The Mandrake Resources Ltd (ASX: MAN) share price is falling hard in early afternoon trade, down 14%.

Below, we take a look at the ASX resource explorers latest drill results.

What update did Mandrake report?

The Mandrake Resources share price is tumbling after announcing it had completed diamond drill hole MNEWDD003 at its Newleyine PGE-nickel-copper prospect in Western Australia.

The company reported that the massive sulphides observed at the drill hole are coincident with the strong down-hole electromagnetic (DHEM) conductor.

Mandrake Resources has conducted 3 diamond drill holes to date to test 3 “discrete, late-time electromagnetic (EM) bedrock anomalies”. Its geophysical interpretation suggests the anomalies may be the response of massive sulphides “consistent with Julimar-style PGE-Ni-Cu mineralisation”

The Mandrake Resources share price may be under pressure today, however, as it reported it will need to conduct further drill testing of the area.

Commenting on the results, Mandrake Resources managing director, James Allchurch said:

The appearance of further massive sulphides in Mandrake’s third hole is encouraging and highlights the potential of the Newleyine intrusive to host economic mineralisation. Another compelling off-hole conductor has been identified by down-hole EM at MNEWDD002 and we are yet to test our third and final original conductor at plate C.

Allchurch said pending assay results will give the company a better grasp on the platinum group elements (PGE) and base metal concentrations in the 3 holes already drilled. Those results will help it plot out the next round of drilling.

Mandrake Resources share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Mandrake Resources share price has surged 110%, compared to a gain of 25% on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

Year-to-date the Mandrake Resources share price has gone the other direction, down 19% with today’s intraday losses factored in. Shares hit all-time highs less than 2 months ago, trading at 23.5 cents on 31 May.

The post Why the Mandrake Resources (ASX:MAN) share price is tumbling 14% 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 City Chic Collective Ltd (ASX: CCX) share price has jumped more than 6% into the green this morning.

Today’s gain comes as the company updated the market on a recent acquisition and its FY21 trading update.

Let’s explore what City Chic announced in a bit more detail.

Quick recap on City Chic

City Chic, formerly Specialty Fashion Group, is a women’s fashion retailer. It’s main focus is on the plus-sized women’s clothing market.

The company has an online and in-store presence in more than 200 locations dotted across Australia, New Zealand, America and the United Kingdom.

City Chic currently has a market capitalisation of $1.3 billion.

Navabi acquisition

City Chic announced that on 23 June it had completed a “share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the shares” in JPC United GmbH for $9.6 million.

JPC United is the sole operator of online marketplace Navabi, which sells “third-party women’s plus size brands, as well as its own exclusive brands”.

Navabi recorded sales revenue of $16.6 million with 5.8 million website visits in 2020. Before the pandemic hit, it recorded annual traffic in excess of 10 million visits.

City Chic will finance the transaction from its “existing cash balance”, which came in at $71.5 million at the end of June.

The company also acquired all asset and liabilities on Navabi’s balance sheet, including $3.3 million in cash “net of tax liabilities”.

According to City Chic, the acquisition provided “a platform to expand further in Europe”, thereby launching into its “fourth key geography”.

FY21 result and trading update

In today’s release, City Chic reported FY21 unaudited sales of of $258 million, a 33% year on year increase.

It also reported underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) expectations in the range of $42 – $42.5 million, calling for 58–60% growth from one year prior.

Regarding its trading update, the company stated:

Trading in FY22 has exceeded budget, with strong US and UK performance outweighing the impact of temporary store closures due to lockdowns in Australia.

At the time of writing, the City Chic share price is up 6.47%, trading at $5.76 after reaching an intraday high of $5.80. .

For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has posted a return of 0.1% this morning.

Foolish takeaway

The City Chic share price has lifted 40% this year to date, extending the previous 12 month’s return of 78%.

This has outpaced the broad index’s return of ~22% over the previous year.

Investors can expect City Chic’s fully audited FY21 results to be released on 26 August.

The post The City Chic (ASX:CCX) share price has jumped 6% today. Here’s why 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 Blackstone Minerals Ltd (ASX: BSX) share price stormed more than 11% higher in today’s session.

Shares in the nickel mining company surged ahead after the company released an update, with the price reaching an intraday high of 50.5 cents.

At the time of writing, shares in Blackstone are trading 3.3% higher at 47 cents.

Let’s take a look at what Blackstone announced.

Blackstone share price soars on feasibility study

Earlier today, Blackstone announced the completion of its pre-feasibility study (PFS) for its Ta Khoa Refinery Project (TKR) in northern Vietnam.

Blackstone highlighted that the PFS demonstrated the project will require low capital intensity to produce Class I nickel at scale.

The company noted that the project will have a refinery capacity of up to 400ktpa of nickel concentrate and a 10-year life-of-operations. As a result, Blackstone will be able to produce battery-grade nickel for the lithium-ion battery industry.

According to Blackstone’s PFS, the life-of-operations revenue for TKR is estimated at US$14 billion. In addition, the project is estimated to produce an operating cash flow of US$4.5 billion.

Blackstone noted that an upfront project capital of US$491 million would be paid back in 1.5 years from first production.

Blackstone management highlighted the PFS as an important milestone towards achieving the company’s vision to integrate lithium-ion battery supply chains and enable a green solution from mine to consumer.

More on Blackstone

Blackstone is a nickel mining company that has a 90% interest in its flagship TKR Project in Vietnam.

Ahead of today’s news, Blackstone recently reported its first batch of precursor battery-grade nickel-cobalt-manganese. The results were generated using ore from its TKR Project and third-party feed.

According to the company, analysis of the precursor material confirmed that it met specifications for the lithium-ion battery industry.

Including today’s bullish price action, the Blackstone share price has soared more than 50% since the start of July.

Overall, shares in the mining company are trading around 23% higher for the year to date.

The post Blackstone (ASX:BSX) share price charges 11% higher on update 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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At lunch on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a modest gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.2% to 7,409.2 points.

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

Lynas quarterly result

The Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) share price is racing higher today following the release of its fourth quarter update. Lynas reported neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) production of 1,393 tonnes, representing a 79.7% increase on the prior corresponding period. Combined with the almost doubling of its average realised price, this led to a significant increase in sales revenue to $185.9 million for the quarter. This compares to sales revenue of $38 million a year earlier.

GPT withdraws guidance

The GPT Group (ASX: GPT) share price is under pressure today after withdrawing its guidance for FY 2021. According to the release, the property company has withdrawn its Funds From Operations (FFO) and distribution guidance for 2021 due to uncertainty caused by COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne and Sydney.

AMP update

The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price is falling again today despite announcing changes to its advice business model. AMP revealed a new contemporary advice service model, marking a new era for financial advice at the company. AMP’s new model further prioritises its clients and will provide services to advisers which support the delivery of quality advice, improve practice efficiency, and help advisers grow their businesses.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Lynas share price with an 8% gain. This follows the release of its quarterly update. The worst performer on the ASX 200 has been the Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR) share price with a 5% decline. This gold miner’s shares have come under pressure since the recent release of its quarterly update and softer than expected FY 2022 guidance.

The post ASX 200 midday update: Lynas jumps, GPT withdraws guidance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is falling again after a strong run in recent weeks. Could it now be an opportunity?

A2 Milk shares fell to almost $5 in the middle of May. But then the share price started going through a recovery. From that low, A2 Milk climbed around 40% to a high of $7.20 earlier this month. But it’s dropping again – down around 10% from the July high. It is 4% in the red today, at the time of writing.

There is still volatility for A2 Milk, despite the significant decline over the last 12 months.

But there are some brokers that don’t have a high opinion of A2 Milk’s share price prospects in the shorter-term despite the decline.

For example, Citi rates A2 Milk as a sell with a price target of $6.05. That suggests that the ASX share is going to see more declines over the next 12 months, if the broker is right.

Shifting consumer choices in China suggest that A2 Milk may not see much benefit from a change in China’s child policy to allow three children. Chinese families are increasingly going for local brands, particularly in smaller cities where people are even more likely to choose a Chinese product.

Credit Suisse is another broker that rates A2 Milk as a sell. But the price target is even lower, at just $5.50. The broker points out that the daigou sales are not contributing much to the overall picture now.

A2 Milk’s latest update

The last update from A2 Milk was in May.

It said that the trading dynamics in the China infant nutrition market have been and continue to be challenging for the company as well as international formula peers.

The FY21 third quarter was broadly in line with its plan, but A2 Milk said it was clear the actions taken to address challenges in the daigou and cross-border e-commerce channels will not result in sufficient improvement on the third quarter of FY21 in pricing, sales and inventory levels to meet previous guidance.

After reviewing its inventory, management noted that challenges were being exacerbated by excess inventory and difficulties with visibility. So it decided to take more aggressive action to address excess inventory which will impact FY21 revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and potentially the first quarter of FY22. This inventory action will give Chinese mothers with the freshest infant milk formula and benefit the company’s customers, distributors and partners.

A2 Milk is also increasing its marketing to drive customer demand.

However, despite these short-term setbacks, management are confident in the long-term opportunity that the infant nutrition market in China represents, and the company is determined to build on the strong position it has built in the market over the last five years.

In that May update, one area of growth was that its store count increased to 22,600. The 12-month rolling market value share in mother and baby stores (MBS) was stable at 2.4%

But, the company recognises that the Chinese market and channel structure is changing rapidly and has therefore commenced a comprehensive process to review its growth strategy and executional plans to respond to this new environment.

A2 Milk is also thinking about a potential share buyback to utilise its capital.

The post Is the A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price a buy right now? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• 3 reasons to buy A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) shares right now

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has 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 Tinybeans Group Ltd (ASX: TNY) share price is rising on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the family-focused social media platform company’s shares are up 3% to $1.25.

Why is the Tinybeans share price rising on Monday?

The rise in the Tinybeans share price today has been driven by the release of an announcement relating to its plan to list on the Nasdaq index.

According to the release, the company has appointed Grant Thornton Audit as its new auditor with immediate effect.

It made the move in support of its planned listing on Nasdaq. This is because the Nasdaq requires a company to have an auditor that is registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in the United States.

Why is Tinybeans listing on the Nasdaq?

Tinybeans advised that its decision to list on a major U.S. exchange is aligned with its increasing operational and revenue shift to the United States, as well as its subscription growth strategy.

But don’t panic, nothing will happen with your Tinybeans shares if you’re a shareholder. Tinybeans intends to maintain its primary listing on the ASX and expects to be dually listed on the ASX and Nasdaq.

Tinybeans CEO, Eddie Geller, commented: “Tinybeans has had a strong presence in the United States ever since we established Tinybeans USA in New York in 2014. Today, nearly 100% of our revenue—and most of our brand partners and subscribers—are based in the U.S., helping to double our revenues for FY21. Grant Thornton is already engaged in the independent audit of our FY21 results. We look forward to releasing our full year results in late August.”

The Tinybeans share price has been a strong performer over the last 12 months. Following today’s gain, its shares are now up over 41% since this time last year.

The post Tinybeans (ASX:TNY) share price rises on Nasdaq update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Tinybeans Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Tinybeans 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 4DMedical Ltd (ASX: 4DX) share price is soaring today after the company released its latest quarterly activity and cash flow report.

The medical technology company announced COVID-19 vaccines have allowed it to increase its commercial activities over the quarter ended 30 June 2021.

Right now, the 4DMedical share price is $1.44. That’s 5.49% higher than it was at Friday’s close.

Let’s take a closer look at the quarter that’s been for 4DMedical.

What’s driving the 4DMedical share price higher?

The 4DMedical share price is gaining on news of a successful fourth quarter.

The company has surpassed numerous clinical milestones. Additionally, the US COVID-19 vaccination rollout has given the company more access to hospitals and medical institutions.

Therefore, it believes its sales and marketing events will ramp up over the coming months.

Financial update

Over the June quarter, 4DMedical received $7.1 million in government grants and tax incentives. It also received a $600,000 customer receipts.

4DMedical spent $8.3 million on research and development, staffing, administration, and general operating. Its net operating cash outflows were $585,000.

At the end of the quarter just been, 4DMedical had $80.9 million of cash in the bank.

Clinical trails

The 4DMedical share price is likely higher due to productive clinical trials.

4DMedical now has 8 clinical trials approved by the US’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Over the quarter, participants for 4DMedical’s XV LVAS clinical trial began to be recruited.

The trial aims to find if XV LVAS can help treat patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4DMedical says COPD is the third highest cause of death in the world and a “multi-billion dollar opportunity for 4DMedical’s non-invasive, low dose technology”.

4DMedical also entered a partnership to place XV LVAS at 8 US clinical sites.

There, between 75 and 100 late-stage COPD patients undergoing endobronchial valve procedures will be evaluated.

Finally, 4DMedical began the first clinical trial of its contrast-free Ventilation-Perfusion product.

The trial will be conducted in partnership with the University of Miami with the goal of speeding up the development of breakthrough lung technologies.

The company has also made headway with XV LVAS’s pilot programs. They’re reportedly going well and could evolve into future commercial relationships.

Other news

Its financial and clinical performance hasn’t been all that’s driven the 4DMedical share price lately.

Over the quarter, 4DMedical received a US$600,000 order from the University of Michigan.

The university bought one of 4DMedical’s Permetium preclinical scanners and associated XV Technology.

Finally, 4DMedical subsidiary Australian Lung Health Initiative received $28.9 million of funding from the Australian federal government’s Medical Research Future Fund.

The finds will go towards developing the XVD Scanner which analyses lung function.

Additionally, 4DMedical completed a $40 million capital raise and a $6 million share purchase plan to assist in the funding of this development.

4DMedical share price snapshot

Despite today’s good news, it’s still a bad year for the 4DMedical share price.

4DMedical’s shares have dropped more than 40% year to date. They are also trading for 9% less than they were this time last year.

The company has a market capitalisation of around $401 million, with approximately 294 million shares outstanding.

The post Here’s why the 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) share price is gaining today 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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The Altium Limited (ASX: ALU) share price is pushing higher on Monday morning.

At the time of writing, the electronic design software platform provider’s shares are up 1% to $33.45.

Despite this and some strong recent gains, the Altium share price is still down 3% year to date.

Is the Altium share price in the buy zone?

This morning analysts at Bell Potter gave their verdict on the Altium share price.

According to the note, the broker has retained its hold rating and cut its price target by ~6.5% to $35.00.

Based on the current Altium share price, this implies modest upside of 4.5% over the next 12 months.

Bell Potter made the move in response to news that US software giant Autodesk has walked away from takeover talks.

What did the broker say?

Bell Potter commented: “With Autodesk walking away we have reduced the premium we apply in our relative valuations from 50% to 25%. The result is a 7% decrease in our PT to $35.00 which is <15% premium to the share price so we maintain our HOLD recommendation. We do not rule out further takeover interest in Altium though the lack of engagement by Altium with Autodesk suggests valuation will be an obstacle in the short to medium term.”

Outside that, there are no changes to the broker’s forecasts for Altium. It continues to forecast FY 2021 revenue and EBITDA close to the low end of Altium’s guidance ranges for both. In addition, its analysts continue to forecast FY 2022 and FY 2023 revenue and EBITDA consistent with the guidance ranges in both years.

Bell Potter’s estimates are for revenue of US$179.2 million in FY 2021, US$206.5 million in FY 2022, and then US$249.5 million in FY 2023. Whereas EBITDA is expected to be US$67.2 million, US$79 million, and US$97.9 million, respectively, over the same period.

And finally, for earnings per share, Bell Potter has pencilled in 32.2 US cents, 37.2 US cents, and 47.6 US cents between FY 2021 and FY 2023. This means the Altium share price is trading at 66x FY 2022 earnings and 51x FY 2023 earnings.

The post Is the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price in the buy zone? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Altium. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Altium. 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 Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price has lost all of its gains since it was initially approached for takeover by Blackstone Group Inc (NYSE: BX).

At the time of writing, shares in the casino operator are trading for $9.86 – down 1.6%. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), on the other hand, is 0.17% higher.

The negative price movement comes after counsel assisting the Victorian Royal Commission into the suitability of Crown Melbourne’s casino licence said “it is not in the public interest that Crown Melbourne continue to hold the casino licence in Victoria.”

Let’s take a closer look.

“It is open…to doubt whether [the government] could ever trust Crown Melbourne again”

Crown Resorts took a beating during oral closing arguments at the Royal Commission and is still being pummelled in the written submission.

Counsel assisting says the commission has only two choices:

1. Cancel the Crown Melbourne licence.
2. Allow it to be retained on the proviso of massive changes at the company.

While counsel assisting says it is possible for Crown to reform, it will take a “complete, holistic, bottom up” approach that could take years and possibly cost millions of dollars. They go on to argue it is not feasible for Crown to be left unsupervised if it were to be allowed to reform.

These harsh words are leaving a scar on the Crown share price this morning.

Interestingly, the submission explicitly does not recommend how Crown should reform if the Royal Commission does intend to not cancel its licence. It does, however, say 2023 would be an appropriate benchmark for assessing whether reforms at the company have been successful.

Quoting from the submission:

At this point in time, it is not possible for this Commission to prescribe or describe with any particularity or precision what actions would be required for Crown Melbourne and Crown Resorts to become suitable.

The appropriate sanction would be a matter for the [Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation] VCGLR in the exercise of its discretion under s 20 of the CCA. It would not be desirable to limit the VCGLR’s discretion by suggesting a prescriptive pathway to suitability.

Any reform will not be possible under Chair Helen Coonan or Crown Melbourne CEO Xavier Walsh, according to counsel assisting.

The evidence presented against Crown was so bad, Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) pulled its bid to buy the company.

What if the Crown licence was cancelled?

Counsel assisting says if Crown’s licence were to be cancelled, it should not be done with immediate effect.

Cancellation of the casino licence with immediate effect, for example, would be highly disruptive – having the potential to cause significant harm to many third parties who have had no involvement whatsoever in the misconduct of Crown Melbourne over the years. The impact of immediate cancellation would likely have inestimable negative consequences for many people, at least in the short term.

Any cancellation of the casino licence would need to provide adequate time for adjustment, including but not limited to, the conduct of an application process for a new licensee. A deferral of the date of cancellation could provide for a period within which a more orderly transition to a new licensee can be achieved – say a year to eighteen months.

The submission leaves open the possibility that Crown could reapply for its licence after it is cancelled if that were to eventuate.

It should be noted any recommendations that come out of the Royal Commission are just that – recommendations. It will be up to the Victorian Government to decide what to do with that advice.

Analysts do not believe the company’s Victorian licence will be cancelled. Investors may think different, judging by the fall in the Crown share price.

Crown share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Crown share price has increased 9%. Despite the negative press coverage and reputational damage, it has faced, it naturally rebounded from last year’s COVID market sell-off.

With Australia’s east coast gripped by the delta variant of the virus, business is currently down at its resorts. This may also be influencing investors to sell their shares in Crown.

Crown Resorts has a market capitalisation of around $6.7 billion.

The post Crown (ASX:CWN) share price drops following scathing written submission 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 Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO) share price has struggled to break its May record high of $132.94 in the past few weeks.

The mining giant is expected to make an early appearance for reporting season.

According to the company’s website, its half-year results will be announced on Wednesday, 28 July.

With Rio Tinto’s results right around the corner, here’s what investors might want to look out for.

Iron ore shipments to be at low end of guidance

Rio Tinto released its second-quarter production results on 16 July.

The update set expectations that iron ore shipments for the full year FY21 will be at the lower end of its guidance range.

Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said, “We faced some challenges in the first half, notably at our Pilbara operations which were impacted by replacement mine tie-ins and materially higher rainfall.”

Rio Tinto’s second-quarter results flagged a 9% decline against the prior corresponding period in iron ore production from its Western Australia Pilbara operations, while shipments from the region also tumbled 12%.

The company blamed coronavirus-related restrictions, with Stausholm saying:

“Heightened COVID-19 constraints, which resulted in numerous travel restrictions, added further pressure on the business and limited our ability to access additional people, particularly in Western Australia and Mongolia, in order to deliver operational improvements or maintenance initiatives and accelerate projects.”

On the day of this announcement, the Rio Tinto share price opened 1.53% lower to $129.13 before closing down just 0.41% to $130.60.

Resilient iron ore prices

While production and shipments might be a slight disappointment, iron ore prices have continued to buoy the Rio Tinto share price.

The second-quarter production results provided positive commentary for both the global economy and iron ore markets. Rio Tinto said that:

The iron ore price has remained resilient on a surge in demand while supply has struggled to keep pace. China’s steel demand is up 5% year on year in the first half, with the construction and automotive sectors performing strongly.

Consumption was also robust across the rest of the world, with demand recovering +15% in 2021 versus 2020. The major iron ore producers’ supply continues to lag expectations, while high cost supply balances the overall market.

According to the second-quarter results, average pricing in the first half for Rio Tinto’s iron ore was US$154.9 per wet metric tonne on an FOB (free on board) basis.

Benchmark iron ore prices remain strong at more than US$215/tonne.

About the Rio Tinto share price

The Rio Tinto share price has rallied 13.29% year-to-date, in line with the 12.47% increase in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

According to Commsec, Rio Tinto is forecast to deliver a HY21 net profit after tax (NPAT) of US$13 billion.

The post What to look for when Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) reports on Wednesday 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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