The Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) share price has climbed by 1.35% today to $42.08 at the time of writing. This movement comes off the back of its online annual general meeting (AGM) which took place this morning, where the company reported some impressive metrics for FY20 as well as FY21. 

Ansell Limited has a 125-year history of doing business, and is involved in the development, manufacturing, and sale of gloves and protective personal equipment in the industrial and medical end markets. Ansell operates in two main business segments: industrial and healthcare.

Major highlights from today’s AGM

Ansell reported a number of strong metrics today, including:

• a 7.6% increase in sales in FY20 to $1.61 billion.
• Its healthcare unit delivered 13.4% growth in sales in FY20, while its industrial unit delivered a 1.3% increase despite softening economy
• FY20 earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) grew by 39.7% to $219.7 million, which was supported by the sales growth, internal transformational initiatives, and net favourable raw material costs
• Earnings per share (EPS) increased by 23.6% on a constant currency basis.

The company also reported its costs have increased due to temporary plant shutdowns, other COVID-19 related costs, and adverse foreign exchange movements. Ansell attributes its net debt increase largely to changes in the new lease accounting standard.

Additionally, the company confirmed its dividend will be 50 cents per share, which represents a 7% increase.

What else was discussed

The company said that the COVID-19-associated increase in demand for its products started in China in February. This then expanded to the emerging markets customers in March, and was shortly followed by demand from North and Latin America. 

It also mentioned that the emerging markets revenue mainly from China and India was $338 million, or around 21% of total sales.

Guidance for FY21

The company also released guidance for FY21.

It says that Ansell’s strong portfolio of brands is well positioned to respond and adapt to impacts from COVID-19, which it expects to remain through all of FY21 and potentially into FY22.

Performance in the first four months of FY21 has been strong for the company, despite the continued uncertainties arising from COVID-19. Ansell is now expecting FY21 EPS to be in the range of $1.35 to $1.45 cents, which is up from previous guidance of $1.26 to $1.38.

Commenting on FY21 priorities, the company stated:

One of Ansell’s priorities is to ensure that it maintains its healthy balance sheet, and has sufficient capital to deploy for capital expenditure and dividends. Therefore, we paused buying back shares with the onset of COVID-19. However, we will keep the buy-back program open to maintain flexibility for our capital management strategies and we will continue to look to buy back shares opportunistically.

How has the Ansell share price fared in 2020?

The Ansell share price has had a stellar year so far, rising by around 45%. At today’s share price of $42.08, it has a market capitalisation of $5.4 billion.

More reading

• Leading brokers reiterate buy rating on this ASX healthcare share
• 6 major events for ASX shares this week
• Here’s why the Ansell (ASX:ANN) share price hit a record high today

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Ansell Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN) share price is trading flat today following the release of an operational update.

At the time of writing, shares in the baby goods retailer are slightly higher at $4.43, up 0.23%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) climbed up 1.1% to 6,336 points.

What happened?

Baby Bunting said it was working closely with the Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) after a problem with a recent overseas shipment affected the goods being received.

The company advised insects had been found in a shipping container holding 320 units of Peg Perego Prima Follow Me highchairs. The Khapra beetle was found inside the shipment, a common insect attracted to cardboard packaging.

In response, Baby Bunting’s Dandenong South Distribution Centre in Victoria has been closed temporarily for inspection and treatment. This has affected the distribution of stock being flowed onto retailers. Normal operations are expected to progressively resume early next week.

Baby Bunting said that while the product with the affected packaging had been delivered to retail stores, it remained in storerooms. Acting quickly on the discovery, the items have now been quarantined and inspection by DAWE officers is under way. Treatment of the impacted storerooms is also being undertaken. All retails store will continue to remain open, but there may be some minor disruption over the coming weeks.

Costs are expected to be incurred to Baby Bunting for the containment and treatment plans associated with the insect dilemma. Furthermore, the company is assessing its options to recover some of these expenses.

Baby Bunting will provide replacement products to customers who had purchased the Peg Perego Prima Follow Me highchairs. More than 260 units in total were sold in the 7-week period.

The company has not indicated the impact to its performance for the quarter.

Baby Bunting share price on the rise

Despite this recent incident, the Baby Bunting share price has risen in strength over the past 8 months. From reaching a multi-year low of $1.51, shares in the company have jumped almost 200%. Demand for the retailer’s products led its shares to an all-time high of $5.18 just last month.

Baby Bunting has a market capitalisation of $615.9 million and a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 61.4.

More reading

• The Atomo (ASX:AT1) share price is up today. Here’s why.
• Why the Atomos (ASX:AMS) share price is up 8% today
• The Austal (ASX:ASB) share price has dipped despite positive news
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX 200 has another shocker as US election approaches
• Why the Fluence (ASX:FLC) share price is up 10% today

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Uncertainty is the name of the game as the outcome of the US presidential election remains up in the air. And the world is unlikely to know who will walk away with the keys to the White House anytime soon.

With Joe Biden potentially edging towards victory, Donald Trump’s team has already filed lawsuits in 2 critical US states – Pennsylvania and Michigan – to contest the late vote counting. Trump also wants a recount in Wisconsin, which Biden narrowly won.

And speaking from the White House, Trump said, “Frankly we did win this election…. We will be going to the US Supreme Court. We want all voting to stop.”

Isn’t this the worst possible outcome for share prices?

A contested election was meant to be the worst possible outcome for global share prices. Yet all the major US and European indexes closed strongly in the green.

Tech shares led the charge higher. The tech-heavy NASDAQ 100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) closed up 4.4%. It’s now down just 5.2% from its 2 September all-time highs.

It’s a similar story here in Australia, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (INDEXASX: XJO) up 1.19% at the time of writing. It’s now up more than 3% since Friday’s closing bell.

As in overseas markets, ASX tech shares are handily outperforming.

The S&P ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), which contains 50 of Australia’s leading and emerging technology companies, is up 2.0% at time of writing and 6.0% since the end of Friday’s trading.

Not surprisingly, then, the share price of BetaShares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF (ASX: ATEC) is also gaining strongly. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) aims to track the performance of the All Tech index. The ATEC share price is up 2.1% today, and 6.7% since Friday.

What’s going on with the markets, and what can we expect?

If the polls were to be believed – they’re not – then Joe Biden and the Democrats would have swept into the White House and ruled both houses of Congress in the so-called ‘blue wave’.

That would likely have meant an increase in capital gains taxes and a repeal of Trump’s corporate tax cuts, while the Democrat’s much larger stimulus package would likely get the green light.

Now it looks like the Republicans will hold onto the Senate while the presidential winner remains in doubt.

To get a better idea of why this is seeing shares rallying, and tech shares in particular, we turn to some of the market experts.

Alicia Levine is the chief strategist at BNY Mellon Investment Management. She noted (as quoted by Bloomberg):

Part of what is going on is tech is rallying strongly, which is pushing the market up, and the reason tech is rallying is because it sold off, it was uniquely exposed to higher yields, higher taxes. That created a viscous reversion trade into cyclicals with the expectation yields were moving up with the prospect of further stimulus.

Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co agrees that investors in tech shares are breathing a sigh of relief on the tax front (quoted by Bloomberg):

People said back in March and April that tech is a safe play. This sentiment is now returning – big time. If a capital gains tax isn’t going to be increased, all those investors waiting to take chips off table in their tech positions are now saying, ‘You know what, I’ll hold on.’

Where to next for share prices?

With share markets already having posted big gains over the past days, has the train left the station?

Hardly, says LPL Financial’s Ryan Detrick (quoted by the Australian Financial Review):

We don’t know who will be the next president as of Wednesday morning, but we do know that stocks tend to do well the final two months of an election year, in particular November. Of course, 2020 isn’t like any other year, and we still could be a ways away from who the winner will be.

One of the big takeaways so far from Tuesday night is that the Senate likely will stay Republican, meaning we may have a divided Congress. The chances of higher taxes and more regulation likely took a hit under this scenario.

This could be a nice tailwind for stocks, as the S&P 500 historically has done quite well under a divided Congress, up more than 17 per cent on average. Additionally, in years with a divided Congress, stocks have been higher the past 10 times, with 2020 potentially being the 11th in a row.

Evercore ISI’s Dennis DeBusschere is also bullish on the closely contested outcome of the election, writing in a note to clients (from Bloomberg):

With the chances of a significant increase in tax rates and headwinds to cash return largely off the table, the S&P has about 13% upside from yesterday’s close. Either a narrow Biden victory or Trump’s re-election would push that slightly higher.

Whether or not DeBusschere and Detrick are proven correct, we may have to rethink the old adage that share markets hate nothing more than uncertainty.

If you’re still sceptical, just have a look at the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price. Shares in the buy now, pay later giant are up 3.03% so far today, and more than 7% higher since Friday’s close.

At the current price of $103.80, the Afterpay share price is once again at a new record high.

More reading

• Has your online ASX trading account been hacked?
• PayPal’s buy now, pay later service is surging
• ASX 200 ends mixed on Wednesday
• With interest rates near zero these ASX income shares are in focus
• ASX copper miners brush off latest Chinese tariff threat

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Ioupay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price is in a trading halt today. So why is this happening, especially with such a new entrant to the ASX boards?

What does IOUpay do?

IOUpay is one of the latest entrants into the increasingly-crowded payments space on the ASX. This sector was pioneered by the now-famous buy now, pay later (BNPL) company  Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) a few years ago. But Afterpay has since been joined by Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) and a couple of others in seeking the riches of this new payments space. Even some US giants like PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) and American Express Co (NYSE: AXP) are getting in on the action as well.

So IOUpay only debuted on the ASX a few weeks ago (21 September to be exact) and caused quite a stir when it rocketed 44% on IPO day.

It’s a fintech company which provides digital commerce software solutions and services. The company’s technology enables institutional clients to extend their digital platforms to any mobile device and integrate mobile technology throughout their existing business. In addition, they can authenticate end-user customers and process financial transactions securely using any mobile device. According to IOUpay, it aims to be “one of the leading digital transaction processors in the booming cashless economies of Southeast Asia”.

Why the trading halt today?

The company hasn’t said too much about its halt, other than telling investors that it is “pending the consideration of a capital raising”. A capital raising is where a company seeks to raise money, either for expansion purposes or to get it out of a pickle (such as potential bankruptcy).

Companies’ usually raise capital by issuing new shares to the market. If a company’s share price is relatively high, it increases the level of funds a company can seek in a capital raising for each new share issued.

The current IOUpay share price remains a good 178% above its initial public offering (IPO) price and gives the company a market capitalisation of $71.87 million.

We will have to wait for now to see the specifics of the capital raising. 

More reading

• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price jumped 14% this morning
• Douugh and Ioupay were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week
• Are speculators driving today’s 44% Ioupay (ASX:IOU) share price gains?

Sebastian Bowen owns shares of American Express. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $75 calls on PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings and Sezzle Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Oncosil Medical Ltd (ASX: OSL) share price jumped 10% on Thursday after the company received regulatory clearance to market and sell its products in Switzerland. 

About Oncosil 

Oncosil is focused on localised treatments for patients with pancreatic and liver cancer. Its lead product is a first class medical device with target radioactive isotope, which is implanted directly into a patient’s pancreatic tumours via an endoscopic ultrasound. This treatment, known as brachytherapy, is intended to deliver more concentrated and localised radiation. Oncosil is currently approved in the EU, UK, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand. 

The company has a market capitalisation of $125 million. As a small cap, the Oncosil share price has seen heightened levels of volatility, especially amid COVID-19. Despite the company’s medical advancements and regulatory approvals, its share price has not made a new high since early 2016. 

OncoSil receives Swiss regulatory approval 

Switzerland is the latest country to provide clearance to market and sell the Oncosil device. The company reports that Switzerland is an attractive market for Oncosil and is highly receptive to innovative technologies. Healthcare spending per capita is high in comparison to other European markets, and private medical insurance is compulsory for all persons in Switzerland.

This follows on from the European Breakthrough Device designation the company received in April 2020, which covers the UK and EU. 

First commercial sale 

On 22 October, the company achieved its first revenues after its first commercially treated patient was implanted with the Oncosil device in New Zealand. The company described it as a “very significant achievement for Oncosil and marks the company’s transition towards being a revenue-generating medical device company.” 

To facilitate its first revenues in Europe by the end of the year, the company has onboarded multiple hospitals throughout Europe and established a central radio-pharmacy in the UK, which will dispense the Oncosil device in up to 15 hospitals in the greater London area. The company cites that another severe lockdown across Europe as a result of COVID remains the greatest unknown factor for its planned launch timeline. 

The pandemic has slowed launch preparations including site training and certification work. Despite these interruptions, the company aims to continue preparations to launch in Europe and remain on track for first revenues in Q4 2020. 

Today’s news has seen the Oncosil share price push higher to 16.5 cents this afternoon. 

More reading

• The IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is in a trading halt today
• Goodman (ASX:GMG) share price trading higher after quarterly results
• AMP (ASX:AMP) shuts down ETFs
• Why Domino’s, Estia Health, Pendal, & Treasury Wine shares are dropping lower
• The Treasury Wines (ASX:TWE) share price tumbles lower. Here’s why.

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) share price is rising today as the company announced an operational update for the first quarter of FY21. Goodman’s share price is currently up 2.91% to a price of $19.48.

What Goodman does

Goodman Group is a REIT (real estate investment trust) with operations throughout Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe, the United Kingdom, North America and Brazil.

As such the group owns, develops and manages real estate properties. This includes warehouses, large scale logistics facilities, business and office parks globally.

The group was formed following the merger of Macquarie Goodman Industrial Trust and Macquarie Goodman Management in 2005. Goodman operates four divisions: property investment, fund management, property services and property development.

Quarterly update

The company was able to deliver a strong first quarter despite the implications of COVID-19. 

For the quarter, Goodman reported that it had $51.7 billion total assets under management. The company spoke of the limited supply in markets and how growing demand is reflected in stable occupancy at 97.8%. It also helped drive an increase in net property income of 2.9%.

In terms of development, Goodman reports the strong demand from customers has continued into this quarter, giving the group confidence to further increase its development activity. As such, the company’s work in progress metric has risen to $7.3 billion and is expected to increase further throughout the year. Yield on cost has remained stable at 6.7%.

What now for the Goodman share price?

While the pandemic continues to disrupt markets, Goodman has been one of the few REITs to overcome the challenge. Therefore, while the Australian S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate (ASX: XRE) sector has fallen 17% for the year. In contrast, the Goodman share price has gained 36%, outpacing its sector by a huge 53%.

To this end the company has reaffirmed its earnings guidance for the year ahead. Its guidance for FY21 is 62.7 cps, up 9% on the prior year, and a full year distribution of 30cps.

Goodman also notes that it retains a significant cash balance, liquidity and a strong balance sheet. The company continues to retain profits to fund its share of future capital commitments.

More reading

• Why Flight Centre, Goodman, Inghams, & Scentre shares are charging higher
• Why I would buy Woolworths (ASX:WOW) and these shares for a retirement portfolio
• ASX property shares buoyed by latest market data
• Where to invest $100,000 into ASX shares in November
• These beaten-up shares are about to pick up: Moody’s

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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AMP Limited (ASX: AMP) is decommissioning its entire range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The company announced to the ASX on Wednesday that the following ETFs would be shut down, with their last day of trading on 4 December.

• AMP Capital Global Infr Sec Fund (Unhedged) (ASX: GLIN)
• AMP Capital Dynamic Markets Fund (Hedge Fund) (ASX: DMKT)
• AMP Capital Global Prop Sec Fund (Unhedged) (ASX: RENT)

AMP Capital partners with Betashares to operate the funds. 

It seems these ETFs just failed to attract enough investor interest in the four years of their existence.

“BetaShares and AMP Capital have decided to terminate AMP Capital’s three Active ETF funds due to the lack of scale achieved,” an AMP Capital spokesperson said.

“Rationalisation of our funds is a normal part of our business. AMP Capital regularly reviews its product set to ensure products remain competitive and they meet the ongoing needs of investors.”

At the time of writing on Thursday, the AMP share price is down 0.9% to $1.65.

Has AMP given up on ETFs?

The AMP Capital spokesperson said the company realises ETFs are “a large and growing market segment”.

“While we have made the decision to terminate the Active ETFs, we may launch new Active ETFs in the future should the conditions be right and there is strong investor interest.”

But for now, customers who wished to buy into these ETFs could instead invest in their unlisted equivalents, according to the spokesperson:

• AMP Capital Global Property Securities Fund 
• AMP Capital Global Infrastructure Securities Fund 
• AMP Capital Dynamic Markets Fund

What to do if you own shares of these ETFs

AMP offered two choices for shareholders of the three ETFs.

First choice is they could simply sell off their shares via the ASX on or before 4 December.

The alternative is to hold onto their shares and participate in the wind up process. This will result in a final distribution payment that includes a final dividend plus a split of the liquidated assets.

“It is important to note that investors who hold their units and participate in the fund’s winding up will be subject to market movements until the fund’s assets have been realised.”

Betashares and AMP expect that wind-up shareholders will receive their final distribution amount by the end of the year.

More reading

• Why the Boral (ASX:BLD) share price is up 6% today
• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price up another 7% on top of last week’s record rally
• Takeovers will continue to rock ASX shares
• These were the 5 best performing ASX shares last week
• 6 major events for ASX shares this week

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has followed the lead of U.S. markets and is pushing higher on Thursday. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 1% to 6,124 points.

Four shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are dropping lower:

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino’s share price is down over 3% to $84.25. This follows a lukewarm response to its annual general meeting update by a number of brokers. Although the pizza chain operator delivered strong same store sales growth for the first 17 weeks of the financial year, it has slowed since the 10-week stage. This morning UBS retained its sell rating and lifted its price target slightly to $72.00.

Estia Health Ltd (ASX: EHE)

The Estia Health share price has fallen 2% to $1.33 after the release of its first quarter update. Investors have been selling the aged care operator’s shares after it revealed that its total occupancy averaged 91.3% in the first quarter and stood at 89.7% at 31 October 2020. Estia Health has also experienced an increase in costs due to COVID-19.

Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL)

The Pendal share price has tumbled 6.5% to $6.05. This follows the release of its full year results on Wednesday. The fund manager reported cash earnings per share of 45.5 cents per share. This was down 11% from 51.3 cents per share a year earlier. This was driven by a 4% decline in funds under management and a 3% increase in operating expenses.

Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)

The Treasury Wine share price fell 6.5% to $8.11 following the release of its annual general meeting presentation. At the event, the wine company spoke about recent media reports regarding its business in China. It said it “has become aware of media reports and speculation relating to a potential embargo of Australian exports, including wine, into China. We have not received any advice or notification from the Chinese authorities in relation to this speculation and are not in a position to comment further at this point in time.”

More reading

• The Treasury Wines (ASX:TWE) share price tumbles lower. Here’s why.
• Domino’s Pizza (ASX:DMP) share price falls after brokers respond to trading update
• Estia Health (ASX:EHE) share price drops lower after COVID hits its Q1 performance
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Pendal (ASX:PDL) share price falls 7% on disappointing FY20 result

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) share price slumped 7% early today following soft earnings and China’s anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine exports. Here’s the run down from this morning’s AGM. 

Performance update 

The first quarter performance update was largely positive, driven by positive underlying trends across various geographies. 

Treasury Wine experienced a progressive recovery in demand throughout the Asian region in Q1 with depletions up 14%. Depletion is defined as units sold at retail to the end consumer.

In China, positive momentum continued throughout key periods such as the mid-Autumn festival and Golden Week holiday period. Smaller Asian markets such as Southeast Asia is also experiencing a normalisation in consumption despite on-premise and travel retail channels being impacted. 

In Australia and New Zealand, Treasury Wine products above the $10 price point are driving retail market growth. Its masstige portfolio is growing ahead of the market, up 21% in Q1. 

The Americas region was the hardest hit by COVID-19 as a result of challenging wine market conditions and impacts to key sales channels outside of retail and e-commerce. Its Focus 9 brand has been a solid performer in retail channels, growing 32% in Q1.

The AGM presentation highlighted the oversupply of Californian wine in the US. The company will refocus its efforts on premium wines and reducing wine production volumes. 

Finally, demand through its retail challenges remain strong in the UK with Treasury Wine’s portfolio growing 17% in Q1. 

Chinese investigations into wine dumping 

In mid-August, China launched an anti-dumping investigation into Australian wine exports. This follows claims that Australian winemakers were selling bottles of wine at below cost to deliberately crowd out local products and claim a bigger market share. 

On Wednesday, Treasury Wine advised that the China Alcoholic Drinks Association had submitted a written request to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce that imports of Australian wine in containers of two litres or less into China be subject to retrospective tariffs. 

Commenting on the investigation, Treasury Wine chairman Paul Rayner said:

We respect the process initiated by the Chinese government and will continue to fully cooperate as these investigations continue. These investigations do not change our long-term commitment to China as a priority market. 

Treasury Wine’s dependency on China as a growth market and the recent investigation paints uncertainty over what will happen next.

The Treasury Wine share price has slumped more than 10% since Wednesday. After an initial 7% fall after the AGM this morning, shares have rallied slightly trading down 5.77% to $8.17 at the time of writing.

Looking forward 

The company highlighted its increasing optimism around the prospects for earnings recovery from the second half of FY20 in each of its markets outside China. This optimism is supported by the positive underlying trends outlined across each of its markets through the first quarter. 

Despite this, events in China have added significant uncertainty and the company did not provide any earnings guidance. 

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Why IDP Education, Sandfire, Telix, & Treasury Wine shares are dropping lower
• Best and worst performing ASX shares in the staples sector
• Why Rural Funds (ASX:RFF) is a great ASX dividend share
• Coca-Cola Amatil (ASX:CCL) share price jumps on M&A speculation

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Treasury Wine Estates Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price is falling lower today following the company’s release of a business update this morning. At the time of writing, the Megaport share price is trading just under 2% lower at $14.22. 

What did Megaport announce?

In the September quarter of 2020, Megaport had quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) recurring revenue growth of 2%. Total recurring revenue for the quarter was $5.8 million.

Other highlights from the September quarter included:

• 5% growth in total installed data centres compared with the previous quarter.
• 9% QoQ growth in cloud on ramps.
• 5% normalised monthly recurring revenue growth from the previous quarter.
• 7% growth in total customers during the quarter.
• 10% growth in total ports during the quarter.
• 9% QoQ growth in total number of services. 

Megaport also announced that it is working to integrate its platform with various networking technologies, including Cisco Systems Inc‘s (NASDAQ: CSCO) SD-WAN. According to Megaport, this will extend the reach of its platform.

Megaport also stated that its normalised group profit after direct network costs has continued to expand as revenue growth has been larger than growth in direct network costs. The company stated that its normalised profit after direct network costs was 55% in the 2020 financial year.

About the Megaport share price

Megaport is a technology company that offers network as a service through its data centres. It has been listed on the Australian Stock Exchange since 2015.

In the September 2020 quarter, Megaport had revenue of $17.3 million, an increase of 2% QoQ. Megaport had cash on hand of $152.8 million at 30 September 2020.

The Megaport share price is up 132.73% since its 52-week low of $6.11, it has increased 36.6% since the beginning of the year. The Megaport share price is up 70.1% since this time last year.

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Chris Chitty 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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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