The Prescient Therapeutics Ltd (ASX: PTX) share price is having a lacklustre day, despite a positive readout on its PTX-100 trial.

Prescient shares dipped into the red in morning trade. However, at the time of writing they are exchanging hands for 22 cents a piece, the same as yesterday’s closing price.

Let’s take a look at what Prescient released this morning.

Quick refresher on Prescient Therapeutics

Prescient is a clinical stage oncology company that researches, develops and commercialises new cancer treatments.

It has expertise in the treatment of myeloma, pancreatic and breast cancer. It also collaborates with larger players to develop its proprietary products.

Prescient has a market capitalisation of $138 million at the time of writing.

PTX-100 basket trial results

Prescient released the readouts from its PTX-100 phase 1b basket trial earlier today. The purpose of a phase 1b trial is to determine the optimal safe dose for a new therapy.

As such, the trial examined the safety of the PTX-100 compound, which Prescient is studying for solid and haematological tumours.

In the trial, PTX-100 “exhibited an excellent safety profile … up to and including the highest dose”, with no adverse events “deemed serious, nor related to PTX-100”.

Another takeout is that two patients also received a “clinical benefit” after a run of failed prior treatments for their condition.

Both patients benefitted from “symptomatic relief” and a “reduction in cancer burden with no disease progression”.

Prescient now intends to begin a cohort study to develop PTX-100 as a monotherapy, hoping to create a “potentially shorter regulatory path” for the compound.

Investors can expect further readouts from this study in the coming quarter, as per the company.

Prescient share price snapshot

The Prescient Therapeutics share price has posted a year-to-date return of about 215%, extending the previous 12 month’s return of 268%.

These returns have far outpaced the S&P / ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)’s return of 23% over the past year.

The post Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) share price flat after trial success news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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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At lunch on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on form and pushing higher. The benchmark index is currently up 0.4% to 7,424.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the ASX 200 today:

BlueScope smashes expectations

The BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) share price has been on form today following the release of its preliminary full year results. The steel producer had a strong second half and expects to report full year underlying EBITDA of ~$1.72 billion. This has been driven by a second half EBITDA result of $1.19 billion, which was ahead of its guidance of $1 billion to $1.08 billion. Strong demand and pricing drove the impressive result.

OZ Minerals delivers strong Q2 update

The OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) share price is racing higher today after the release of its second quarter update. The copper producer was on form during the quarter, leading to positive revisions to its FY 2021 guidance. OZ Minerals has increased its gold production guidance and reduced its cash costs guidance.

Oil Search Q2 update

The Oil Search Ltd (ASX: OSH) share price is edging higher today. This follows the release of the energy producer’s second quarter update. While Oil Search reported a quarter on quarter decline in production, improved pricing underpinned a 21.5% quarter on quarter increase in operating revenue to US$366.2 million. Oil Search also reaffirmed its FY 2021 production, operating costs, and capital expenditure guidance.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Tuesday is the OZ Minerals share price with a sizeable 8.5% gain. This follows its strong second quarter update. The worst performer on the ASX 200 today has been the A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price with a 3% decline. Investors have been selling the infant formula company’s shares this week amid concerns over potential regulatory changes in China.

The post ASX 200 midday update: BlueScope & OZ Minerals updates impress appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why the OZ Minerals (ASX:OZL) share price is jumping 10% on Tuesday
• Oil Search (ASX:OSH) share price rises on solid Q2 update
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• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended A2 Milk. 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 Alcidion Group Ltd (ASX: ALC) share price is delivering gains to shareholders on Tuesday.

At the time of writing, the healthcare software provider’s shares are swapping hands for 40.5 cents, up 14%.

Why is the Alcidion share price surging ahead?

The release of the company’s fourth-quarter result has lit a fire under the Alcidion share price today. A big contributor to the excitement for investors is the record revenue for FY21, positive operating cash flow, and increased market share.

According to the release, the company achieved $25.6 to $25.9 million in revenue for FY21. This represents an increase of between 38% to 39% on the prior corresponding period. The company achieved this revenue growth despite challenges posed by COVID-19.

Additionally, the company achieved a positive net operating cash flow of $1.6 million in the fourth quarter. Likewise, full-year operating cash flow came out at $1.1 million.

New and renewed contracts during the quarter came to a total contract value of $7.3 million. Impressively, this reflects a 52% uplift from Q3 and nearly double that of the prior corresponding period.

Another positive was its 18% jump to $15.1 million in contracted revenue to be recognised in the coming year. Approximately 72% of this contracted revenue is recurring in nature – this includes subscription fees, product license fees, etc.  

Management commentary

Commenting on the record result, Alcidion’s Managing Director, Kate Quirke said:

Alcidion has delivered a strong final quarter to close an exceptional year of growth. FY21 revenue is expected to be in the range of $25.6M-$25.9M, a record result for the company despite being generated in challenging circumstances under the backdrop of COVID-19, particularly in the UK. Pleasingly, we delivered positive operating cashflow in Q4 and for the full year, highlighting the shift into a sales acceleration phase. ExtraMed contributed $600k to this revenue, being 2.5 months’ worth of activity

Quirke added:

We have been able to increase market share across all our core geographies, signing important new and renewed contracts that provide a solid foundation heading into the new financial year. It was particularly pleasing to extend the contract with Western Health for the provision of Miya and to sign contracts to continue to provide integration services to NSW Health. Contract renewals signify customer satisfaction and the positive relationship the company has with its customers.

Cash position

Thanks to a positive cash flow period, Alcidion finished the quarter with $25 million in cash on hand. This compares to $15.9 million in the prior year. Over the past year, the company has taken advantage of its spare cash to make accretive acquisitions, such as the ExtraMed acquisition in April.

At the time of writing, the Alcidion share price indicates a market capitalisation of $419 million.

The post Alcidion (ASX:ALC) share price jumps 14% on solid earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alcidion Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS) share price is pushing higher during morning trade. This comes after the emerging rare earths producer announced an update on the Ore Reserves Estimate at its Yangibana Rare Earths Project.

At the time of writing, Hastings shares are up 2.70% to 19 cents. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index(ASX: XAO) is up 0.3% to 7,696 points.

Hastings significantly increases Ore Reserve Estimate

In today’s statement, Hastings advised that it has increased the Total Proven and Probable Ore Reserves at Yangibana. Successful exploration activities during last year have led the company to revise its estimate.

Hastings revealed that the total Ore Reserve has significantly increased to 16.7 million tonnes at 0.95% Total Rare Earths Oxide (TREO). This is a 37% improvement in the Ore Reserve tonnes compared with the previous Ore Reserve Estimate announced in 2019.

Most notably, the company stated that TREO tonnes rose 15% to 158,400 tonnes. This is exceptionally important as the ore contains Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr). These elements are both key components in the electric vehicle industry.

Hastings targeted 5 of the 10 deposits at Yangibana during its 2020 exploration program. Extensive drilling comprised of 341 reverse circulation (RC) holes for a total depth of 23,739 meters. In addition, 46 diamond holes totalled more than 1,605 meters.

Diamond drilling is a more efficient way for precise sampling and analysis, whereas RC drilling is used for extracting bulk samples. When it comes to speed, RC drilling is the faster method, however, diamond drilling is employed when seeking accurate results.

Based on the findings, Hastings extended the mine life to a minimum of 15 years. Ore sorting technology is expected to be sourced in Yangibana’s mine development for processing the ore.

In addition, the company is aiming to secure debt financing to begin construction activities in the second-half of 2021.

What did management say?

Hastings executive chair, Charles Lew commented:

I am delighted to announce this significant increase in the Ore Reserve at Yangibana, which is the result of our successful exploration programs across existing and new deposits last year and will allow us to plan for a mine operating life of at least 15 years.

Importantly, there remains substantial mineral resource upside potential at Yangibana, which we will further assess in due course.

Hastings share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Hastings share price has posted a gain of around 50%, with year-to-date up 10%.

Hastings presides a market capitalisation of roughly $330 million, with approximately 1.7 billion shares on its books.

The post Why the Hastings (ASX:HAS) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• What these 5 outperforming ASX shares have in common

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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On Monday I looked at three ASX shares brokers have given buy ratings to this week.

Unfortunately, not all shares are in favour with them right now. Three that have just been given sell ratings are listed below. Here’s why these brokers are bearish on these ASX shares:

Centuria Office REIT (ASX: COF)

According to a note out of UBS, its analysts have downgraded this property company’s shares to a sell rating with a $2.25 price target. The broker made the move on the belief that it will take longer than first hoped for rents to recover due to recent lockdowns. And with reporting season just around the corner, it suspects that outlook statements will be reasonably pessimistic. The Centuria Office REIT share price is trading at $2.41 today.

Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)

A note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have downgraded this cloud accounting platform provider’s shares to an underperform rating with a $130.00 price target. The broker notes that Xero now has over 50% market share in the ANZ region. While this is quite an achievement, it means its local growth opportunities are reducing. As a result, Macquarie expects a sharp slowdown in ANZ subscriber growth to low single digits in the near future. In light of this, it finds it hard to justify its current valuation and has downgraded its shares. The Xero share price is fetching $141.04 today.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

Another note out of Macquarie reveals that its analysts have retained their underperform rating but lifted their price target on this buy now pay later provider’s shares to $6.15. This follows the release of the company’s fourth quarter update. Macquarie notes that Zip’s customer additions in the United States slowed during the quarter. It also sees risks from the company’s plan to rebrand the QuadPay business as Zip. The Zip share price is trading at $6.77 on Tuesday.

The post Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why Zip (ASX:Z1P) and this explosive ASX growth share could be buys

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Xero and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Xero. 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 Japara Healthcare Ltd (ASX: JHC) share price is gaining this morning after the company released the latest news of its takeover offer.

The offer would see the residential aged care operator acquired by Little Company of Mary Health Care Ltd (Calvary).

Right now, the Japara share price is 18.45% higher than its previous close. Shares in the company are currently swapping hands for $1.38 apiece.

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

Japara recommends accepting takeover offer

The Japara share price is shooting higher after it announced it’s entered a scheme of implementation deed for Calvary to purchase all Japara’s shares.

The Japara board has unanimously recommended shareholders vote in favour of the scheme.

The offer would see each Japara shareholder receiving $1.40 of cash per share. That represents a 75% premium on the Japara share price’s close on 29 April 2021.

The market first heard news of the acquisition on 30 April, leading the Japara share price to gain 26%.

The offer also represents an 81% premium on the 30-day volume weighted average price prior to 30 April.

Calvary is a Catholic not-for-profit organisation. It operates 14 hospitals, 17 retirement and aged care facilities, and a network of community care centres.

The scheme is conditional upon factors including Japara not receiving a better offer, an independent expert concluding the scheme is in shareholders’ best interests, and shareholder approval.

Japara shareholders will have the chance to vote on the scheme in October 2021.

Japara Healthcare share price snapshot

2021 has been a good year so far for Japara’s shares.

Right now, they’re trading for 121% more than they were at the start of the year. They are also swapping hands for 175% more than they were this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $311 million, with approximately 266 million shares outstanding.

The post Japara (ASX:JHC) share price soars 18% on takeover news 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 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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Two leading ASX growth shares have revealed a lot of growth today.

Some businesses are doing it tough during COVID-19, but others are experiencing elevated levels of growth.

These two are seeing strong growth:

Volpara Health Technologies Ltd (ASX: VHT)

The Volpara share price is up more than 1% after it released a quarterly update.

It said that it achieved record quarterly cash receipts of NZ$6.4 million, an increase of 30% (and 50% in constant currency). Subscription-based receipts rose by 38% (and 60% in constant currency) to NZ$6.1 million.

Net operating cash outflow in the first quarter was NZ$3.2 million, an improvement of 20% year on year. The business finished the period with NZ$29.1 million of cash.

Volpara’s market share of women being screened improved by a percentage point, from 32% to 33%. Its average revenue per user (ARPU) was US$1.42, with the average ARPU in the first quarter of US$1.55 – this was driven by multiple, single profit, large volume deals. The ASX growth share also said its client churn continues to remain low.

The Volpara Group CEO Dr Ralph Highnam said:

Q1 is typically one of our weaker quarters given the US summer, but we’ve turned in another solid set of sales numbers, and we’re particularly pleased with hitting the 33% landmark of total US women screened. The merger with CRA Health is exceeding expectations and continues to go well, with integration of all.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The Temple & Webster share price is currently up around 7.5% after revealing its FY21 result numbers.

It said that it saw a record year for revenue profit and customers. Revenue rose 85% year on year to $326.3 million. The trade and commercial division experienced revenue growth of 110% year on year. Temple & Webster’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) surged 141% to $20.5 million.

The ASX growth share revealed that it saw revenue per active customer increase by 12% year on year due to customers repeating more often and spending more when they do. Active customers went up by 62% over the year to 778,000.

Temple & Webster’s fourth quarter maintained “strong” sales growth year on year at 26%.

FY22 has seen revenue grow by 39% year on year for the period of 1 July to 24 July 2021.

The Temple & Webster CEO Mark Coulter said:

While lockdowns during FY20 and FY21 have accelerated the underlying shift from offline to online, pleasingly we continue to see strong growth even when comparing against COVID impacted numbers.

While the start of FY22 has been difficult for many Australians, we remain focused on delivering a great experience for our customers, built around the biggest and best range of furniture and homewares, combined with inspirational content and services and a great delivery experience and customer service.

The post 2 top ASX growth shares reporting strong growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price charges 7% higher on strong FY 2021 result
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• Why is the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price up over 3% today?

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. owns shares of and has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd and VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended VOLPARA FPO NZ. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) share price woke up to a rude awakening today, following the release of the company’s half-year results.

At the time of writing, shares in the global freelancing and outsourcing marketplace have tumbled 15.93% to 95 cents.

Why is the Freelancer share price down double digits?

Freelancer revealed 1H21 group net revenue had tipped 5.7% lower on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $27.8 million.

The slight decline in revenue was underpinned by weak currency movements. This drove a negative impact of 17.4% in the first half.

This trickled down to both negative operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and operating net profit after tax of -$2 million and -$1.6 million respectively.

The company’s net operating cash flow also declined from $6.2 million in 1H20 to $2.7 million in 1H21.

The weaker financial performance could be a reason why the Freelancer share price is experiencing such a heavy sell-off this morning.

Despite a slight decline in revenue, the company experienced a record in gross payment volumes (GPV), the total payments to Freelancer for products and services transacted. 1H21 GPV came in at a record $566 million, up 35.9% on the pcp.

Pleasingly, the company believes it is on track to achieve its milestone of $1 billion in GPV (through bank accounts).

In addition, Freelancer maintained a solid cash and cash equivalent position of $31.8 million. This was down $2.5 million or 7.4% on 31 December 2020.

The decrease includes the $4 million used to acquire Australia’s largest online heavy haulage freight marketplace, Loadshift.

A closer look at today’s sell-off

The sharp sell-off in the Freelancer share price comes off the back of significant trading volume.

Approximately 540,000 shares changed hands in the first 30 minutes of trade. To add some perspective, the company’s 10-day average volume is only 139,500.

The post Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price dives 16% after first-half results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price is surging 7% today

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 recommended Freelancer 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 IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price is moving higher in morning trade, up 1.57%.

Below, we take a look at the ASX resource share’s acquisition announcement.

What did IGO announce?

The IGO share price is gaining after the company reported it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the Silver Knight nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide deposit from the Creasy Group.

IGO also said it is forming a joint venture (JV) with the Creasy Group across a portfolio of exploration tenements surrounding Silver Knight, in which it will have a 65% stake and Creasy Group will own 35%. Silver Knight is located in Western Australia.

The total cash consideration for both transactions was reported to be $45 million. Completion of the transaction is expected by the first week of October.

Commenting on the acquisitions IGO’s CEO, Peter Bradford said:

We are pleased to have concluded this agreement with Creasy Group to acquire Silver Knight and the additional joint venture tenure. The Silver Knight discovery not only validated the potential for the Fraser Range to host multiple commercial nickel-copper sulphide deposits but also provides a secondary source of feed for the Nova processing plant.

Bradford added that the company aims to “fast track the detailed assessment and permitting of Silver Knight” with an eye to start pre-mining activity by 2023.

IGO plans an infill drilling program at Silver Knight after the transaction is finalised. It will also work on receiving a Native Title mining agreement and the needed regulatory approvals. The company said it will communicate its updated resource and reserve estimates to the market once work is completed.

IGO share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, IGO’s share price has gained 64%. By comparison the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 23% over that same time.

Year-to-date the IGO share price has continued to outperform, up 35%.

The post Why the IGO (ASX:IGO) share price is moving higher 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 BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) share price is on the move today following the steel producer’s business update.

At the time of writing, BlueScope shares are up 2.59% to $23.55. It’s worth noting the company’s share price hit a record high of $24.05 during market open.

How did BlueScope perform in FY21?

Investors appear buoyed by the company’s latest news to the ASX, sending the BlueScope share price into uncharted territory.

According to its release, BlueScope is expecting a record second-half result for the six months ending 30 June 2021.

The group expects preliminary unaudited FY21 underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to be around $1.72 billion. The second half is estimated to contribute roughly $1.19 billion to the strong result. This compares to a prior guidance of $1 billion to $1.08 billion for EBITDA.

BlueScope highlighted two of the biggest contributing factors to its performance since its late April market update. They included:

• An increase in hot-rolled coil (HRC) steel prices in the United States Midwest benchmark, surpassing forecasts and positively impacting realised spreads at North Star and the North American coated business; and
• A stronger than expected demand and realised spreads in Australia and New Zealand.

The company noted Australian Steel Products (ASP) jumped roughly 60% compared to H1 FY21. It revealed demand for domestic construction, distribution and manufacturing continued to surge, particularly for coated and painted products.

BlueScope stated that at North Star, realised spreads were significantly stronger. This led to a preliminary second-half record of underlying earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of approximately $600 million.

The Building Products Asia and North America segment also grew, up 20% on H1 FY21. Again, this was predominantly from the North American coated business and increased steel prices.

New Zealand and Pacific Islands’ performance improved by 25% on the prior period. Strong domestic demand and higher realised steel prices more than offset the higher energy costs encountered.

Management commentary

BlueScope managing director and CEO Mark Vassella said:

This is an outstanding result – our best underlying EBIT performance since demerger in 2002. The business has gone from strength to strength in the second half of FY21 and all operating segments have delivered significantly better results than FY20.

The results reflect the positive macroeconomic environment with strong demand for our products, and the quality of our diverse portfolio. While the COVID challenge remains, our performance is a great tribute to the professionalism and dedication of the entire BlueScope team who have operated with great resilience through the pandemic.

BlueScope is planning to release its audited full-year FY21 financial results on 16 August 2021.

About the BlueScope share price

Looking at the past 12 months, BlueScope shares have continued their impressive run to post an all-time high of $24.05 today. The company’s share price has come a long way from when it was trading for as little as $8 last year.

On valuation grounds, BlueScope has a market capitalisation of $11.5 billion, making it the 43rd largest company on the ASX.

The post Why the BlueScope (ASX:BSL) share price hit a record high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the BlueScope (ASX:BSL) share price could be set to jump higher
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• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today

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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