The Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC) share price has lifted slightly in early afternoon trade after a rollercoaster ride this morning in the wake of a leadership announcement.

At the time of writing, shares in the international property and infrastructure company have regained lost ground to trade at $12.12, up 0.17%.

CEO succession

Lendlease today advised that its Group CEO and managing director Steve McCann will retire in May. This marks the end of a 16-year tenure with more than 12 years as head of the company.

To ensure a smooth transition, the board has appointed the company’s Asia CEO, Tony Lombardo, to the reins. This succession will take place on 31 May 2021 when Mr McCann retires from the company.

Lendlease said Mr Lombardo had gained a wealth of experience through his 25-year career. He has worked across real estate development, investment management, finance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and strategy in Australia and internationally.

Mr Lombardo joined the company in 2007 and took up the role of group head of strategy and M&A. This entailed a refocus on Lendlease’s overall business strategy, which saw several initiatives being implemented.

More recently, Mr Lombardo was appointed CEO of Asia, where he drove Lendlease’s growth strategy. This included completion of Singapore’s S$3.7 billion Paya Lebar Quarter mixed-use development, and the establishment of a US$1 billion data centres joint venture. In addition, Mr Lombardo was involved in listing a S$1 billion global commercial REIT on the Singapore Exchange.

Words from the management team

Lendlease chair Michael Ullmer, touched on Mr McCann’s retirement, saying:

Steve has played an instrumental role in spearheading Lendlease’s transformation, focusing on our integrated business model in targeted global gateway cities.

Under Steve’s leadership, the group’s global development pipeline has grown to more than $110 billion including twenty-two major urbanisation projects across ten of the world’s most iconic cities.

Regarding Mr Lombardo’s appointment to the role, Mr Ullmer said:

Tony will commence in his new role as the group pursues its revised strategy focusing on leveraging its competitive edge in the development and delivery of large-scale, mixed-use urbanisation projects and growing the investments platform.

Tony’s time as CEO Asia, as well as prior roles including Group CFO, make him eminently qualified to lead Lendlease into the future.

About the Lendlease share price

The Lendlease share price has fallen more than 32% in the last 12 months. Its shares dropped to a multi-year low of $9.34 in March, before moving sideways for much of the remaining period.

Lendlease has a market capitalisation of around $8.2 billion based on the current share price.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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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After a slow start to the day, the Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is surging higher this afternoon.

At the time of writing, the shares of the global leading provider of elastic interconnection services are up 7% to $14.20.

Why is the Megaport share price surging higher?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of Megaport shares today following the release of its half year update.

According to the release, for the six months ended 31 December, Megaport reported revenue of $36 million. This was an increase of $10.1 million or 39% from the prior corresponding period.

Furthermore, at the end of the period, the company’s Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) stood at $6.3 million. This was up $1.7 million or 37% year on year and annualises to revenue of $75.6 million.

This top line growth would have been even stronger had the Australian dollar not strengthened so materially during the period.

Management notes that while North American MRR in US dollars increased by 26% from June to December, the reported growth in Australian dollars was just 15%.

In respect to earnings, Megaport delivered a profit after direct network costs of $18.2 million for the half. This was up $5.1 million or 38% over the prior corresponding period.

Finally, on the very bottom line, the company recorded a net loss of $38.4 million. This left it with a cash balance of $144.8 million.

What were the drivers of this growth?

A combination of customer and ports growth and an expanding footprint helped drive Megaport’s first half growth.

At the end of December, the company had 2,043 customers (up 11%) across 716 Enabled Data Centres (up 7%) in 130 cities. Of these data centres, 390 were located in North America, 202 in EMEA, and 124 in Asia Pacific.

Management commentary

Megaport’s Chief Executive Officer, Vincent English, was pleased with the half and remains very positive on its outlook. This is particularly the case in the massive North American market.

He said: “As we continued to expand our footprint to new locations, adding 23 new cloud onramps representing access to 11 new cloud regions, Megaport has continued our strong revenue performance during the first half of Fiscal Year 2021. Our path to profitability remains firmly in focus, with all three regions now EBITDA positive.”

“As a high-growth region, North America has always represented a significant market opportunity for Megaport and our investments there continue to pay off. North America was EBITDA positive on a regional basis in 2QFY21, notwithstanding some unfavourable FX movements. With all regions now EBITDA positive, we are on track to achieve EBITDA breakeven for the Group on a run rate basis this Fiscal Year as we continue to optimise our footprint to maximise margins and move to profitability,” he added.

Outlook

As mentioned above, Mr English expects Megaport to achieve its goal of being EBITDA break even on a run rate basis within FY 2021.

Supporting this will be the impending launch of its Megaport Virtual Edge (MVE) product on 31 March.

He explained: “On March 31, we will launch Megaport Virtual Edge, having currently deployed MVE infrastructure to eleven metros globally. An additional ten metros will be enabled by the end of this fiscal year.”

“Our industry-first integration between Cisco and MVE to support Viptela SD-WAN services is well on track and customer field trials are underway. Additionally, our Technology Partner pipeline for MVE integration covers about 50% of SD-WAN market share globally. This positions us to greatly expand our addressable market and drive more uptake of Megaport services through channel programmes with leading technology companies while providing more choices to our customers in how they engineer their IT solutions,” Mr English concluded.

Following today’s gain, the Megaport share price is now up 27% over the last 12 months.

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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 and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO. 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 phrase “interest rates are at record lows” has become ingrained in our expectations over the past year or 2. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has been whittling interest rates ever lower for so long now that its hard to remember a time when the Bank was doing anything else.

Indeed, we have to go all the way back to November 2010 for the last time the RBA actually raised rates, more than a decade now. Back then, the RBA had just hiked the cash rate by 0.25% to 4.75% – a level that feels immeasurably high by today’s standard. Even over the past year, we have seen a dramatic revision in the cash rate. This time last year, the cash rate was 0.75%. That’s a very long way from the current rate of 0.1% when you think about it.

But we better get used to it.

RBA is keeping rates lower for longer

Last week, the RBA held its monthly meeting and (surprise, surprise) decided to keep the cash rate steady at 0.1%. But the RBA went a little further. It also named the conditions under which it would consider raising rates again. That boiled down to the following:

The board will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 per cent target range. For this to occur, wages growth will have to be materially higher than it is currently. This will require significant gains in employment and a return to a tight labour market. The board does not expect these conditions to be met until 2024 at the earliest.

That’s a lot of hurdles for the economy to jump over – hence the 2024 indication.

So rates are pretty much guaranteed to remain at record lows for the next few years, if the RBA is to be believed. This is both a blessing and a curse.

A zero rate world: blessings and curses

It’s a blessing for the economy and investors. Cheap credit that is permitted under such a low rate is normally good for economic growth. It means businesses that want to borrow to expand, or investors who want to borrow to leverage their assets can do so at the cheapest rates in history. That should be at least partly accommodating to higher economic growth. Further, low rates boost the valuations of growth assets like ASX shares and property. Since most investors ascertain the future value of a share by comparing it to a risk-free rate of return they can get from a government bond, the lower this risk-free rate, the more valuable the shares. And government bond yields are directly tied to interest rates.

But it’s also a curse in many other ways. As retirees would know, safe cash investments like savings accounts and term deposits have never been more unproductive. Indeed, it’s nigh impossible to get a real, inflation-beating rate of return from a term deposit (or a savings account) these days. That has the rather unpleasant side-effect of pushing investors who don’t really want to be in the sharemarket, into the share market. These investors might be desperate for a real return, but concurrently terrified of losing their capital. Such skittishness is not a good thing to have in the markets.

Is cash trash?

Further, there have been many warnings about the near-zero interest rates causing bubbles of financial speculation. No one can deny we have seen some evidence of this in recent months. Events like the soaring share prices of companies like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), and Nio Inc (NYSE: NIO) don’t exactly have a conservative feel right now. The whole GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) saga recently have only amplified these concerns.

So how does one treat cash under this new paradigm?

Well, I think a good start is jettisoning the notion that any cash-based investment is still an investment. A term deposit earning 1% per annum will not protect your principle from eroding under inflation. Recent data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) tells us that the consumer price index (CPI), a standard measure of inflation, was running at 0.9% for the 12 months to the quarter ending 31 December 2020. That basically means if your cash wasn’t earning at least 0.9% in interest, your purchasing power fell over those 12 months. Even if you managed to find a term deposit still paying 1% per annum, getting a real rate of return of 0.1% is not going to make anyone wealthy.

Thus, cash should be treated as a tool, rather than an investment in this Brave New World.

Safety vs. returns

So, for starters, make sure you keep enough on hand for your goals and needs. If you’re saving up for a house, keep the faith and keep saving (even though you’re getting no help from the bank). If you’re building an emergency fund of 3-6 months worth of living expenses for a rainy day, stay the course.

But if you have tens of thousands of dollars sitting in cash that you could not conceivable find a use for in the next few years, it might be time to think about putting it to work in investments that actually give you a real rate of return. For example, a simple exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned an average of around 10.03% per annum over the past 5 years. Even the current dividend yield of the index is currently at 1.94%. That’s all looking pretty good against a term deposit right now.

One of the world’s top investors – Ray Dalio – told us that ‘cash is trash’ a few months ago. Most assets, whether that be gold, property or ASX shares, have always outperformed cash as an investment over long periods of time, bubbles included. So have a think about how much cash you actually need to be safe in your needs and wants. If there’s any left on top of that, it might be time to invest. Investing is never risk-free. But the biggest risk of all might be getting a guaranteed return of zero.

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Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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 Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI) share price is flat in morning trade. At the time of writing, the Centuria share price is down 0.8% to $2.46. The fairly muted share price moves come after the release of the specialist real estate funds manager’s half-year 2021 financial results this morning.

What financial results did Centuria Capital report today?

In this morning’s release, Centuria Capital reported that strong results in the first half of the 2021 financial year. This enabled it to upgrade its distribution guidance. Previously at 9 cents per share, the distributions per security were upgraded to 10 cents per share.

Centuria will pay an interim dividend of 1.2 cents per share.

The company reported operating earnings per stapled security of 6.2 cents per share for the half-year, with distributions of 4.5 cents per share.

Assets under management (AUM) reached $10.2 billion, up 16%. That was driven by $1.5 billion in direct real estate acquisitions, totalling 24 assets. Centuria also reported a $1.6 billion development pipeline and a 12-month total security holder return of 22.0%.

Operating profit after tax for the half-year was $34 million. This was up compared to $33.4 million for the first half of the 2019 financial year. The company ended the half with $168 million cash on hand.

Comments from the CEO

Addressing the results John McBain, Centuria Joint CEO, said:

We’ve had a strong start to FY21, delivering on our corporate dual strategy of direct real estate and corporate acquisitions. Operating businesses we’ve acquired throughout the past three years, namely the 360 Capital industrial portfolio, Heathley Limited and Augusta Capital, are now contributing strongly to our AUM growth.

We credit this two-step growth approach to underpinning Centuria’s 33% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in AUM throughout the past five years. The strategy has also resulted in our second guidance upgrade during FY21, from 8.5 cents to 9.0 cent and now 10.0 cents per stapled security. As the effects of COVID-19 unwind and greater certainty emerges, we have also reaffirmed FY21 earnings guidance.

Commenting on the record acquisitions for the half, Jason Huljich, Centuria Joint CEO said:

HY21 was a record half year period for acquisitions, which averaged about one transaction a week. Of the 24 assets secured, 47% were transacted on sale and leaseback terms and 57% on triple-net leases, the latter of which provides great value to our investors as these assets require minimal capital expenditure and maintenance costs.

The company launched 2 new unlisted funds during the half-year with 2 more unlisted fund launches currently in the works.

Centuria Capital share price snapshot

Centuria Capital’s share price has come back strongly since last autumns viral selloff and is now up 0.4% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the  S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 2.6% over the last year.

So far in 2021, Centuria’s share price is down 4.6%.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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A director involved in the reverse listing of Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) has been sentenced to 12 months jail for illegal market manipulation.

Ananda Kathiravelu of Perth had in August pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit an offence of market manipulation. 

On Monday, the Supreme Court of Western Australia sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment. He was released on $10,000 recognisance for 7 months of good behaviour.

Kathiravelu was a director of Radar Iron Limited, a now unlisted iron ore mining company that in 2015 was losing money and had near-zero revenues.

In July 2015, he was introduced to Israeli businessman Ariel Malik in connection to a potential reverse listing of technology firm Weebit Nano.

Later that year, Radar Iron agreed to acquire Weebit Nano, but a condition of the transaction was that a $5 million capital raising take place.

The raise would be conducted by Armada Capital, where Kathiravelu was also a director. It was set to receive up to $600,000 in fees if the capital raise was successful to the maximum extent.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s attention piqued when Radar’s share price increased, making it more attractive to entice investors into the capital raise.

Investigations later found the share price was artificially pushed up.

WhatsApp messages show the conspiracy

The court judged that WhatsApp messages between Kathiravelu and Malik showed them manipulating the market.

“Can we get Magic to buy some rad next week. I’m running out of bullets!” texted Kathiravelu to Malik on 12 May 2016.

‘Magic’ is the nickname of Croatian-Canadian businessman Steven Marko Bajic.

“Sure… will make sure he will,” replied Malik.

Kathiravelu emphasised he wanted Radar Iron shares to close at 5.2 cents on Tuesday 17 May 2016.

Further WhatsApp correspondence showed that Bajic bought up Radar Iron shares in the last hour trading on Tuesday 17 May 2016. The stock price indeed closed at 51 cents before it was placed in a trading halt.

Malik, who was named as an alleged co-conspirator, and Bajic both live overseas and have not been charged with any offences.

The Motley Fool has contacted Weebit Nano for comment.

Market manipulation is a serious offence

Although Kathiravelu eventually pleaded guilty, he did so after previously pleading not guilty in a “significant number” of previous appearances in court.

He had faced a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a fine up to $810,000.

“You did not cooperate with law enforcement authorities in the investigation of your offence,” stated Justice Anthony Derrick.

“The detection of your criminal conduct was not the result of any voluntary disclosure or cooperation on your part.”

Due to the conviction, ASIC has also automatically banned Kathiravelu from managing companies for 5 years.

“Market manipulation erodes public confidence in the fair, orderly and transparent operation of the market,” ASIC commissioner Cathie Armour said.

“ASIC will take action against misconduct which undermines the fairness and integrity of our financial markets.”

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Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price has surged more than 69% in the past 3 weeks. Here’s why the company’s shares have been soaring.

What’s fuelling the Zip share price?

Late last month the Zip share price received a boost after the company released an update for the second quarter of FY21.

For the second quarter, Zip boasted a 103% increase in transaction volume to a record of $1.6 billion. As a result, the buy now, pay later (BNPL) company managed to generate an 88% increase in quarterly revenue of $102 million.

According to the update, operations in the United States were the main driver of growth for the second quarter. Zip noted that its QuadPay business delivered a 217% increase in transaction volume of $673.1 million. The company attributed the strong growth to a 180% increase in customer numbers of 3.2 million, whilst also reporting a 655% surge in merchants to 8,400.

Growth was not only limited to the US in the second quarter. Zip also reported a 60% increase in transaction volume in the Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) market of $908.7 million. In addition, customers in the ANZ region grew 39% since the prior corresponding period to 2.5 million.

How has the Zip share price maintained momentum?

In addition to a positive second-quarter update, the recent buzz surrounding the company’s future growth prospects has helped fire up the Zip share price.

An article published by The Australian Financial Review (AFR) last weekend speculated that Zip could be pursuing a second stock market listing in the US. According to the article, Zip was undertaking a US investor roadshow to gain international support for the company.

AFR sources noted that “Zip is considering issuing American Depository Receipts that would mirror shares in the company, trade in the US and give the company greater access to US capital markets.”

The AFR further speculated that the trip was designed to help “bridge a $35 billion valuation gap” between Zip and BNPL juggernaut Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT).

Foolish takeaway

At the time of writing the Zip share price has stormed another 6.3% higher for the day so far and is currently trading at $10.13. Incorporating today’s bullish price action, Zip has a current market capitalisation of around $5.3 billion.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.35%: CBA half year update, IAG impresses, Zip shoots higher
• Afterpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
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• ASX 200 rises 0.6%, Vocus jumps on takeover offer, Afterpay hits new record
• Will LimePay IPO drive ASX BNPL shares even higher?

Nikhil Gangaram 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 owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. 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.

In 2009, an individual known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created what has become the world’s largest cryptocurrency: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC). Since that time, Bitcoin prices have skyrocketed and plunged repeatedly in a dizzying display of volatility. But those frenetic price swings are just one of the reasons Bitcoin can be a risky place to invest your money.

If concerns about this digital currency have led you to avoid betting directly on an asset class that has no clear investment thesis (or on a digital currency that’s relatively difficult to spend in the real world), both PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) are companies that now offer some Bitcoin exposure without the same level of risk.

Here’s what investors should know.

The importance of Bitcoin

In May 2018, Square started allowing Cash App users to buy and sell Bitcoin. PayPal followed suit with its digital wallet in 2020, and it plans to add the feature to Venmo in the summer of 2021. What’s more, a report by Pantera Capital indicates that both fintech companies are aggressively buying the digital currency. New Bitcoins are created according to a fixed formula and the amount of new coins created will eventually stop when it reaches 21 million. According to Pantera Capital, Square and PayPal together are buying more than 100% of newly mined Bitcoins currently out there. In other words, they are purchasing every new token created as well as some already in circulation.

During PayPal’s recent earnings call, CEO Dan Schulman indicated that users responded with overwhelming enthusiasm to the company’s Bitcoin launch. Even more exciting, Schulman reiterated the company’s plan to enable Bitcoin as a payment method at any of PayPal’s 29 million merchants later this quarter.

While PayPal just started offering this service and has yet to provide specific financial details, Bitcoin has become a major contributor to Square’s top line. In fact, Bitcoin sales have risen from $34 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 to $1.6 billion in the third quarter of fiscal 2020 — that’s a 4,600% increase in less than three years.

However, Bitcoin revenue comes with incredibly low margins — in the most recent quarter, Square’s gross margin on Bitcoin was just 2%. In other words, despite accounting for the majority of Square’s revenue, Bitcoin’s contribution to the bottom line is negligible. So what’s the point?

For both PayPal and Square, Bitcoin is a way of engaging users. It’s one more feature that enhances their mobile app ecosystems. And as these fintech companies add new users, it becomes more likely that those users will engage in other profit-generating activities.

For example, Square’s Cash App also allows users to send peer-to-peer transfers, instantly transfer funds to bank accounts, receive direct deposits, buy and sell stocks, and make purchases using the Square Cash Card. And users who adopt two or more of those services transact three to four times more frequently and generate three to four times more gross profit than other users. Additionally, in the third quarter of fiscal 2020, 23% of Cash App consumers were daily users compared to 15% in the third quarter of fiscal 2018. In other words, Square’s strategy is working, and PayPal will likely see similar benefits.

The benefits of Square and PayPal

Compared to purchasing Bitcoin outright — which is a risky investment for a number of reasons — Square and PayPal both have thriving businesses outside of cryptocurrency.

These fintech companies have developed highly engaging product ecosystems that empower both sellers and consumers. Whether it’s the ability to accept digital payments, invest in cryptocurrency, or transfer money to friends or family, both PayPal and Square provide truly valuable services. Moreover, both have built sizable networks protected by strong moats, creating a barrier to entry (something Bitcoin lacks). And that has translated into tangible wealth and significant revenue growth.

Metric	2017	TTM	Change
PayPal revenue	$13.1 billion	$21.5 billion	64%
Square revenue	$2.2 billion	$7.7 billion	246%

Data source: PayPal and Square SEC filings. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Finally, digital payments and e-commerce are only becoming more prevalent around the world. And in the years ahead, the tailwinds from those trends should help PayPal and Square continue to create value for all stakeholders, even if Bitcoin’s value evaporates.

A final word

No investment is without risk, nor is any asset class guaranteed to gain value over time. But Bitcoin’s volatility and questionable long-term utility makes it unusually risky in my opinion, even compared to some of the most volatile stocks.

Alternatively, PayPal and Square allow investors to benefit from the mania surrounding Bitcoin while avoiding actual exposure to the cryptocurrency. Put another way, shareholders of PayPal and Square benefit from the buying and selling of Bitcoin, not the value of a currency prone to wild fluctuations. That’s why I’ll take these two fintech companies over Bitcoin any day of the week.

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

More reading

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• PayPal stock could surge 23% to $300 on its cryptocurrency move, according to this analyst
• Top fundie Hyperion to launch new growth ETF
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Trevor Jennewine owns shares of PayPal Holdings and Square. Trevor Jennewine has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends PayPal Holdings and Square and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has no position in any cryptocurrencies mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Forget Bitcoin, buy PayPal and Square instead 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 Althea Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: AGH) share price is tearing higher today. This comes after the company announced the completion of its first shipment of products to Germany.

Shares in the global medicinal cannabis company reached a high of 56 cents this morning, but have since retreated to 54 cents, up 9% at the time of writing.

What’s driving the Althea share price higher?

According to its release, the company has delivered its first shipment of medicinal oil cannabis products to Nimbus Health, a company that imports and distributes medicinal cannabis products in Germany. The vertically integrated pharmaceutical wholesaler ranks among the top 10 distributors in Germany.

The shipment is worth around $1 million and arrived at the Nimbus facility for distribution. It is expected the medicinal oil cannabis products will be sent to an extensive network of existing partnering pharmacies.

Althea said it would receive payment for products supplied to Nimbus, along with 50% of the net profit.

Furthermore, under an earlier agreement with Nimbus, Althea will also generate its own sales via new and existing customers to avoid relying on third-party wholesalers for repeat purchase orders.

Addressable market opportunity

Althea noted that the German market represented a significant opportunity to invest its resources in. With a population of 82.3 million, the medicinal cannabis market is estimated to grow to €7.7 billion (A$12.22 billion) by 2028.

Althea believes that its partnership with Nimbus puts it in a good position to become Germany’s leading medicinal cannabis brand.

CEO commentary

Althea CEO Joshua Fegan welcomed the positive news, saying:

Successfully shipping our first products to Germany is a huge milestone for our European expansion plans and builds on the encouraging results to date from our UK operations.

Germany is a key market for global medicinal cannabis and is currently underserviced in terms of high-quality medicinal cannabis oil products and the education of Healthcare Professionals. Along with exceptional patient care, these are the pillars of our business.

Foolish takeaway

The Althea share price has climbed more than 20% since the beginning of the 2021 calendar year. The company’s shares took a minor dip in late January, hitting a low of 44 cents before surging higher.

At the current share price, Althea has a market capitalisation of around $139 million.

More reading

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• The sector that’ll grow 480% this year, expert says
• Why the Althea (ASX:AGH) share price is flying high this morning

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Althea (ASX:AGH) share price has zoomed up 9% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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In early afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is back on form and pushing higher. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.5% to 6,856.4 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market’s lead today are listed below. Here’s why they are under pressure:

CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM)

The CIMIC share price has crashed 16% lower to $21.88 following the release of its full year results for FY 2020 this morning. While the contractor reported a sizeable jump in profits, this growth was driven entirely by the sale of a 50% stake in the Thiess business. Underlying profit fell 25% year on year. The company’s cash flows were also weak, which appears to have alarmed investors.

Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN)

The Crown share price has returned from its trading halt and dropped 3.5% to $9.80. Yesterday afternoon the casino and resorts operator was judged to be an unsuitable operator of its new Barangaroo casino in Sydney. Commissioner Bergin noted how Crown has been “facilitating money laundering, exposing staff to the risk of detention in a foreign jurisdiction and pursuing commercial relationships with individuals with connections to Triads and organised crime group.”

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino’s share price is down 1.5% to $96.20. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Credit Suisse this morning. According to the note, ahead of its half year results release, the broker has reaffirmed its underperform rating but lifted its price target to $63.58. While Credit Suisse expects a solid first half, it isn’t enough to change its recommendation due to valuation reasons.

Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS)

The Praemium share price has fallen almost 5% to 80 cents. The catalyst for this was the release of the investment platform provider’s half year results this morning. Although Praemium reported a 69% increase in funds under administration to $34.3 billion, its revenue only increased 20% to $31.7 million and its EBITDA rose just 5% to $7.3 million.

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.35%: CBA half year update, IAG impresses, Zip shoots higher
• Why the Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price is plunging 16%
• Why the Crown (ASX:CWN) share price is tumbling lower today
• Praemium (ASX:PPS) share price on watch after “transformational” period
• ASX 200 drops 0.9%, Crown not suitable for Sydney casino, Macquarie rises

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 Praemium Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Crown Resorts Limited, Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited, and Praemium Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Why CIMIC, Crown, Domino’s, & Praemium shares are tumbling lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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At lunch on Wednesday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is bouncing back from yesterday’s decline. The benchmark index is currently up 0.35% to 6,845.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Commonwealth Bank half year result

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is trading lower today following the release of its half year results. For the six months ended 31 December, the banking giant reported a 0.5% decline in operating income to $11,961 million and a 10.8% decline in cash net profit after tax from continuing operations to $3,886 million. Excluding COVID-19 impacts and remediation costs, the bank’s cash profit would have been broadly flat. Commonwealth Bank declared a fully franked interim dividend of $1.50 per share.

IAG result impresses

The Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) share price is charging higher today following the release of a better than expected half year result. The insurance giant delivered a 3.8% increase in gross written premiums (GWP) to $6,188 million and 33.1% increase in insurance profit to $667 million. The latter was driven largely by lower motor claims due to COVID lockdowns. However, due to a hefty business interruption claims charge, the company posted a statutory loss after tax of $460 million. Nevertheless, the company surprised the market by declaring a 7 cents per share interim dividend.

Crown share price tumbles

The Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) share price is tumbling lower after being found unsuitable to operate its Barangaroo casino in Sydney. Commissioner Patricia Bergin explained: “Any applicant for a casino licence with the attributes of Crown’s stark realities of facilitating money laundering, exposing staff to the risk of detention in a foreign jurisdiction and pursuing commercial relationships with individuals with connections to Triads and organised crime groups would not be confident of a positive outcome.” Two directors have resigned this morning following the release of the report.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Wednesday has been the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price with an 8% gain. This is despite there being no news out of the buy now pay later provider. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the CIMIC Group Ltd (ASX: CIM) share price with a disappointing 17% decline. This follows the release of its full year results for FY 2020 this morning. Weak cash flows appear to have spooked the market.

More reading

• Why the Cimic (ASX:CIM) share price is plunging 16%
• Why Computershare, IAG, Northern Star, & PointsBet shares are pushing higher
• Why the Crown (ASX:CWN) share price is tumbling lower today
• Why the Insurance Australia Group (ASX:IAG) share price is charging higher
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price in focus after $3.9 billion half year cash profit

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 recommended Crown Resorts Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post ASX 200 up 0.35%: CBA half year update, IAG impresses, Zip shoots higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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