp to 28.2 cents
• Final dividend of 12 cents per share, meaning a full year, fully franked dividend of 24 cents per share

Investors’ reaction to the latest full-year results saw the Platinum share price plummet on Thursday morning.

What happened for Platinum in FY21?

Platinum reported strong absolute return numbers across all of its Platinum Trust Funds in the last year. Some of the top performers include its Brands Fund (+50.6%), Global (long only) Fund (+32.8%) and Health Care Fund (+31.9%). However, the relative performance numbers were a little more mixed.

Both the Brands Fund and Health Care Fund achieved double-digit relative performance. However, the Asia Fund (-1.9%), International Fund (-1.6%) and Technology Fund (-4.7%) struggled on a 1-year, relative basis.

Platinum pointed to “cautious” portfolio positioning to protect clients from downside risk as a key detractor to International Fund performance. The asset manager says market risks remain “elevated” and shorting will be important in some overpriced sectors.

In its analyst briefing, Platinum pointed to avoiding current favourite themes including e-commerce, payments and staples.

The asset manager also said concern about regulatory crackdowns in China created new opportunities and that “out of favour stocks can do well”.

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Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price has dropped 2.76% this Thursday as the pharmaceutical company reported its earnings for the financial year ended 30 June 2021 (FY2021).

Starpharma share price slumps as revenues fall, losses mount

• Revenues from continuing operations of $2.15 million, down 67% compared to the prior corresponding period of FY2020 (pcp)
• Total revenues and other income of $3.5 million, down 50.7% from pcp
• Loss after tax of $19.73 million, an increase of 34% over the pcp’s loss of $14.7 million
• No final dividend was declared for FY2021

What happened in FY21 for Starpharma?

The financial year just passed was a wild one for Starpharma, as evidenced by the company’s share price range over the past year. With a 52-week high of $2.51 a share and a low of $1.12, investors have certainly been erratic at valuing this company’s shares.

Back in February, investors lit a rocket under Starpharma shares when it announced that its Viraleze nasal spray, which has antiviral applications, gained successful registration for sale in Europe. That included the United Kingdom (UK). This news seemed to be the driving force behind Starpharma reaching its new all-time high in February. However, since then, the road has been rockier.

In June, the company took a bit of a hit. The UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency pinged Starpharma for “allowable promotional claims” promoting Viraleze as a potential preventative measure against COVID-19 infection. The Starpharma share price fell around 10% at the time.

However, last month, the shares once again got a boost when Starpharma announced that Viraleze “has potent virucidal activity against the Delta variant of COVID-19”.

What did management say?

Here’s some of what Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley had to say on Starpharma’s FY21 numbers today:

2021 has been a remarkable year for all of us around the world. Despite the impact of the unrelenting global pandemic, Starpharma was able to continue to recruit into our three DEP phase 2 clinical programs and achieve a number of important commercial milestones across the business. These included the rapid development and launch of VIRALEZE… 

The company is extremely proud to have developed, registered and launched VIRALEZE ahead of schedule and in time for it to play a role in the evolving situation in Europe.

What’s next for Starpharma?

Dr Fairley also stated that the year ahead will see Starpharma focus on its DEP drug delivery platform. As well as  progressing “further registrations, distribution arrangements and launches for VIRALEZE in other regions”. It will also aim for further registrations and launches of its VivaGel product.

Although the Starpharma share price is down more than 3% today, the company’s losses for 2021 so far are now sitting at 19.8% year to date. The company is also down around 7.15% over the past 12 months. At the current Starpharma share price of $1.24, the company has a market capitalisation of $501.51 million.

The post Starpharma (ASX:SPL) share price tanks 3% on 67% revenue drop appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Starpharma Holdings 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 Qube Holdings Ltd (ASX: QUB) share price is down on Thursday after the company released its full-year report for FY21.  

Despite reporting a record profit, shares in the logistics company are trading lower for the day.

Let’s take a look at how Qube performed for the full year.

Highlights from Qube’s full-year report for FY21

• Record underlying earnings (NPATA) of $159.6 million  
• Annual net profit of $91.6 million, 4.7% increase on prior corresponding period (pcp)
• Underlying revenue of $2,0032.4 million, a 7.9% increase on pcp
• 14.1% increase in Underlying EBITDA of $182.9 million on pcp

Qube noted its strong balance sheet. As a result, the company increased its full-year dividend by 15.4% to 6 cents per share.

In addition, Qube said it has repaid FY21 JobKeeper payments that the company applied for and received.

What happened with Qube in FY21?

In its announcement, Qube noted that the key drivers of the earnings growth were its operating division and Patrick container ports.

For the full year, the company’s operating division experienced high volumes across most parts of the business. In particular, container, grain, forestry, motor vehicles and bulk volumes were particularly strong.

Patrick contributed $41.3 million of Qube’s profit, a 59% increase on the year prior.  The company noted that Patrick benefitted from growth in market volumes and increased landside and ancillary charges.

In addition, Qube’s property division reported a $2.1 million loss compared with a $4.9 million loss a year earlier.

What did management say?

Qube’s Managing Director Paul Digney highlighted:

This strong result reconfirms Qube’s robust diversified logistics strategy as the driver of earnings growth even during a pandemic. The result reflects high volumes across most of Qube’s core markets, including containers, grain, forestry, energy and bulk, as well as higher container volumes and ancillary charges for Patrick. The second half of FY21 was particularly robust as the economy recovered from the effects of COVID and Qube also benefitted from a strong grain harvest.

What’s next for Qube?

For FY22, Qube expects to deliver solid underlying earnings growth.

However, the company acknowledged that forecasts were based on no deterioration in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Qube expects to be in a stronger financial and operating position once it completes the sale of its Moorebank freight hub.

As a result, the company expects to emerge with a more predictable earnings profile from its attractive, highly diversified, and strong cash generative logistics operations.

At the time of writing, shares in Qube are trading around 2% lower for the day at $2.98.

The post Qube (ASX:QUB) share price struggles despite record profit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Swoop Holdings Ltd (ASX: SWP) share price is soaring during mid-afternoon trade. This comes after the telecommunications company released its FY21 full-year results before market open today.

At the time of writing, Swoop shares are swapping hands for $1.54 apiece, up 19.84%.

Swoop records strong increases across key metrics

The Swoop share price is flying after the telecommunication services provider delivered its results for the 12 months ending 30 June 2021. Here are some of the key financial updates:

• Pro forma revenue of $30.9 million, up 104% year on year;
• Pro forma gross margin of $16.8 million, up 118%; and
• Pro forma earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $4.9 million, up 165%.

What happened in FY21 for Swoop?

Swoop completed the acquisition of three materially accretive regional fixed wireless operators in June and July. They included Beam Internet, Speedweb, and Community Communications.

The company advised that its infrastructure now spanned more than 390 towers, up from 259 towers in FY20. Furthermore, Swoop is now one of the country’s largest fixed wireless network providers.

Services In Operation (SIO) also registered strong momentum with 30,723 subscribers, up 24% on the prior corresponding period. This comprised a revenue mix of residential (48%), followed by wholesale (42%), and business (10%).

What did management say?

Swoop CEO Alex West welcomed the results, saying:

We had a fantastic year which was capped off by our successful listing on the ASX. I am thrilled with the growth we have achieved and the opportunities that exist for further acquisitions.

Along with the board, the executive team and I are pumped to be creating the next national Australian telco with the business on track for an equally successful FY22.

What’s the outlook for Swoop in FY22?

Looking ahead, Swoop provided guidance for an equally robust result for FY22. The business is forecasting revenue greater than $40 million, and EBTIDA of $10 million. This represents a growth of 33% and 106%, respectively.

Swoop noted that achieving FY22’s guidance would come from predominantly recurring revenue with some contribution from projects and regional grants.

Swoop share price snapshot

Since the company’s listing in May 2021, the Swoop share price has accelerated by more than 300%.

Based on the current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $176.2 million.

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Archtis Ltd (ASX: AR9) share price is sliding after the company released its results for financial year 2021 (FY21) this morning.

Right now, the Archtis share price is 33.5 cents, 2.9% lower than its previous close.

Archtis share price slumps despite 743% revenue increase

Here’s how the cyber security provider performed through FY21:

• $4.6 million of revenue, 743% more than that of FY20
• Loss before tax of $3.3 million
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) came to a loss of $1.5 million, still a 44% improvement on that of FY20
• $3.1 million of profit, a 1,159% increase
• No dividends

The company’s annual recurring revenue over FY21 was $1.9 million, 681% more than in FY20.

It also received cash receipts worth $7.4 million, 846% more than it did in the previous period.

Archtis ended the period with $12.7 million in cash.

What happened in FY21 for Archtis?

Here’s what drove the Archtis share price in FY21:

Archtis announced its plans to acquire and merge with Nucleus Cyber in October. The merger took place in December.

The merger expanded Archtis’ footprint in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It also produced cross-selling opportunities with Nucleus Cyber’s existing product offering within the Microsoft Corporation‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) software suite.

Archtis also secured its largest deal ever in FY21. That was was with the Australian Department of Defence and is worth $4.2 million.

Then, in the fourth quarter, the Department of Defence bought two multi-year contracts worth a total of approximately $1.4 million for the licensing of NC Protect. The defence department will use Archtis’ software to secure information collaboration across the Microsoft suite.

What did management say?

Archtis’ chair Dr Miles Jakeman commented on the results driving the company’s share price today, saying:

Financial Year 2021 (FY21) will go down as a bittersweet period for the company as we entered into new global market opportunities. Amongst the personal loss and economic challenges experienced by hundreds of millions of people across the globe, Archtis is pleased to deliver a transformational and record-breaking financial year.

Archtis’ financial performances this year was substantially higher in every single reporting metric…

Remote work has brought new challenges to collaboration and has exposed a broader need around security; particularly associated with breaches and loss of sensitive information originating from employees and contractors (insider threats). Nation-states, corporate espionage and human error have exponentially added to the challenges global organisations are facing in securing their data. The old security model is broken and archTIS is leading the way toward new and innovative methodologies that make collaboration more secure, easier to use, simple to deploy and scalable.

What’s next for Archtis?

Investors focused on the Archtis share price in FY22 should keep an eye out for these developments:

The company is planning to continue driving towards triple-digit growth in annual reoccurring revenue in FY22.

It’s also going to focus on creating superior products and capture a larger global market share. It will be looking out for acquisition opportunities to expand its product offerings.

Archtis will continue working on pipeline opportunities with Microsoft, Thales, Raytheon, and other partners.

Finally, the company has pointed to MarketsandMarkets research that shows the global data-centric security market’s size will increase from US$3,460 million in 2020 to US$9,763 million by 2026.

It’s safe to assume Archtis is hoping to get a slice of that exceptional growth.

Archtis share price snapshot

Despite today’s fall, the Archtis share price has gained 8% year to date. However, it has dropped 31% since this time last year.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Microsoft. 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 Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI) share price has been an exceptionally strong performer on Thursday.

In afternoon trade, the battery metals explorer’s shares are up 96% to a record high of $1.50.

This means the Kuniko share price is now up a staggering 650% since spinning out of Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) earlier this week.

Why is the Kuniko share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Kuniko share price higher today following the release of an update on its exploration activities in Norway.

According to the release, geochemical sampling programs are now underway, kicking off a significant schedule of activity across its projects in Norway.

The company notes that it is exploring a suite of historical producing battery metals projects, with minimal previous modern exploration.

For example, the Skuterud Mine produced over one million tonnes of cobalt from 1773- 1898, and at the time was both the world’s largest cobalt producer and the largest company in Norway.

In addition, the company’s Vangrøfta licence hosts the historical Fredrick IV mine, from which 30 years of small-scale production occurred up until 1908. Positively, more recent rock chip samples reported rock chip results up to 16.75% copper, 3.33 g/t gold, and 0.216% cobalt from historical mine workings and dumps at the project.

New data to augment existing data sets, and to be integrated with upcoming airborne geophysical programs, is scheduled for September. The same month the first new assay data is expected to be released.

Management commentary

Kuniko’s Chairman, Gavin Rezos, commented: “Kuniko has been positioned to meet the high demand for a sustainable supply of ethically mined battery metals sourced from within the European Economic Area (EEA) in response to the EV revolution.”

“Norway, which has a long history of mining and is a world leader in renewable energy production, is now looking to reinvest in its mineral deposits as it transitions away from North Sea fossil fuels production to help the EEA meet this demand.”

“Kuniko aims to extend historical battery metals resources on our project sites by applying modern exploration and processing methods, whilst applying the same ESG culture to our projects to demonstrate a zero-carbon footprint that we have learnt from Vulcan, who importantly has retained a 25.85% stake in the company,” he added.

The Kuniko share price began trading on the ASX at 20 cents on Tuesday.

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The Atlas Arteria Ltd (ASX: ALX) share price has stepped into the green on Thursday as the toll-road developer reported its FY21 half-year results.

Atlas shares are currently changing hands at $6.38 apiece, a 1.83% jump on the day.

Let’s investigate further.

Atlas Arteria share price climbs on strong profit and recovery in road traffic volumes

• Weighted average traffic in the first half was 17.5% above the same time last year
• Statutory next profit after tax (NPAT) of $71 million, from a loss of $123 million a year ago
• Excluding “notable items”, NPAT grew by 845% year on year to $86 million from $9.1 million
• More than $250 million in capital expenditure “delivered across all businesses” in 1H 2021
• First half distribution guidance of 15.5 cents per security.

What happened in FY21 for Atlas Arteria?

In a positive for the Atlas Arteria share price, the company recognised a recovery in weighted average traffic volumes towards pre-pandemic levels. It recorded an approximate 18% year on year increase in traffic volumes, however, this was still about 20% below 2019 levels.

The company’s APRR business grew its traffic numbers by 19% year on year, resulting in an 18.6% increase in toll revenue to $1.68 billion. This carried through to an EBITDA of $1.3 billion, which is a 23% growth on the year prior.

For its Warnow Tunnel toll road, traffic decreased almost 9% this half, which also reduced toll revenue by 7% to $8.5 million. Atlas explained that Warnow was “more significantly impacted by COVID-19” than any other site in 2020, due to a resurgence in cases there.

Furthermore, at its Dulles Greenway asset, toll revenue gained 1.8% to $34.6 million and EBITDA grew by 2% for this business also. Compared to the first half in 2019, “traffic was down 41.2%, toll revenue was down by 39.8% and EBITDA was 45.3% down”.

At the end of the first half, the Dulles Greenway business had US$196.9 million in cash reserves on its balance sheet.

As a result, the company grew its overall NPAT to $86 million, an 844% growth from the year prior, although a 2.4% decrease from 2019.

Finally, there is another point that could weigh in on the Atlas Arteria share price. The company declared first-half “distribution guidance” of 15.5 cents per security, reflecting “underlying performance” of its businesses.

What did management say?

Speaking on the results, Atlas Arteria CEO Graeme Bevans said:

Our roads provide critical infrastructure that connect communities. Our European businesses have benefitted from the COVID-safe operation of French industry and growing European trade. We are well positioned to take advantage of increasing travel in response to improving vaccination levels and the new EU health pass encouraging safe mobility through the region.

Regarding the company’s financial position, Bevans added:

Our balance sheets are very well positioned. At the corporate level we currently have no debt, ample liquidity, strong cash flows from APRR and Warnow Tunnel and remain well placed to pursue growth opportunities as they arise.

What’s next for Atlas Arteria?

Management did not provide explicit guidance in terms of figures in its report, however, it did explain that European summer traffic “has been averaging more than 5% above 2020 and 2019 levels”.

In regards to the second half of 2021, the company is “well-positioned to benefit from increased travel” as COVID-19 restrictions ease in Europe.

Other than this, Atlas seems focused on driving ESG and other sustainability initiatives throughout the coming periods.

The Atlas Arteria share price has posted a loss of 1.46% since January 1. This result had lagged the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 14% this year to date.

The post Atlas Arteria (ASX:ALX) share price jumps after net profit soars 800% 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. 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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