The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price is rising today. That’s after the company confirmed itself and Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) have come to an agreement to merge.

At close of trade yesterday, shares in Santos were $6.03 and Oil Search shares were $3.65. At the time of writing, the Santos share price is up 0.91% to $6.08 while Oil Search shares are up 2.47% to $3.74.

Let’s take a closer look at today’s news.

What’s driving the Santos share price?

Here are the specifics of the deal that is heating up the Santos share price:

• The transaction will be all scrip. Oil Search shareholders will receive 0.6725 Santos shares for each Oil Search share they own.
• Once completed, Oil Search shareholders will own approximately 38.5% of the new company and Santos’s shareholders will own about 61.5%.
• Given the last Santos share price and 2.08 billion Oil Search shares outstanding, today’s deal values Oil Search at about $8.43 billion or $4.06 per share. This is an 11.2% premium on the previous share price.
• The combined value of the new company will be approximately $21 billion, according to the statement.
• The deal is still subject to shareholder approval, regulatory approval and approval from Papua New Guinea courts.

Management commentary

Speaking about the news which could be affecting the Santos share price, Santos chair Keith Spence said:

The merger represents an attractive combination of two industry leaders to create a regional champion of quality, size and scale with a unique and diversified portfolio of long-life, low-cost oil and gas assets.

The merged entity will be well positioned for success in the new era of oil and gas, with strong cash-flow generation from a diverse range of assets providing a platform to self-fund growth and deliver shareholder returns.

Oil Search chair Rick Lee added:

Put simply, this merger provides Oil Search shareholders with a compelling opportunity to participate in a larger entity with significant scale, product mix, ESG and geographic diversity, and access to capital. The combined entity will have the capacity to deliver on an exciting pipeline of organic growth opportunities.

What happens now?

The new company will be led by Santos managing director and CEO Keith Gallagher. PNG courts will hold hearings on the deal by the end of October and, if all goes to plan, the new company should come into existence by 16 December this year.

According to the statement, the merger will result in synergies, pre-tax, of “US$90-115 million per annum (excluding integration and other one-off costs) creating value for both sets of shareholders”.

Santos share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Santos share price has increased by about 19%. Year-to-date, however, the share price has fallen around 5%.

The post Santos (ASX:STO) share price climbs as Oil Search merger confirmed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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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Like most ASX retail shares, the Dusk Group Ltd (ASX: DSK) share price has been trading sideways for the past couple of months.

Shares such as JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH), Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) and Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) have largely been range bound amid the cycling of elevated sales and prolonged lockdowns across major Australian cities.

Looking through the potential near-term volatility, Datt Capital considers the fair value for the Dusk share price to be “around $5 a share”, according to a recent article.

That’s a potential upside of 60% on today’s price of $3.10 at the time of writing.

Why this fund is bullish on the Dusk share price

Tailwinds for consumables sector

Datt Capital highlights a combination of “soft and hard factors” that make the Dusk share price an attractive investment proposition.

Dusk is most widely known for scented candles, in addition to diffusers, essential oils and homewares.

In its article, Datt Capital said that the “products are orientated towards making homes and offices pleasant environments, which has become exceptionally important given the recent lockdowns”.

“This ‘soft factor’ advantage translates into hard benefits; for example, the company’s loyalty program now boasts almost 700,000 highly engaged members.

“This translates into exceptional gross margins of almost 70%, while the team has maintained and exercised exceptional capital discipline and allocation decisions. We expect this outperformance to persist over time,” they said.

Dusk pushing through recent lockdowns

The fund was pleased with Dusk’s recent performance amid the Victorian and NSW lockdowns.

“Around half the company’s store network is within these two states, but it has only affected top-line revenue by 28%. This relative outperformance demonstrates that the company’s products are actively sought by its loyal customers, despite the state lockdowns.”

Looking ahead, the fund is hoping that Dusk “may be able to achieve at least 80% of FY21’s revenue, while maintaining an EBIT above $30 million”.

Other Dusk share price drivers

Datt Capital pointed to both domestic and international expansion as another catalyst for the Dusk share price.

It notes that the company is currently running about 122 physical stores in Australia. It plans to grow this figure to about 160 stores throughout Australasia by 2024.

In addition, the fund said: “We believe there is significant scope and potential to begin examining larger international markets such as the UK and US for near-term expansion.”

The post The Dusk (ASX:DSK) share price is worth $5: fund manager appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group and Dusk Group 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 AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price has struggled this week and landed itself around 3.5% in the red.

That’s behind the return of the broad indices this week, and really just a continuation of the longer-term trend it has been on over the past 12 months.

Let’s dive in a little deeper to understand the full picture.

What has led us to this point?

The AMP share price is still reeling the effects of the Royal Commission into Misconduct into Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, which turned into a 3-year ordeal for the company.

This has undoubtedly plagued AMP shares over the last three years, particularly after AMP admitted wrongdoing in its “fees for no service” policies that the company was found guilty on.

However, ASIC dropped its investigations into AMP’s conduct in July this year. Keep in mind that the Royal Commissioner had recommended criminal proceedings in the outcomes of the hearing.

Nonetheless, there’s been no recovery for AMP shares from this event. They came off highs of $5.43 back in March of 2018 and have cratered over 81% to currently trade at $1.05.

What else is weighing in?

Alongside this, AMP’s series of failed deals with Ares Management Corp over the last 2 years has been a weighting factor in its share price.

Ares sought to acquire AMP back in 2020, before withdrawing from the deal. However, the pair were back at it again in 2021, trying to establish a joint venture (JV) to hold AMP Capital’s private markets segment.

The deal would have netted AMP a $1.55 payoff. But as they say, history doesn’t repeat itself – it rhymes – and Ares and AMP simply just let the 30-day exclusivity period conclude.

Then there are AMP’s demerger plans to form two separate entities – AMP Limited and Private markets. The former will focus on the retail investing crowd, whereas its other business will be a global investment manager.

AMP’s decision here aligns with the spate of demergers that have occurred or have been proposed for ASX listed entities over the last 12 months.

Not even a robust FY21 earnings report was enough to reverse the longer-term downtrend AMP shares have been stuck in since the beginning of this year.

There’s been no market sensitive information released by the company this week, so the AMP share price is likely decreasing this week as a continuation of the longer-term trend.

AMP share price snapshot

The AMP share price has posted a loss of 33% this year to date, extending the loss over the last 12 months to 33%.

Both of these returns have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of 25% over the past year.

The post Here’s why the AMP (ASX:AMP) share price is down 4% in a week 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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The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price has been outperforming over the last 12 months.

The online travel agent was hit hard by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic during early 2020 and didn’t truly begin recovering until November last year.

This time last year, shares in Webjet were going for $3.91. Right now, the Webjet share price is $5.94, having gained another 1.37% today.

So, what spurred Webjet’s shares to take off? Let’s take a look.

What’s been driving the Webjet share price?

The last 12 months have been good to the Webjet share price, boosting it by 51%.

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 25% over the same period.

Webjet’s best day of the last year was on 10 November 2020.  It’s a day many investors will remember for one extraordinary reason: It was the day that Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE) announced it had created a vaccine for COVID-19.

The Webjet share price soared 13.5% as a pathway out of the pandemic was finally realised.

Webjet’s recovery was bolstered again when it released its earnings for the first half of financial year 2021.

While travel restrictions plagued the company over the 6 months ended 31 December 2020, the market seemingly saw past its underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss of $40.1 million and a massive fall in revenue.  

While the Webjet share price initially fell on the back of its results, it ended the day 5% higher than it had started.

Most recently, Webjet’s stock surged following the release of a trading update late last month.

Within the update, Webjet announced it expects to be cash-flow positive for the first half of financial year 2022. Of course, Webjet recently changed its financial year to run from 1 April to 31 March. Therefore, it expects to announce its first-half earnings in November.

Additionally, it announced its WebBeds business finally returned to profitability in July.

WebBeds operates as a business-to-business provider of accommodation. Webjet stated it managed to get back into the green as travel restrictions eased in Europe and North America.  

The Webjet share price gained 3.4% on the day of the update. It has since gained another 4.9%.

The post Here’s why the Webjet (ASX:WEB) share price is up 50% this last year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Iron ore prices have plunged more than 40% since May, dragging the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price well into negative year-to-date territory.

At its highest point in the past 12 months, the Fortescue share price was up almost 50% by late July to $26.58. It then rapidly deteriorated and is trading today at $18.01, a gain of just 0.67% over the year.

However, Citi’s veteran mining analyst Paul McTaggart thinks there could be some benefits to lower iron ore prices, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review (AFR).

What’s so good about lower iron ore prices?

Well, lower iron ore prices isn’t exactly a positive factor for the Fortescue share price.

After all, higher iron ore prices were the main driver behind Fortescue’s bumper FY21 full-year results, which included a massive fully franked dividend of $2.11 per share.

According to the AFR report, McTaggart believes “falling iron ore prices will reduce the competition facing Australian miners, as higher-cost producers from countries outside Australia, Brazil and to a lesser extent India are forced out of the market”.

The report said that Citi estimates if iron ore falls below $US100 a tonne, China’s imports from outside the major producing nations would fall from 200 million tonnes a year to 120 million tonnes.

McTaggart also highlighted that the potential entry of production from Guinea, Africa appears to be far less certain following the coup that deposed president Alpha Conde.

The Simandou project in Guinea is expected to produce 150 million tonnes per annum of iron ore at full capacity. It is partly owned by Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

However, the coup is likely to add greater uncertainty to the “already complicated and expensive project”, the report said.

What does this mean for the Fortescue share price?

Fortescue’s record FY21 net profit of US$10,295 million would not be possible without high iron ore prices. The company’s average realised price increased from US$79/dry metric tonne (dmt) in 2020 to US$135 dmt in FY21.

From a production perspective, Fortescue isn’t expecting a significant jump in iron ore shipments. It is forecasting 180 to 185 million tonnes in FY22 compared to 182.2 million tonnes in FY21.

Perhaps what McTaggart is getting at is that Australia’s iron ore giants will be in a far better position than most to weather lower iron ore prices due to their highly competitive margins.

The post Could falling iron ore prices be good for the Fortescue (ASX:FMG) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Rhinomed Ltd (ASX: RNO) share price is on the move during mid-morning trade. This comes after the medical device company provided the market with a positive release in regards to its Rhinoswab product.

At the time of writing, Rhinomed shares are up 20% to 45 cents apiece. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has travelled 0.60% higher to 7,704 points.

What did Rhinomed announce?

Investors are fighting to get a hold of Rhinomed shares after the company announced a deal with the Victorian government.

According to the release, Rhinomed advised the Victorian Department of Health has made an initial purchase order for 1 million Rhinoswabs.

Pleasingly, this follows the recent New South Wales Health Pathology order of one million Rhinoswabs on 11 August.

Rhinomed’s Rhinoswab technology is stated to be more comfortable and easier to use than the standard nasal swab. The medical product is able to capture a larger sample, and can quickly process the data, thus reducing queues and waiting times.

As a result of the orders, Rhinomed is ramping up its manufacturing capabilities to accommodate the growing demand.

The Rhinoswab is registered with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and has a European CE mark.

Rhinomed CEO, Michael Johnson commented:

We are pleased to receive further validation of the Rhinoswab from the Victorian Government.

The Rhinoswab can make a meaningful impact on the SARS-CoV-2 testing process and enable more people to be tested quickly and easily. With well over 2 billion SARS- CoV-2 tests having been carried out globally over the past 18 months (close to 26 million in Australia alone), there is a major opportunity for Rhinoswab to radically improve the testing process, clinical outcomes and user experience…

The Victorian government order represents approximately 35% to 45% of unaudited FY21 revenues of $3.9 million.

About the Rhinomed share price

Since this time last year, Rhinomed shares have accelerated 450%, with year-to-date gains above 175%. The company’s share price reached a multi-year high of 48.5 cents today before some profit-taking took place.

Rhinomed presides a market capitalisation of roughly $111.6 million and has around 253 million shares on its books.

The post Why the Rhinomed (ASX:RNO) share price is soaring 20% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Aston Minerals Ltd (ASX: ASO) share price is rocketing up 15% at time of writing, having earlier posted gains of more than 18%.

Below we take a look at the ASX resource explorer’s latest drill results that appear to be driving investor interest.

What did Aston report?

Aston Minerals’ share price is soaring after the company reported promising drill results at its Edleston Project in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The results, from drill hole DDED21-059, intersected “semi massive, blebby, and disseminated styles of nickel sulphide mineralisation” at Aston’s Boomerang Target.

Commenting on the results, Aston Minerals managing director, Dale Ginn said:

To have such an early success in terms of hitting semi massive, blebby and disseminated styles of nickel sulphide mineralisation in the second hole provides very strong encouragement of a proof of concept of the Boomerang Target. The mineralisation intersected starts within 50 metres of surface and is therefore ideal for targeting using electromagnetic (EM) methods.

Aston is still drilling deeper on the promising hole, currently down to 262 metres.

Once the drilling is completed, the company said it will conduct downhole EM surveys to determine the extent of sulphide mineralisation as well as identifying potential additional off-hole conductors.

It has also just received an airborne EM survey of the area conducted by the project’s former operators. The company is currently analysing that data.

Aston Minerals’ executive chairman, Tolga Kumova added:

We are astounded by the potential scale of the system. With only our second hole into this 5-kilometre-long strike, we have uncovered broad scale disseminated nickel-cobalt sulphides.

With the availability of low cost, environmentally responsible hydroelectric power, the project has the potential of providing a green source of nickel into what is emerging as a region of global significance with respect to battery manufacturing and electric vehicles.

Aston Minerals share price snapshot

The Aston Minerals share price has been a standout performer in 2021, up 288% year-to-date. That compares to a gain of 11% on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Over the past month Aston Minerals shares have gained 19%.

The post Why the Aston Minerals (ASX:ASO) share price is rocketing 15% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price is falling again in morning trade today, down 0.24% to $6.14.

It hasn’t been a fantastic month for AGL shares as they continue to swim in the sea of red that is negative shareholder returns.

Whereas the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 1.5% into the red since trading started in September, AGL shares have fallen 6%.

Let’s dive in a little deeper to understand what’s going on here.

AGL share price overview

AGL shares have struggled the entire time over the last 12 months. Back in September 2020 for instance, the AGL share price was at a high of $14.70. That means AGL’s shares would have to climb back up 139% to reach those levels from where it trades now at $6.14.

Over the past 18 months, AGL shares have repeatedly set new all-time lows, breaching levels not seen on their chart for 19 years.

However, it has been over the past year that the AGL share price has really fared poorly. It has taken a significant nosedive, and barrel rolled to its current all-time low.

Looking at AGL’s share price chart over the past 12 months, there are no periods of “reversal”, or “rest” for that matter. It’s just been one long continuous drive down south.

The drivers of this price action are centred on AGL’s planned demerger into two separate entities, and the company’s ongoing saga with climate risk management.

However, there have been a number of other setbacks in this regard, such as temporary closures at its Liddell coal-fired power station in New South Wales. The company recognised significant losses across the board in its FY21 earnings report.

AGL faces mounting pressure on climate change disclosures

AGL was recently slapped with an activist shareholder resolution ahead of its annual general meeting (AGM), scheduled on September 22.

The resolution was filed by the Australiasia Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR). Specifically, the ACCR is unsatisfied with AGL’s commitment to set “Paris-aligned emission reduction targets”.

The ACCR then reiterated its posture on the matter in an investor briefing released last month.

Shareholder proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has now weighed in, and has shown its support for the resolution, according to reporting from The Australian.

As such, ISS has recommended that AGL shareholders vote to support the resolution at the company’s upcoming AGM.

It said supporting the resolution “should not be unreasonable” seeing as AGL plans to let shareholders vote on climate change disclosures anyway, should the company successfully complete its planned demerger.

ISS is adamant the resolution will also increase transparency on the demerger, and allow shareholders to make an informed decision prior to their vote on the matter at AGL’s AGM.

AGL share price snapshot

The AGL share price has had a horrendous year, posting a loss of nearly 50% since January 1.

It is also down 58% over the past 12 months, making AGL one of the ASX’s worst performing shares in the past year. In the last month alone, AGL shares have fallen a further 17%.

Both of these results have lagged the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s return of around 25% over the last year.

The post September hasn’t been a great month so far for the AGL (ASX:AGL) share price 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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The ASX is home to dozens of healthcare companies, many with market capitalisations in the billions.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) is the largest cap ASX healthcare share. Other major players include hearing implant maker Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), which is in the healthcare products business.

Fisher & Paykel has been at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, supplying hospitals with equipment vital to treating patients. Sonic Healthcare Limited  (ASX: SHL) is another ASX healthcare share involved in the COVID fight, becoming Australia’s largest non-government COVID-19 vaccination provider.

As revealed during last month’s reporting season, the pandemic has had a mixed impact on ASX healthcare shares. 

How have ASX healthcare shares performed against the market?

Shares in Sonic Healthcare have performed strongly in 2021, up 26.7% year to date and more than 31% above its pre-COVID levels.

The CSL share price has gained 7.5% in 2021, below the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which is up 12.5%. The CSL share price remains slightly below its pre-COVID high.

Also trading just below its pre-COVID high, the Cochlear share price has risen 25% for the year, thanks to the resumption of implant surgeries in many markets.

The Fisher & Paykel share price, on the other hand, has increased just 4% over the course of 2021 but remains more than 50% higher than its pre-COVID price. 

Who are the healthcare winners this earnings season? 

Sonic Healthcare was a clear winner this earning season, reporting revenue growth of 28%.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 81% to $2.6 billion, boosting profits by 149% to $1.3 billion. COVID-19 testing contributed significantly to revenue and earnings in FY21, with Sonic Healthcare performing approximately 30 million PCR tests in some 60 laboratories globally.

The company operates across 7 countries, providing pathology, diagnostic imaging, radiology and general practice medical services. This diversification is providing increased opportunities for expansion and risk mitigation. 

Sonic Healthcare said it reduced net debt by $1,082 million in FY21 thanks to strong operating cash flow and a favourable exchange rate impact. The company’s gearing ratio is currently 12.5%, its lowest level in 20 years, and it has some $1.5 billion in available liquidity. This leaves Sonic well-positioned for ongoing value accretive acquisitions and other growth opportunities. The company declared a final dividend of 55 cents, 65% franked. 

Cochlear achieved record sales revenue in FY21 driven by a combination of market share gains, market growth, and rescheduled surgeries from COVID shutdowns.

Sales revenue increased 10% to $1,493 million as cochlear implant units increased 15% to 36,456 units. Compared to pre-COVID FY19, units increased by 7% and sales revenue by 9%.

Underlying net profit was $236.7 million, up 54% from FY20. The company declared a final dividend of $1.40 per share (unfranked), bringing full-year dividends to $2.55 per share. This was a 59% increase on FY20 and represented a payout of 71% of underlying net profit. 

CSL reported a full-year net profit of $2.375 billion, up 10% on a constant currency basis.

Despite the uncertainties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, CSL maintained all critical operations and manufactured 50 million doses of the Astra Zeneca vaccine for the Australian Government.

Its influenza vaccines business, Seqirus, delivered an exceptionally strong performance with revenue up 30% on a constant currency basis. CSL’s earnings per share (EPS) were $5.22, up 10%. The company declared a final dividend of US$1.18 per share, franked at 10%. This brings its full-year dividends to US$2.22 per share, up 10%. 

And the losers? 

Fisher & Paykel’s financial year ended on 31 March, but the company did provide an FY22 trading update last month.

The update revealed revenue for the first four months of the financial year was 2% below the prior comparable period, which was a period of high demand due to surges in COVID.

Revenue for the first four months was $583 million, with 74% from the hospital product group and 26% from the homecare product group.

But the company warned it did not expect hospital revenue to continue at an elevated level for the remainder of the financial year given ongoing vaccination activity. 

What is the outlook for ASX healthcare shares?

CSL says demand for the company’s core plasma products remains robust, and the influenza vaccines business is expected to continue to perform well.

Some margin easing is occurring as the result of plasma costs which will continue into FY22. The company is anticipating a net profit after tax of $2,150 million to $2,250 million in FY22, slightly below FY21 results.

Cochlear has provided net profit guidance of $265 million – $285 million for FY22, a 12% – 20% increase on FY21. This factors in market growth, continuing recovery in surgery rates, and investment in market growth activities. 

Fisher & Paykel has declined to provide revenue or earnings guidance for FY22. The company cited uncertainties associated with vaccination rates, the efficacy of vaccines, and public responses to COVID-19 as factors inhibiting its ability to provide guidance.

Over the short term, hospital sales will continue to be impacted by COVID-19 related hospital admissions. Over the longer term, the impact has been an increased installed base of hardware and increased physician awareness of the company’s products and therapies. Fisher & Paykel believes this will result in increasing numbers of patients receiving the benefits of its offerings in the years to come. 

Despite the pandemic, Sonic Healthcare expects ongoing growth of its base business, with underlying growth drivers remaining unchanged. The company said the base business was becoming increasingly resilient to the impacts of pandemic waves, with fluctuations mitigated by geographical and business sector diversity.

It expects significant revenue from COVID testing to continue into the foreseeable future, with the Delta variant driving substantial recent increases in volumes.

Nonetheless, Sonic has declined to provide FY22 guidance due to COVID-related unpredictability. However, we can expect some possible acquisition activity, with Sonic confirming it is considering opportunities in Australia, the United States, and Europe. 

The post How have ASX healthcare shares performed during the August 2021 earnings season? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Katherine O’Brien owns shares of CSL Ltd. and Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. and Sonic Healthcare Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price has been struggling this week amid a series of company announcements.

First off, the company released its 2021 sustainability report. Then, it sold its stake in Marley Spoon AG (ASX: MMM). Finally, reports emerged Woolworths will be issuing sustainable bonds.

While none of the news was outwardly awful, the Woolworths share price is currently 1.15% lower than where it started the week. Right now, shares in the supermarket retail giant are swapping hands for $39.64.

Let’s take a closer look at the week that’s been for Woolworths on the ASX.

The week that’s been for Woolworths

The Woolworths share price is battling through a tough week on the ASX.

While the market responded well to the company’s sustainability report, it wasn’t enough to buffer it against the coming drop. The report sent Woolworths shares 0.02% higher on Monday.

However, the price fell another 0.47% on Tuesday following news that Woolworths had sold its 9.8% stake in the recipe and meal box supplier Marley Spoon.

As The Motley Fool Australia reported on Tuesday, Woolworths sold its 28,026,000 Chess Depository Interests in Marley Spoon for $1.91 apiece, raising about $54 million in the process.

Finally, on Wednesday, reports emerged that Woolworths will be issuing about €500 million (about AU$801 million at the current exchange rate) worth of sustainable bonds to Europe.

As my Foolish colleague reported at the time, Woolworths’ new bonds will financially reward it for hitting its emissions targets. The Woolworths share price fell 1.3% on the day.

However, Woolworths managed to dodge Thursday’s carnage on the ASX. While the Woolworths share price slid 0.5% yesterday, it outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which fell by a significant 1.7%.

Woolworths share price snapshot

While it hasn’t been Woolworths’ best week on the ASX, the supermarket giant has been performing well in 2021. The company’s share price is currently 17% higher than it was at the start of the year.

It has also gained 27% since this time last year.

The post It hasn’t been a great week for the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price on watch after its big green promise
• Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price lower after selling stake in meal box company
• Marley Spoon (ASX:MMM) share price sinks 8% after Woolworths sells its stake
• Here’s why the Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price is in focus today
• The Woolworths (ASX:WOW) share price has gained 17% in the last 6 months

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Marley Spoon AG. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Marley Spoon AG. 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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