The Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has surged 11.50% this afternoon to 29 cents. This comes after its largest shareholder and key Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) supplier, Yahua, announced plans to more than double its lithium hydroxide output. 

At the time of writing, the Core Lithium share price has retreated slightly, trading for 28 cents, up 9.62%.

Core Lithium rides renewables hype

Yahua announced this week that it plans to increase its output from 20,000tpa to 50,000tpa of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

Yahua and Tesla previously signed an agreement in December 2020. The agreement stated that Tesla will purchase between US$630 million to US$880 million of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. This will occur over a five-year period.

Core Lithium has also positioned itself as a key supplier of Yahua’s lithium concentrate. The company has signed a binding offtake agreement to supply 75,000tpa of lithium spodumene concentrate. This offtake agreement represents approximately 40% of Core Lithium’s flagship Finniss’ project’s proposed 175,000tpa production. 

According to the company’s 2020 annual report, Core Lithium believes its collective offtake agreements have secured approximately 85% of its first three years of annual spodumene production. Alongside Yahua, Core Lithium has signed non-binding offtake agreements with Transamine.

Transamine is a Swiss-based trading company looking to secure 50,000tpa and negotiate offtake agreements with China’s Xinfeng for an annual supply of spodumene concentrate. 

Share price snapshot 

The Core Lithium share price hasn’t quite surged into new highs like Galaxy Resources Ltd (ASX: GXY) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS). However, looking at the bigger picture, its shares jumped from just 5 cents in November 2020 to highs of 42 cents by mid-January 2021.

After surging some 700% in a matter of months, its shares have cooled down. Bouncing between the mid 20 cents level. The soon-to-be lithium producer has focused on kicking goals to bring its Finniss project online. 

The company is currently working through the completion of the Finniss Lithium project concentrate definitive feasibility study. In addition to finalising live off-take negotiations ahead of reaching a final investment decision in 3Q21.  

Should all things go to plan, construction will begin later this year. 

More reading

• Tesla’s Bitcoin sale helped boost quarterly profits
• Tesla shares slip after hours despite Q1 earnings beat
• These were the worst performers on the ASX 200 last week
• Here’s why the Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) share price is shooting higher today
• Why AMP, Challenger, Pilbara Minerals, & Redbubble shares are tumbling lower

Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tesla. 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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One of the biggest barbeque stoppers on the ASX at the moment is the rampaging commodities markets. Around the proverbial ASX water cooler, investors are abuzz with iron ore prices reaching US$200 a tonne. Not to mention the robust recovery we have seen in the crude oil price (currently above US$66 a barrel). We have also seen gold and silver prices stabilise after coming off of last year’s highs. And copper continues to push into record territory. And we won’t even mention the recent excitement over lithium and rare earths today.

All of this news is music to the ears of the shareholders of some of ASX’s biggest miners. ASX resources shares like BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) are all pretty close to their record highs. Fortescue has doubled in value over the past 12 months (not to mention showering its shareholders with fat dividends along the way).

BHP hit a new all-time high of $50.93 last month and is trading mighty close to that level today at $48.21 a share at the time of writing. It’s a similar situation with Rio.

ASX resources shares like these giants have been a friend to ASX investors over the past year or so. These companies rebounded relatively quickly from the coronavirus-induced market crash last year, making a stark contrast with other ASX blue chips like the big four banks. And the dividends didn’t miss a beat either – again in stark contrast to bank shares.

But it might be time to consider the inherent value of these companies. The ASX resources sector is one of the most unpredictable on the ASX – something that the market doesn’t always price in.

Buffett’s warning on ASX resources shares?

To expand, let’s look at two quotes from the great investor Warren Buffett.

The first is this: “Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years”.

And the second is this: “A bank is no different than any other business. It’s how much cash you’re going to get between now and Judgement Day, discount it and compare it to other investments”.

A mining company’s largest variable is the price of the commodity it mines. No matter how good a company’s management is, or its branding, or its operations, it still has no say in how much it can sell its product for. And that makes it unpredictable. If the market indeed closed for 10 years, would you be willing to bet that the price of iron ore, oil, copper or gold would be higher in 10 years’ time? Not to mention until Judgement Day? These are cyclical products, which obey very rigid laws of supply and demand.

And yet, the market never seems to price these companies in that light. The current BHP share price, for example, is built on top of an iron ore price at record highs. If iron ore prices were to fall 20% over the next month, it’s likely that the share prices of BHP, Fortescue and Rio would take a hit. That’s a scenario all investors might want to keep in mind with this sector right now.

More reading

• Why the Sandfire (ASX:SFR) share price jumped to a 2-year high today
• American Pacific (ASX:ABR) share price sinks 5% as CEO exits
• Record high iron ore price puts these ASX shares in the spotlight this morning
• 2 fantastic blue chip ASX 200 shares for your portfolio
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) share price rallied to a near two-year high on the back of its latest quarterly update.

The Sandfire share price jumped 4.6% to $6.61 during lunch time trade. This makes it the third best performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO).

Only the Sparc Technologies Ltd (ASX: SPN) share price and Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW) share price were doing better.

Sandfire share price outperforming other ASX miners

The Sandfire share price is also bucking the downtrend among ASX mining shares. The OZ Minerals Limited (ASX: OZL) share price fell 2.2% to $24.01 and the BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price lost 0.1% to $48.32.

Investors got excited about Sandfire after management showed it was maximising the copper price bull run.

Production guidance at top-end of guidance

The copper miner is not only forecasting that production will hit the upper end of its guidance, but it held its cost estimate steady for FY21.

Sandfire’s copper output reached 16,803 tonnes in the March quarter. That’s up from the 16,390 tonnes in the previous quarter.

Gold production was weaker. That came in at 9,100 ounces in the latest quarter compared to 9,660 ounces in the three months to end December 2020.

Relief on cost gives extra boost to Sandfire share price

But it’s copper that’s the key focus. Management is aiming to produce 67,000 to 70,000 tonnes of the red metal this financial year.

Even though gold output dipped, Sandfire believes it can also hit the top end of its FY21 gold guidance of 36,000 to 40,000 ounces.

This might also be why management is sticking to its C1 cash cost estimate of between US80 cents and US85 cents a pound of copper, even though C1 cost came in at US87 cents a pound.

Copper miners usually sell the gold by-product to lower the cost of production.

The fact that Sandfire isn’t warning of a cost increase is reassuring after fellow copper miner OZ Minerals lifted its cost estimates earlier this month.

Copper price heading for record highs

“The March Quarter has delivered exciting progress for Sandfire on a number of fronts, against the backdrop of continued strength in the copper price and a robust outlook for copper,” said Sandfire Managing Director and CEO, Karl Simich.

“In recent weeks, several major investment banks have further upgraded their outlook, with Goldman Sachs in particular lifting its price target to US$15,000per tonne by 2025 on the back of global decarbonisation and a looming chronic supply deficit.”

The price of copper is hovering around a 10-year high of US$9,852 a tonne. Strikes at mines in Chile and robust demand is driving the rally.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.5%: Coles Q3 update, Westpac settles class action, JB Hi-Fi loses its CEO
• Record high iron ore price puts these ASX shares in the spotlight this morning
• Why the Downer (ASX:DOW) share price will be on focus this morning
• 2 fantastic blue chip ASX 200 shares for your portfolio
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of BHP Billiton Limited and OZ Minerals Limited. 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.

The post Why the Sandfire (ASX:SFR) share price jumped to a 2-year high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) is one to watch this afternoon. The MGC Pharma share price has climbed 8.8% higher today and provided an afternoon product update.

Why is the MGC Pharma share price charging?

MGC Pharma yesterday provided its quarterly update to the market and saw its share price slide 3.3% lower to close at $0.058 per share. However, there was a strong recovery this morning as investors decided to buy back in.

The Aussie company became the first medicinal cannabis company to list on the London Stock Exchange following a £6.5 million (A$12 million) placement. The funds will be used to expedite its clinical trials and pursue continued growth initiatives.

MGC Pharma reported record quarterly sales of its proprietary phytomedicine product line which delivered $880,000 in revenue. That wasn’t enough to boost the medicinal cannabis share higher on Wednesday as it slumped into the close.

However, today has been a new day and new share price gains for the medicinal cannabis group. The MGC Pharma share price jumped 8.8% higher today before providing an update on a new partnership deal.

What was today’s update about?

The MGC Pharma share price is one to watch through to this afternoon’s close after the latest product update. MGC Pharma’s North American distribution partner, Glow LifeTech Ord Shs (CNSX: GLOW) has submitted an application to Health Canada.

The application seeks to obtain product licenses for ArtemiC as a Natural Health Product as announced by the Canadian group on 27 April 2021.

MGC Pharma released the results of a successful Phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial in December 2020. Those results showed ArtemiC statistically significantly improved the clinical recovery of COVID-19 patients versus the placebo group.

MGC Pharma CEO Roby Zomer said, “The submission of this application to Health Canada by Glow is an important and exciting step in the classification of ArtemiC as a Natural Health Product”.

“Approval of Glow’s application if granted will further highlight the robustness and effectiveness of our clinical trial processes in relation to treatments that we are able to develop and bring to market”, Mr Zomer added.

Foolish takeaway

The MGC Pharma share price is up 8.8% at the time of writing and is one to watch through to the close. Both the quarterly result and latest ArtemiC update will have investors keeping an eye on its shares in the coming days.

More reading

• Why the MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC) share price is up 5% today
• Why the MGC Pharma (ASX:MXC) share price is zooming 13% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decent gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.5% to 7,068.7 points.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are charging higher:

Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART)

The Airtasker share price has jumped 8% to $1.38 following the release of its third quarter update. According to the release, the company’s performance was ahead of expectations and prospectus assumptions during the quarter. As a result, management is confident that it will exceed its prospectus forecasts and has upgraded its FY 2021 gross marketplace volume (GMV) and revenue forecasts accordingly.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price is up almost 4% to $15.73. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie this morning. According to the note, the broker has upgraded Appen’s shares to a neutral rating with a price target of $16.00. Its analysts made the move on valuation grounds following a sharp decline over the last three months.

Downer EDI Limited (ASX: DOW)

The Downer share price is up 5.5% to $5.62. Investors have been buying the services company’s shares following the announcement of a major share buyback plan. This follows the sale of Mining and Laundry assets that will deliver total proceeds of $605 million. Downer advised that it will conduct an on-market buy-back of up to 70.1 million shares. This represents roughly 10% of the company’s outstanding shares.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price has jumped 9% to $11.00. This follows the release of a response to an ASX query this morning. That query requested that the ecommerce company provide greater detail on its recently released third quarter update. Judging by the share price reaction, some investors appear to believe Kogan’s update wasn’t as bad as first feared now that more details have been given.

More reading

• The Freelancer (ASX:FLN) share price is soaring 8% today
• Why the Appen (ASX:APX) share price is racing 5% higher today
• Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price higher following ASX query
• Here’s why the Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price is shooting 12% higher
• Province Resources and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week

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 Appen Ltd and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com 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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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) announced third quarter earnings for fiscal 2021 after the market closed on Tuesday, beating Wall Street’s expectations on both the top and bottom lines. The company’s revenue hit $41.7 billion, up 19% over the prior year and above the 17% growth posted last quarter. Similarly, diluted earnings per share came in at $2.03, up an impressive 45%.

Hitting the highlights, revenue from Microsoft’s Productivity and Businesses Processes segment grew 15% to $13.6 billion. This was the result of strong sales in commercial software products like Office 365 and Dynamics 365, which jumped 22% and 45%, respectively.

During the earnings call, CEO Satya Nadella also mentioned that Microsoft Teams reached 145 million daily active users, nearly double the 75 million daily active users reported last year. This indicates continued demand for videoconferencing and collaboration solutions that support remote work.

Sales in Microsoft’s Intelligent Cloud segment surged 26% to $15.1 billion, driven in large part by 50% revenue growth in Microsoft Azure, the company’s cloud computing business. While that’s an impressive figure, it marks a deceleration compared to the 59% growth in the same quarter last year.

Finally, Microsoft’s More Personal Computing revenue hit $13 billion, up 19%. Xbox was the main growth driver in this segment. Gaming sales surged 50%, benefiting from continued momentum following the launch of the Xbox Series X and S last November.

Despite these strong results, Wall Street wasn’t impressed and shares dropped 3% after hours. This is likely a reaction to slowing growth in Microsoft Azure, which represents a significant portion of the company’s long-term potential. Even so, Microsoft stock is up 14% year-to-date and 45% over the trailing 12 months.

Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Trevor Jennewine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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

More reading

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• Better buy: Microsoft vs. Alphabet
• Tesla and Palantir were some of the most popular US shares last week
• Here’s why Microsoft just spent $19.7 billion to acquire nuance communications
• Tesla and GameStop were some of the most popular US shares last week

Trevor Jennewine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Microsoft. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Microsoft beats Wall Street’s expectations with strong Q3 earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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The AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) share price just can’t shake the pressure right now. Shares in the Aussie wealth manager have slumped more than 3% today despite no new market updates.

Why is the AMP share price getting smashed?

AMP and its shareholders are having a tough time of it right now. The company has been in the news for quite some time with everything from scandals to leadership changes to restructuring.

That includes last week’s announcement that it would look to spin-off its AMP Capital arm via Private Markets demerger. The AMP share price charged higher on the news that AMP is looking at listing its Private Markets business while retaining its retail-focused wealth management group within AMP Limited.

However, an article in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) may provide some insight into today’s AMP share price moves.

Investors in AMP’s $5 billion AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund (ADPF) have voted to merge with a wholesale fund run by DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS). Some 93% of voters backed the merger which puts the spotlight back on AMP Capital’s plans.

The AMP share price has fallen more than 3% this morning with all eyes intensely focused on any potential changes to its existing funds. Yesterday’s vote paves the way for ADPF to join with the $10 billion Dexus Wholesale Fund, whose voters also backed a merger.

AMP Capital is hoping to “unlock further value in the Private Markets business” with the demerger. AMP has started an international search for a new CEO ahead of a planned 2022 process completion.

The AMP share price has been under pressure for quite some time now. Shares in the diversified financials group are down 35.7% since November 2020 and have slumped to a new 52-week low.

Foolish takeaway

The AMP share price has fallen to a new 52-week low of $1.08 today in a disappointing day of trade. It comes as investors in one of its wholesale real estate funds voted to merge with a Dexus-run wholesale fund.

More reading

• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price down, facing shareholder revolt this week
• Could value finally be emerging for the embattled AMP (ASX:AMP) share price?
• History is on the side of the battered AMP (ASX:AMP) share price as it plans its demerger
• AMP (ASX:AMP) is the most traded ASX 200 share today
• Why Accent, AMP, De Grey, & Nuix shares are charging higher

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) shares are soaring today, but with no news having been released by the company, ASX watchers might be wondering why. At the time of writing, the Freelancer share price is up 8.29%, trading at $1.11.

Today’s gains add to the company’s colossal share price growth this week. So far, it’s risen more than 19% since Monday morning.

While the company has been silent today, both it and others in its field have had a number of updates recently. The Freelancer share price also passed a significant milestone yesterday.

Let’s take a closer look. 

Recent update 

The latest news from the company was released yesterday, leading the Freelancer share price to close 6% higher than the previous session.

Yesterday, Freelancer shared that one of its divisions, Escrow.com, has partnered with eBay.

Escrow is a payment service that, in the instance of purchases on eBay, holds a buyer’s funds until a purchased item is received by the buyer in acceptable condition. When the item is received and accepted, Escrow releases the funds to the seller.

The payment service will be accessible to eBay customers buying luxury watches for at least US$10,000.

According to eBay, it is one of the largest luxury watch market places in the world. Since eBay launched its Authenticity Guarantee service in September, it has sold more than 7,000 luxury watches, each worth more than US$10,000.

Airtasker shares also jumping

Interestingly for Freelancer shares, the Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price is also on the rise today.

Similar businesses, like Airtasker and Freelancer, which are both marketplaces for the outsourcing of skills, can sometimes trend in tandem with each other.

At the time of writing, Airtasker shares are up 7.03%, trading at $1.37 apiece.

Airtasker’s gains today come following the release of its third-quarter results, which dropped this morning.

The Freelancer share price also received a boost after the company released its own third-quarter results last week.

Milestone closing price

In other recent news, the Freelancer share price reached a coveted milestone late yesterday. For the first time since early 2018, the company’s shares closed higher than the $1 mark, ending the day at $1.025. 

Some market watchers believe that when a share price reaches a psychological milestone such as this, it is representative of it breaking through a certain level of investor resistance. Whether or not this is true, and it translates into further gains for Freelancer shares, remains to be seen. 

Freelancer share price snapshot

The Freelancer share price has been performing well on the ASX so far this year.

Currently, it’s up by around 120% year to date. It’s also up by around 180% over the last 12 months.

With a market capitalisation of around $463 million, Freelancer has approximately 451 million shares outstanding. Of these, its CEO holds more than 40%.

More reading

• Here’s why the Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price is shooting 12% higher
• ASX stock of the day: Freelancer (ASX:FLN) shares shoot higher
• Why Accent, Bank of Queensland, Freelancer, & Zip shares are pushing higher
• Could Airbnb’s trademark dispute threaten the Airtasker (ASX:ART) share price?
• 2 ASX shares that this leading fund manager thinks are buys

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. recommends eBay and recommends the following options: short June 2021 $65 calls on eBay. 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 Tombador Iron Ltd (ASX: TI1) share price is on fire today. At the time of writing, Tombador shares are up a healthy 11.25% to 8.9 cents a share. That’s after closing at 7.8 cents yesterday and opening at 8.5 cents this morning. Today’s share price rise means that Tombador is now up more than 27% over the past month, and up more than 48% year to date.

So who is Tombador? And why are this company’s shares rising so robustly today?

Tombador is a prospective mining company that owns the rights to the Tombador iron ore project. This project is located in Bahia State, in Brazil. Tombador plans to develop this site into a low cost, open-cut iron ore mine in the “near term”. The company only listed on the ASX in October last year. Since then, it has proven a sound investment thus far, seeing as Tombdor shares have more than doubled since.

Why are Tombador shares shooting up today?

The catalyst for Tombador’s outperformance today appears to be an ASX announcement that the company released before the market open this morning. In this announcement, The miner told investors that its Tombador project has been granted a ‘mining concession’ by the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy. This was reportedly published in the ‘Official Gazette’ yesterday. It means that the Tombador Exploration Tenement is now officially a mining concession. The company also stated that since the gazettal has now occurred, it can seek an environmental operating license, the final step before production can commence.

Here’ some of what Tombador CEO Gabriel Oliver had to say on this development:

Tombador Iron is delighted to note the grant of the Mining Licence for the Tombador Iron Project. With this key milestone achieved, the company continues to guide towards first production from our high-grade hematite Fe product before the end of this Quarter.

At the current share price, Tombador Iron has a market capitalisation of $92.9 million.

More reading

• Why the Australian Vintage (ASX:AVG) share price is seesawing
• Why West African Resources (ASX: WAF) shares are tumbling
• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price is pushing higher today
• What’s causing the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price surge?
• Tesla’s Bitcoin sale helped boost quarterly profits

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 Australian Vintage Limited (ASX: AVG) share price jumped 3% higher before paring back those gains after a trading update from the Aussie winemaker.

Why is the Australian Vintage share price on the move?

This afternoon’s vintage and trading update has been the big factor behind today’s movements. Australian Vintage reported 116,600 tonnes of grapes were crushed in Vintage 2021, up 15% from last year’s 101,400 tonnes.

CEO Craig Garvin said, “This year’s improved total crush of 116,000 tonnes is very pleasing with favourable seasonal conditions contributing to a very high quality and improved yielding vintage”.

Grape yields from owned and leased vineyards climbed 11% on last year’s with premium vineyard yields up 97% from 2020. Mr Garvin reported the Adelaide Hills and Barossa vineyards were recovering well from fires and droughts affecting the prior vintage.

Higher production numbers haven’t been enough to boost the Australian Vintage share price this afternoon. UK/Europe/America sales to the end of March 2021 were up 12% with Australia and New Zealand sales up 4%.

Increased yields will improve self generating and regenerating assets (SGARA) income by about $1.3 million after tax against 2020. “This improvement in SGARA income is below expectation due to the decline in market price of red grapes”, added Mr Garvin.

The 15% increase in tonnes crushed has reportedly increased winery efficiency. Australian Vintage expects lower processing costs for all wine made from this year’s vintage as a result.

The Australian Vintage share price climbed as much as 3.5% before paring back gains. That’s despite the company remaining on track to achieve its FY2021 profit target. The target range of $18.2 million to $19.2 million would be a significant jump on last year’s $11.0 million results.

Results to March 31 are “in line with expectations” with hopes that China sales will resume in the medium term. Mr Garvin said, “Cash flow from operating activities is forecast to be significantly up on last year” with a forecast capital expenditure of $8.9 million.

Foolish takeaway

The Australian Vintage share price has been tumbling early in the afternoon following the trading update. Sales in the company’s four core brands – McGuigan, Tempus Two, Nepenthe and Barossa Valley Wine Company – climbed 17% during the quarter.

That has helped offset lower Asia sales, with China sales down 88% amid ongoing trade tensions and tariffs.

More reading

• Why West African Resources (ASX: WAF) shares are tumbling
• Why the Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price is pushing higher today
• What’s causing the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price surge?
• Tesla’s Bitcoin sale helped boost quarterly profits
• American Pacific (ASX:ABR) share price sinks 5% as CEO exits

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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