• Why the Decmil (ASX:DCG) share price jumped 9% today

    share price jump

    The Decmil Group Limited (ASX: DCG) share price was on form on Wednesday.

    At one stage, the engineering company’s shares were up as much as 9% to 60 cents.

    The Decmil share price eventually closed the day 7% higher at 59 cents.

    Why did the Decmil share price zoom higher?

    Investors were buying Decmil shares on Wednesday following the release of its half year results. Those results revealed a big improvement in its profitability despite softer revenues.

    For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported a 30% decline in revenue to $165.1 million.

    However, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $5.6 million. This compares to an EBITDA loss of $19.9 million a year earlier.

    It was a similar story on the bottom line, with its profit coming in at $0.6 million. This is a huge improvement on the $31.4 million loss it posted a year earlier.

    Management notes that its strong result was underpinned by renewed strategy to target contracts with blue chip clients within Decmil’s areas of core expertise.

    Positively, at the end of the period, the company had work in hand of ~$600 million. It expects this to expand further during the second half as government spending on infrastructure development continues its strong momentum.

    Management commentary

    Decmil’s Chief Executive Officer, Dickie Dique, commented: “The Company has successfully navigated several key operational and financial obstacles and emerged in an increasingly improved position as the first half of the 2021 fiscal year progressed.”

    “Decmil’s business structure has been streamlined, our focus on prudent capital management has increased, and we are successfully securing lower risk contracts from blue chip clients. This has enabled us to beat our own expectations and achieve a period of profitability in FY21.”

    “Crucially, we have also reaffirmed our F150+ accreditation, which in conjunction with a reinforced working capital position will drive our ability to target the burgeoning tender pipeline of infrastructure works from the Federal and State Governments of over $7 billion within the Company’s core capabilities.”

    Outlook

    There was no guidance for the remainder of the year. However, management anticipates that the strong momentum experienced in the first half will continue into the second half of the fiscal year.

    The company also intends to maintain its renewed focus on targeting lower risk projects with blue chip customers across the infrastructure, resources, energy and construction sectors. It notes that these sectors continue to have a strong pipeline of upcoming work.

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    Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 Thomson (ASX:TMZ) share price jumped 9% higher today after its latest announcement

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    The Thomson Resources Ltd (ASX: TMZ) share price ended the day higher after providing an update on the sale of the Webbs and Conrad Projects. At market close, shares in the Australian-based exploration company finished at 18 cents, up 9.37%.

    Let’s take a look and see why the company’s shares rose strongly.

    What did Thomson announce?

    The Thomson share price advanced higher after reporting progress on its deal with Silver Mines Limited (ASX: SVL).

    According to its release, Thomson advised that it reached an agreement with Silver Mines to amend the sale contracts of the Webbs and Conrad Projects.

    Both companies originally signed a binding term sheet in November last year for Thomson to acquire both silver projects. In effect, this would make Thomson a major gold and silver exploration and mining company.

    Under the revised document, Thomson will pay a combination of cash and shares to finalise the sale. This includes a non-refundable payment of $750,000 which has been paid to Silver Mines.

    A further payment will need to be made equivalent to the cash bonds in place, which is estimated to be around $269,000.

    In addition, Thomson will issue Silver Mines’ 70 million fully paid ordinary shares split across two tranches. Attached to the ordinary shares will be 50 million options at an exercise price of 12.4 cents per option. This will expire within 3 years from the date of issue.

    While the agreement has been laid out, shareholder approval is still needed for the deal to go ahead. Thomson has planned to hold a meeting in mid-March for shareholders to give to okay to issue the shares.

    Share price review

    Over the past 12 months, the Thomson share price has accelerated to give investors gains of over 740%. In March, the company’s shares listed for as low as 0.02 cents before moving on an upwards trajectory.

    Based on the current share price, Thomson has a market capitalisation of almost $60 million

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  • BARD1 (ASX:BD1) share price plummets 15% on legal proceedings

    falling healthcare asx share price Mesoblast capital raising

    The BARD1 Life Sciences Ltd (ASX: BD1) share price fell off its perch today after the company announced that legal proceedings have commenced against it.

    Consequently, shareholders have been rattled by the news, leading to a selloff in the company’s shares. By the market’s close, the BARD1 share price was down 14.51% to $2.71.

    What drove the BARD1 share price lower?

    The BARD1 share price took a major hit today after the company reported that two founding scientists are pursuing legal action against it. The two scientists were founders and major shareholders of BARD1AG SA, which was acquired from the plaintiffs in 2016, and is now a fully owned subsidiary of BARD1.

    The founders commencing the proceedings are Tony Walker and Dr Irmgard Irminger-Finger. Mr Walker and Dr Irminger-Finger had pioneered a simple blood test for screening and diagnosing lung cancer in the early stages prior to the reverse takeover by Eurogold Limited.

    As part of the reverse acquisition agreement, both founders were allocated performance shares. Dr Irminger-Finger retains a total of 3.6 million performance shares, while Tony Walker holds a total of 2.95 million. These performance shares are convertible on a one-for-one basis to ordinary shares subject to achieving milestones related to the company’s lung cancer test before the expiration date of 9 June 2021. Given the recent rise in the BARD1 share price, the matter is much more valuable now.

    The statement of claim reportedly alleges the following:

    Among other things that the Company was subject to obligations to do all things as were reasonably necessary to seek to have the Test satisfy the milestones by the expiry date and not to deprive the plaintiffs of the opportunity to have each of their Performance Shares convert into one ordinary share in the Company.

    In addition to:

    In breach of those obligations the plaintiffs have been deprived of that opportunity. The proceedings seek damages, costs, interest and such further or other orders as the Court considers just.

    BARD1 has been busy with other things

    This month alone, the company has released positive announcements regarding its ovarian cancer test and breast cancer test technology. The company’s recent announcements saw the BARD1 share price rocket from 74.5 cents on 10 February to a high of $3.70 on 16 February.

    However, there has been no recent news from the company regarding the development of a lung cancer test.

    BARD1 noted that it will be reviewing the statement of claim with legal advisors. Furthermore, the company intends to defend the proceedings and will file a comprehensive defence in due course.

    Due to the legal nature of this event, BARD1 won’t be making any further comments on the matter.

    The BARD1 share price has netted shareholders a 190% return over the past year.

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    Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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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  • Over The Wire (ASX:OTW) share price rockets after earnings, dividend boost

    tech shares

    The Over The Wire Holdings Ltd (ASX: OTW) share price rose by 3.91% after the company reported its half-year results earlier today.

    The technology services provider has boosted its numbers across the board as it brushed off the effects of COVID-19 for the December half-year.

    The Brisbane company’s revenue was up 17% compared to the same half-year 12 months prior. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also increased 28% and net profit after tax before amortisation shot up 12%.

    The only figure down was net profit after tax, which shrunk 23%.

    The market responded warmly to the numbers, pushing the Over the Wire share price up to $3.99 by close of trade Wednesday.

    It had been as high as $5 in the past 12 months, but the rally was some relief for shareholders who saw it plunge from $4.28 since the end of last year.

    The company on Wednesday morning also announced an interim dividend of 1.75 cents per share fully franked. This is up slightly from the 1.5 cents delivered this time last year.

    Over The Wire’s busy half-year 

    The big events for the tech company over the December half-year were acquisitions of 3 businesses over 2 transactions. J2 Australia and Zintel were acquired on 31 August and Digital Sense came onto its books on 30 October.

    Naos Asset Management reported in January that it was bullish about these acquisitions.

    The investment firm forecast that EBITDA could see a $14 million boost over the next two years and the normalised EBITDA annual run rate could hit $35 million in financial year 2022.

    J2 and Zintel brought in about 9,000 business customers. 

    The acquisitions also reinforced the recurring nature of Over The Wire’s turnover.

    The half-year ending 31 December saw it rake in $45.9 million in recurring revenue, which was more than 91% of total turnover.

    The company has a stated aim of keeping that rate above 90%.

    Over The Wire provides software, hardware, telecommunications and cloud services to enterprise and government clients. It was established in 2007 in Brisbane, and now has 150 employees with branches in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Auckland.

    Co-founder Michael Omeros still leads the company as managing director.

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  • What gives, when profits rise, but share prices fall?

    Chalkboard Graph Up Dow

    Confused by some of the share price reactions during earnings season?

    You’re not alone.

    So here’s a reminder of how it works:

    Sometimes, profits go up. And the share price falls.

    Sometimes profits go down. And the share price rises.

    Sometimes, profits and share prices go in the same direction.

    Huh?

    No, it’s not as random or clueless as it sounds, but it does take some explaining.

    And the answer is in two words: ‘expectations’ and ‘outlook’.

    Let’s take them in order.

    Say your company delivered strong growth, with profits up 25%. 

    That’s good.

    But if the company had provided guidance for 50% growth (or the market, feeling optimistic, had factored in 50% growth in the absence of company guidance), a 25% lift in earnings will be underwhelming.

    So, a market prepared to pay $1 per share for 50% growth might only pay 90c for the lower actual result.

    Hence: profits up, share price down.

    And yes, you can reverse the situation:

    Assume the market thought another company was in for a tough time. Shares had been trading a lot lower, on the basis that profits would be down 40%. But, in the event, the company did better than expected, and profits only fell by, say, 20%.

    The share price might jump, as investors recalibrate their expectations for ‘bad, but not as bad as we feared’.

    Hence: profits down, share price up.

    (We’ll assume for our purposes that ‘profits up, share price up’ and ‘profits down, share price down’ are a little more self-explanatory. That’s not always the case, by the way, but that’s a discussion for another day.)

    What about when profits are as good – or better – than the market expected, but the share price still falls?

    That can be a case of ‘outlook’ being the Grinch at this particular Christmas party.

    For example, a business might have had a good year last year (or last half), but that was due to one-off or temporary factors. So, it’ll say ‘hey, last year was great, but don’t expect it to last’.

    Or it might be that given we’re getting towards the end of February and the books are closed off in December, the last 8 or so weeks have been underwhelming.

    In that case, even though the reported numbers are real, and might be impressive, the market is (very reasonably) looking at more recent trading and factoring in that poorer performance.

    So, yes, even when profits are up, and as good or better than expected, a share price can still fall.

    And similarly, you’ll often see an ordinary set of numbers be passed over by investors, based on real and (hopefully) sustained recovery being shown in the last couple of months.

    Clear?

    As crystal, or as mud?

    If it’s the former, great.

    If the latter, please do yourself a favour and re-read what I’ve written, above.

    Because, as an investor, the sense of bewilderment when a share price doesn’t follow profits (in the short term, at least) can be pretty demotivating, sometimes.

    It can make you lose confidence in yourself and faith in the market.

    You can start to wonder if you’re really cut out for all this.

    Pro tip: You are.

    And, if you need it, here’s the good news: Over the long term, it’s almost invariably true that short term bumps and surprises are evened out.

    Share prices, over a long enough period of time, follow business performance. And the longer your investing timeframe, the more likely that is to be true.

    Some people learn to make their peace with volatility. Others just learn to ignore it, or endure it with gritted teeth.

    What I know, from my own experience and the experience of others, over decades, is that buying quality at a reasonable (but not necessarily dirt cheap) price, being diversified, and having a long term perspective, is the best way to ride the waves of earnings season.

    Which doesn’t necessarily make it easy – at least at first.

    But give it time (and grit your teeth if you need to).

    You’ll get there!

    Fool on!

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  • Up 61% in 2021, why the Race Oncology (ASX:RAC) share price is marching higher again

    increase in asx medical software share price represented by doctor making excited hands up gesture

    Hot on the heels of yesterday’s gains, Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC) shares were marching higher again today. By the market’s close, the Race Oncology share price had jumped 2.27% to $3.15. That puts the total gains for the company’s shares at more than 61% so far in 2021.

    Let’s take a look at the positive early preclinical ovarian cancer results announced by the company yesterday.

    What did the company report?

    In an ASX release yesterday morning, Race Oncology reported that early results indicate its cancer-fighting chemotherapeutic agent, Bisantrene, is effective in killing patient-derived ovarian cancer cell lines. Bisantrene killed cancer cells that were resistant to cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil and chlorambucil (the current standard of care ovarian cancer drugs).

    Race Oncology is collaborating on the preclinical research program with The University of Newcastle. The research aims to identify Bisantrene’s usefulness in treating ovarian cancer. Nikki Verrills of the Hunter Medical Research Institute is spearheading the project.

    Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cause of cancer-related death among women and the most lethal gynaecological malignancy in developed countries.

    Commenting on the results Race Oncology CSO Daniel Tillett said:

    These initial results from Nikki’s team further highlight Bisantrene’s potential use in ovarian cancer patients as a safer alternative to the commonly used anthracyclines which can be very dangerous to the hearts of patients. It is highly encouraging that Bisantrene is able to kill ovarian cancer cells resistant to currently used treatments and these findings support further exploration of the use of Bisantrene in ovarian cancer patients.

    The company’s CEO Phillip Lynch added:

    This program is further evidence of Race delivering against the Three Pillar strategy, taking counsel, and completing feasibility assessments with a view to mapping promising yet attainable clinical paths for Bisantrene.

    Race Oncology has planned additional trials to confirm Bisantrene’s efficacy.

    Race Oncology share price snapshot

    Over the past 12 months, the Race Oncology share price has surged an eye-popping 703%. That compares to a 0.1% loss on the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO).

    Year to date, Race Oncology shares are up by around 61%.

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  • 3 things to watch when Zip (ASX:Z1P) releases its half year results

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    All eyes will be on the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price on Thursday when it hands in its highly anticipated half year results.

    Ahead of the release, I thought I would pick out three things for investors to look out for. They are as follows:

    Strong revenue growth and a narrowing loss

    The market is expecting the buy now pay later (BNPL) provider to deliver further strong growth in key metrics tomorrow. According to a note out of Morgans, its analysts are forecasting half year revenue of $162 million. This will be more than double the $69.6 million revenue it recorded in the prior corresponding period. It will also be more than the entire revenue ($161 million) that Zip achieved in FY 2020. And while this isn’t expected to lead to profitable operations just yet, Morgans expects its net loss to narrow to $25 million. If the company outperforms this, then it could be good news for the Zip share price.

    Active customer numbers

    Zip has already pre-released a number of key metrics with its second quarter update. For example, at the end of December, Zip’s active customers reached 5.7 million. This was up 97% over the prior corresponding period. The company is likely to provide an update on its growth since the end of the half. The market will no doubt be looking to see if its QuadPay business has continued to attract new customers in large numbers. This is especially relevant given the increasing competition in the key US market from PayPal and Shopify. Once again, any under- or over-performance by its growing US business could have a big impact on the Zip share price on Thursday.

    International expansion

    Another thing for investors to look out for with the Zip half year result is its international expansion. Zip officially launched its UK business at long last in December after COVID-related postponements. While the country being in lockdown won’t have helped with its launch, the market will be keen to see if it is gaining traction with UK consumers. And as Zip is never one to sit still, it wouldn’t be surprising if further expansion plans, potentially into Canada or mainland Europe, were announced.

    The Zip share price is up 113% since the start of the year. Investors will no doubt be hoping it extends these gains tomorrow with another strong result.

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    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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. 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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  • Aussie investors are now buying more Bitcoin than gold

    asx share price reacting to bitcoin represented by hand placing bitcoin in gold piggy bank

    Much has been made of the rise of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) recently. And fair enough too. The price of bitcoin has gone parabolic of late, rising more than 50% over the past month alone. That’s despite bitcoin falling almost 15% since this Sunday alone. In fact, between 24 January and Sunday, Bitcoin was up 74%.

    Now picture this: bitcoin is up an eye-watering 977% between 16 March 2020 and today. That’s enough to give anyone FOMO.

    It’s hard to gauge exactly how many Aussies are enjoying these gains. That’s why a report from BTC Markets makes for some very interesting reading today.

    Bitcoin investing surges

    According to the report, more Australians are now investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin than in precious metals like gold and silver.

    The report surveyed more than 2,000 Australian investors over this month so far. This survey found that 12.6% of investors had an investment in a cryptocurrency, whereas only 12.1% of investors held an investment in precious metal.

    Nearly a third of those cryptocurrency investors made their first investment following the coronavirus-induced share market crash in March last year. Interestingly, more than half of those who own cryptocurrencies are not planning on selling anytime soon. 51% of these investors stated they did not plan to sell their coins despite the recent run-up in bitcoin prices. And 23% of them stated that they plan on holding their coins for more than 3 years.

    The comparison to gold is pertinent because investors are often attracted to bitcoin for the same reasons as they are to gold. Both gold and bitcoin have finite supplies and cannot be ‘printed’ by governments. As such, they are touted as being ‘inflation-proof’ and a store of wealth and value. Indeed, some bitcoin investors describe the cryptocurrency as ‘digital gold’.

    Shares still win out though…

    Despite the growing popularity of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, shares still dominate as Australian’s favourite investment. The report states that although 12.6% of those surveyed had cryptocurrency investments, a far greater 63.6% held shares directly. 28.8% of those surveyed also reported that they owned investments in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and managed funds. 25.8% said they had an investment property, and 18.8% said they invested in ‘collectables’.

    At the bottom of the pile were fixed-income investments (9.9%) and annuities (7.7%).

    Despite the recent success of bitcoin, the report also tells us that almost 80% of Australians are still not planning on investing in it.

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    Sebastian Bowen owns Bitcoin. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Bitcoin. 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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  • Why is the Paradigm (ASX:PAR) share price climbing today?

    Medical staff wear hero capes, indicting strong shar [price performace for healthcare shares

    The Paradigm Biopharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: PAR) share price gained ground today and is presently trading at $2.55 a share, a 2.82% bounce.

    The share price increase comes after Paradigm released its 1HY21 financial results.

    Here’s the rundown of what we found out. 

    Paradigm share price rises after company reports loss

    Paradigm reported a net profit after taxes (NPAT) loss of $20.7 million for 1HY21. This compares to the $5.1 million loss reported for 1HY20.

    The company advised that the increased NPAT loss was a product of the significant progress made with its osteoarthrosis (OA) and mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) clinical programs.

    Specifically, the company incurred the costs and expenses reflected in the NPAT loss in order to launch phase II and phase III trials for the treatment of MPS. Paradigm also allocated additional expenses to convene meetings pertaining to OA with the United States Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency.

    As of 31 December 2020, Paradigm posted $95.3 million worth of assets. $112.4 million in total assets was reported for the 1HY20 period.

    Cash and cash equivalents totalled $85.2 million for 1HY21 compared to $80 million for 1HY20.

    The company received a $3.4 million R&D tax incentive during 1Hy21.

    Chief medical officer shares insight

    Paradigm chief medical officer Dr Donna Skerrett commented on Paradigm’s progress during the period, saying: 

    During CY 2020, Paradigm conducted a number of non-clinical and clinical studies to provide updated information regarding drug characteristics, pharmacokinetics, and non-clinical toxicity as requested by the FDA in the company’s first meeting with the agency in February 2020.

    Paradigm has worked diligently to ensure it has all the necessary supporting non-clinical and clinical data and clinical development plan to support its IND submission in Q1 CY 2021.

    Paradigm share price snapshot

    Over the past year, the Paradigm share price has dropped about 26%.

    The company’s market capitalisation is $578.2 million. Paradigm currently has 225.9 million shares outstanding.

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  • Why the Retail Food (ASX:RFG) share price is 5% higher

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    The Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) share price is up more than 5.5% today. At the time of writing, the Retail Food Group share price is up 5.6% to $0.075. Shares in the company are in hot demand after Retail Food released its results for the first half of FY21.  

    Maintaining a profit despite COVID-19

    Earlier today, Retail Food released its results for the first half of FY21.

    Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail, Retail Food managed to maintain a profit for the first half.

    The company recorded an underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) of $12.0 million. This was a 60% increase on the prior corresponding period (pcp). The result was underpinned by an underlying EBITDA of $14.4 million for the first half of FY21.

    However, the true impact of the pandemic was seen in statutory NPAT which fell 72.2% to $3.89 million. In addition, total revenues for Retail Food fell 52.4% to $85.1 million for the first half.

    Retail Food acknowledged that the company had received $4 million in Jobkeeper payments and did not declare an interim dividend.

    Spotlight on Retail Food divisions

    Retail Food noted strong performances for its domestic franchises, Brumby’s Bakery and QSR Division (Crust/Pizza Capers).

    For the first half, the company’s Brumby’s Bakery franchises reported an 11.7% increase in sales. In addition, its QSR Division saw sales grow by 6.7% largely due to non-contact meal delivery options.

     According to Retail Food, the sales growth partially offset its brands anchored to shopping centres. Overall, Retail Food saw total network sales for Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, and Gloria Jean’s fall 13.2% to $244 million.

    How has the share price responded?

    Retail Food is Australia’s largest multi-brand retail food franchise manager. The company is the owner of notable brands including Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, Gloria Jean’s, Brumby’s Bakery, Crust Gourmet Pizza, and Pizza Capers.

    The company acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic presents ongoing challenges for the second half of FY21. However, Retail Food management remains optimistic about the return to less volatile trading conditions.

    Retail Food also noted that Federal Court proceedings with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) had begun. However, the company could not determine the full financial impact of the proceedings.

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    Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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.

    The post Why the Retail Food (ASX:RFG) share price is 5% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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