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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had two highly volatile trading days. Yesterday saw the ASX 200 shed a depressing 0.74%. But today thus far, the ASX 200 has piled back on with a rise of 0.73% at the time of writing. But let’s talk about the Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price.

If you think the ASX 200 has been volatile, wait until you see what the Sayona share price has been up to. This ASX 200 lithium stock has gained an extraordinary 25% over just the past two trading days. Yep, Tuesday saw Sayona shares close at just 4 cents each.

But by market close yesterday, those same shares were up to 4.5 cents apiece. Today, the gains have just kept on coming, with Sayona adding an additional 13.3% to 5.1 cents.

So what on earth is going on with this embattled lithium stock this week?

How has the Sayona share price managed a 27% rise in two days?

Well, unfortunately, it’s a bit of a mystery. Sayona’s stunning share price rises have come out of the blue, for want of a better phrase.

We did get an ASX announcement from the company this morning. But that just announced that Lucas Dow has been appointed to Sayona’s board as an independent non-executive director. Hardly the sort of stuff that sees a company add a third to its valuation over two trading days.

Before this announcement, Sayona’s last ASX release was the 31 January quarterly cash flow report, which had a negative impact on the company’s shares at the time.

However, it’s not just Sayona that has vaulted dramatically higher in value this week. Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) shares have bounced by more than 11% since Tuesday’s trading. Saying that, other lithium stocks like Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Arcadium Lithium plc (ASX: LTM) have gone backwards.

In Sayona and Core Lithium’s case, we could be seeing a bit of a short squeeze going on. As my Fool colleague James reported on Monday, both Core and Sayona remain on the list of the ASX’s most short-sold shares.

Perhaps yesterday’s rally has triggered a round of short sellers closing their positions, which in turn would have forced up both companies’ share prices even further, and spurred more short sellers to close.

Whatever the reason, it’s certainly been a good two days to own Sayona Mining shares.

Even with these gains though, the Sayona share price still remains down by more than 77% over the past 12 months.

The post How have Sayona Mining shares risen 25% in just 2 days? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• These are the 10 most shorted ASX shares
• Why Block, Resolute Mining, Sayona Mining, and Syrah shares are sinking today
• Sayona Mining share price crashes 12% as weak lithium prices start to bite

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

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Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares are a popular option for income investors.

Particularly in recent times after the telco giant’s earnings and dividend returned to growth.

The good news for shareholders is that this positive trend has continued on Thursday, with the company releasing its half-year results and delivering further growth.

What’s the latest Telstra dividend?

In case you missed it, this morning Telstra reported a 1.2% increase in total income to $11,700 million and a 3.1% lift in underlying EBITDA to $4,001 million.

This was driven largely by its mobile business, which offset weakness across mobile hardware, Fixed C&SB, Fixed Enterprise, and Fixed Active Wholesale.

While this result was a touch short of expectations, it didn’t stop the Telstra board from increasing its dividend for the first half of FY 2024.

The company increased its fully franked interim dividend by 5.9% to 9 cents per share. Management notes that this is consistent with its capital management framework to maximise the fully franked dividend and seek to grow it over time.

When is pay day?

If you want to receive the next Telstra dividend, you will need to own the company’s shares before they trade ex-dividend on 28 February.

If you’re not on its share register before the market open on that day, you won’t be entitled to receive this payout when it is distributed to shareholders.

Speaking of which, Telstra is scheduled to pay the 9 cents per share fully franked interim dividend on 28 March.

Based on its current share price, this single dividend equates to an attractive 2.3% dividend yield.

And if it were to repeat this dividend in August with its full year results, you will be looking at a 12-month yield of 4.6%.

The post Everything you need to know about the Telstra dividend appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Telstra shares tumble on half-year disappointment
• Telstra share price on watch amid earnings miss and guidance revision
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• How does investing in a term deposit compare with buying ASX shares?
• Forget Westpac and buy these top ASX dividend stocks

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Telstra Group. 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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ASX 200 tech stock Data#3 Limited (ASX: DTL) is floundering on Thursday, down 10.79% to $8.73.

The drop follows the release of the business technology solutions company’s 1H FY24 report.

It was only two days ago that the ASX 200 tech stock reached a new record high share price of $10.01.

Today, it is the biggest faller of the ASX 200.

Let’s take a look at the report.

ASX 200 tech stock tumbles on Thursday

Here are the highlights for the six months ended 31 December 2023:

• Gross sales up 13.4% to $1.3 billion
• Statutory revenue up 11.1% to $450.1 million
• Net profit before tax up 25.3% to $30.8 million
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 25.5% to $21.4 million
• Basic earnings per share (EPS) up 25.5% to 13.85 cents per share
• Interim dividend up 26% to 12.6 cents per share, fully franked, and payable 28 March

What did Data#3 management say?

CEO Laurence Baynham said:

The record result reflects good contributions across most of our business units and regions, with company Gross Sales growth over double industry growth rates.

Our Services and Software Solutions businesses performed ahead of expectations, with 67% of Gross Sales now recurring.

Although our Infrastructure Solutions business was up on the prior period, it was impacted by customers previously ordering in advance of requirements, in response to pandemic related supply chain issues.

This slowed down ordering and decision making in the current period. Improved supply chain conditions reduced our stock levels, and our diligent management of working capital enabled us to benefit from increased interest income of $6.5 million.

What’s next for Data#3?

Baynham said the company expected digital transformation and artificial intelligence to play a key role in Australia’s economic future.

The company did not offer full-year FY24 guidance but said its goal was to deliver sustainable earnings growth.

Baynham will retire from his role after 30 years with the company on 1 March. He is undertaking a four-month transition process to ensure a smooth handing over of the reins to new CEO Brad Colledge.

ASX 200 tech stock price snapshot

The #Data3 share price is up 17.7% over the past 12 months.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 3.4% over the same period.

The post ASX 200 tech stock down 11% despite record half-year profit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Big news: 15 ASX 200 shares smashing 52-week highs this Tuesday
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Data#3, Deep Yellow, DroneShield, and Imugene shares are racing higher today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today

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

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Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) shares will have a moment in the spotlight when the company reports its FY24 half-year result. I’m going to look at what the company might report.

It’s scheduled to release its results on 22 February 2024.

It has already been a promising reporting season with some retailers like Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) and Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) beating expectations.

Store growth and recent trading

Lovisa has an increasingly global presence, as it’s expanding into new markets regularly. Performance won’t necessarily be consistent across the board – for example, the Australian and UK stores may have performed differently.

Lovisa recently revealed that it was going to enter imminently into mainland China and Vietnam, so we might hear about its early performance in those two regions.

The latest we heard about the overall trading performance was announced on 22 November 2023 – it said global comparable store sales for the first 20 weeks of FY24 were down 6.2% year to date, but total sales were up 17% thanks to ongoing store network growth. It said at the time it had opened 35 net new stores for FY24 to date. It had 836 stores across 40 markets – that was 160 more stores and 14 additional markets more than 12 months prior.

What could Lovisa report?

Broker UBS recently decided to reduce its rating on Lovisa shares to neutral, following recent data suggesting slowing store growth compared to the first half and second half of FY23. It’s seeing a slowing pace within key shopping centres, which was a major source of growth in FY23. The slowing net new store growth “removes a key revenue driver”.

UBS warned that a slowdown of like-for-like (comparable) sales increases the risk of markdowns and operating de-leverage risk, especially as labour and rental costs are forecast to rise.  

While UBS doesn’t think FY23 revenue growth can be continued in FY24, UBS is forecasting double-digit revenue growth until FY32. The broker also doesn’t think the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margin can increase in FY24, but it does expect growth in FY25.

Looking at the full 2024 financial year estimates – a retailer’s annual performance isn’t just based on one half – UBS thinks Lovisa can grow earnings per share (EPS) by just over 10% to 71 cents and grow revenue by 18.5%. The annual dividend per share is projected by UBS to increase by 4.3% to 69 cents.

Lovisa share price snapshot

Using that earnings estimate, Lovisa shares are valued at 36x FY24’s estimated earnings. Since the end of November 2023, the Lovisa share price has climbed around 33%.

The post Own Lovisa shares? Here’s the results preview you need to see appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• 2 excellent ASX dividend shares that analysts love
• I’d grow my wealth by buying these so-called ‘expensive’ ASX stocks
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• 2 ASX 200 shares I’d buy for my child and hold ’til the 2030s
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Lovisa and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Lovisa and Temple & Webster Group. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Lovisa, Nick Scali, and Temple & Webster Group. 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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In 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 0.7% to 7,599.3 points.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are jumping:

Altium Ltd (ASX: ALU)

The Altium share price is up 28% to $65.72. Investors have been buying this electronic design software company’s shares after it accepted a takeover offer from Japan’s Renesas. Renesas will acquire Altium by way of a scheme of arrangement for a cash price of $68.50 per share. This represents a 33.6% premium to its last close price and values Altium’s equity at $9.1 billion.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

The Goodman share price is up 5% to $28.02. This follows the release of the industrial property company’s half year results. Goodman reported a 28% increase in operating earnings per share to 59.2 cents for the six months. This was stronger than it was expecting, which has led to a guidance upgrade for FY 2024.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price is up 6% to $9.50. Investors have responded positively to the fund manager’s half-year results, which revealed a 24% increase in statutory net profit after tax to $104.1 million. Investors appear willing to overlook its underlying result, which revealed a profit decline of 5%. Magellan also announced the appointment of Sophia Rahmani as its new CEO.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price is up 5% to $61.76. This follows the release of the conglomerate’s half-year results. Wesfarmers reported a 0.5% increase in revenue to $22,673 million and a 3% lift in net profit after tax to $1,425 million. The company’s Kmart business was a key driver of this growth, reporting a 26.5% increase in earnings for the half year.

The post Why Altium, Goodman, Magellan, and Wesfarmers shares are storming higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Wesfarmers share price pops 5% to new high after dividend hike
• Magellan share price rises as profit jumps 24%
• Altium shares rocket on $9.1b takeover deal
• Wesfarmers share price on watch amid stellar first-half Kmart growth
• I’d grow my wealth by buying these so-called ‘expensive’ ASX stocks

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Altium. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Altium, Goodman Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Goodman Group. 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) is enjoying a big rebound today after yesterday’s savage sell-off. At the time of writing, the ASX 200 has lifted by 0.84%, pulling it back over 7,600 points. But let’s talk about the Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price.

This ASX 200 industrial and retail conglomerate is having a stellar day today. While the ASX 200 has gained 0.84%, the Wesfarmers share price is currently up a happy 5.11% to $61.95. That’s after the company hit a new 52-week high of $62.11 just before midday.

So it’s been a wonderful day to own Wesfarmers shares. But this enthusiastic share price pop has a catalyst.

This morning, we covered Wesfarmers’ latest earnings report, which seems to be the driving force behind today’s gains.

Wesfarmers’ earnings push share price to new 52-week high

As my Fool colleague went through at the time, Wesfarmers had a fairly positive report card to show investors for the six months to 31 December 2023.

The company reported a 0.5% rise in revenues to $22.67 billion. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) got a 1.6% bump up to $2.2 billion, while net profits after tax (NPAT) shot up 3% to $1.43 billion.

This enabled Wesfarmers to hike its interim dividend by 3.4% to a fully franked 91 cents per share, compared to last year’s equivalent payout of 88 cents per share.

Wesfarmers was clearly pleased with what it had to tell investors today and also flagged that FY2024 was going well for the company thus far. Management told investors that sales at Bunnings and OfficeWorks over the first five weeks of 2024 were in line with the prior year, but Kmart “has continued to deliver strong sales growth”.

It seems investors are fairly delighted with what they’ve seen today.

This Thursday’s gains for the Wesfarmers share price puts the company up 7.7% in 2024 to date, as well as by a pleasing 25.4% over the past 12 months.

With this latest dividend announcement, Wesfarmers shares now have a forward dividend yield of 3.13%. That’s against a trailing yield of 3.08%.

The post Wesfarmers share price pops 5% to new high after dividend hike appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Wesfarmers share price on watch amid stellar first-half Kmart growth
• Beginners: Here are 2 ASX dividend stocks to get your portfolio started!
• Are Wesfarmers shares a good long-term buy?
• 2 ASX stocks that could explode in February
• Own Wesfarmers shares? Here’s your half-year results preview

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has positions in Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Wesfarmers. 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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Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) shares have been catching the eye on Thursday.

At one stage, the ASX 300 healthcare stock was up 13% to 31 cents.

Why is this ASX 300 healthcare stock jumping?

Investors have been snapping up the biotechnology company’s shares this morning after it released an update on its Revascor product.

Revascor is being trialled as a treatment for children with hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), which is a potentially life-threatening congenital heart condition.

According to the release, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted the allogeneic cell therapy an Orphan-Drug Designation following the submission of results from a randomised controlled trial.

What does this mean?

Orphan-Drug Designation comes with a number of benefits for the ASX 300 healthcare stock. These include tax credits for qualified clinical trials, the exemption from user fees, and a potential seven years of market exclusivity after approval.

Speaking of trials, in the HLHS trial conducted in 19 children, a single intramyocardial administration of Revascor at the time of staged surgery resulted in the desired outcome.

That outcome was significantly larger increases in left ventricular (LV) end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes over 12 months compared with controls as measured by 3D echocardiography. These changes are indicative of clinically important growth of the small left ventricle, facilitating the ability to have a successful surgical correction.

Mesoblast’s Chief Executive, Silviu Itescu, was pleased with the news. He commented:

We are very pleased to have now been granted both Orphan-Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation by FDA for REVASCOR in the treatment of children with this often-fatal congenital heart condition. The designations were granted on the back of the results from children in a randomized controlled trial indicating that REVASCOR may increase the ability to successfully accomplish life-saving surgery. We plan to meet with FDA to discuss the pathway for approval in this indication.

The post Guess which ASX 300 healthcare stock is surging 13% on FDA news appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Why EML, Jumbo, Mesoblast, and Whitehaven Coal shares are jumping today
• Why are Mesoblast shares rocketing 28% today?

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

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The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price is losing its shine on Thursday.

In morning trade, the ASX 200 healthcare stock is down over 6% to $101.37.

This follows the release of the health imaging technology provider’s half-year results.

ASX 200 healthcare stock tumbles on results

Here’s how Pro Medicus performed over the six months ended 31 December:

• Revenue up 30.3% to $74.1 million
• Underlying profit before tax up 31.5% to $48.9 million
• Net profit up 33.3% to $36.3 million
• Cash and other financial assets up 8.3% to $131.5 million
• Fully franked interim dividend up 38.5% to 18 cents per share

What happened during the half?

During the half, the ASX 200 healthcare stock achieved a 30.3% increase in revenue and a 33.3% lift in net profit compared to the prior corresponding period.

Management advised that the result was driven largely by increased revenue from North America (up 36.8%), with four major implementations completed. In addition, it reported above industry growth in exam volumes across its client base.

The good news is that this strong growth looks set to continue. Pro Medicus won four key contracts during the six months. These have a total contract value of $200 million at committed minimum exam volumes and contract terms ranging from 7 to 10 years.

Management commentary

Pro Medicus’ CEO, Dr Sam Hupert, was pleased with the half and believes the company’s strong growth can continue. He said:

We were very pleased with the results. It was another half of profitable growth where all key financial metrics headed in the right direction. Our transaction-based business model underpinned by minimums and long-term contracts provides us with an annuity stream with each new contract building on the existing base of annual recurring revenue.

On top of that, our clients are growing well above industry average and there is always the potential for them to take additional products from us. So, we believe we will be able to maintain our growth trajectory especially when you consider we have had our strongest six-months of sales in the company’s history, with the revenue from these sales still ahead of us.

Outlook

The ASX 200 healthcare stock didn’t provide any guidance but Dr Hupert spoke very positively about the company’s prospects in the second half. He said:

[We] had our strongest start to the year in terms of sales, so, we believe our second half will be stronger than our first forming the base for future growth in FY2025 and beyond.

Our pipeline is strong across all sectors of the market. Our cloud-based modular approach continues to provide unprecedented flexibility and scalability, as evidenced by the increasing number of clients choosing the full stack of all three Visage products – Viewer, Workflow and Archive, a trend we see continuing.

Overall, a very strong result from the high-flying company. However, It seems that the market was pricing in even stronger growth.

Pro Medicus shares remain up 54% over the last 12 months.

The post This ASX 200 healthcare stock is sinking 6% despite explosive first-half earnings growth appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Why Atlantic Lithium, Johns Lyng, Pro Medicus, and WiseTech shares are rising today
• Apple Vision Pro and an ASX 200 healthcare share hitting all-time highs

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Pro Medicus. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Pro Medicus. 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 Origin Energy Ltd (ASX: ORG) share price is gaining on Thursday morning amid its FY2024 first-half results.

Shares in Australia’s largest listed utilities company by market capitalisation are up 3% to $8.83 at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is rallying 0.9%, overtaking the 7,600-point level.

Origin share price forge higher on strong growth

Origin released the Kraken in the half ending 31 December 2023, so to speak, crushing it in many aspects of its business.

• Total group revenue down 9% from prior corresponding period to $7,996 million
• Statutory profit up 149% to $995 million
• Underlying profit increasing from $44 million to $747 million
• Underlying EBITDA up 88% to $1,995 million
• Fully franked interim dividend of 27.5 cents per share, up from 16.5 cents

Flicking through Origin’s results, it quickly becomes evident what boosted underlying profit during the half. The energy market division saw $813 million EBITDA flow through due to a recovery in wholesale prices, lower electricity generation, and reduced procurement costs.

Integrated gas, which encompasses Origin’s share of Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG), acted as a drag. A fall in realised oil prices created a $179 million headwind for the company’s underlying profit. However, this was more than made back by earnings sourced by hedging and other LNG trading, generating $296 million.

What else happened during the first half?

In a big move, Origin outlaid around $530 million Australian dollars to up its stake in UK technology and energy company Octopus Energy on 18 December 2023. The Origin share price moved higher after revealing the move to go from a 3% holding to 23% as part of a funding round for Octopus.

Origin CEO Frank Calabria highlighted the success of Octopus Energy in today’s release, stating:

Octopus Energy continues its impressive growth trajectory, becoming the second largest energy retailer in the UK and growing Kraken technology licensing to more than 50 million accounts contracted worldwide, reinforcing our belief in its unique capabilities and strong platform for future growth.

On a different note, the takeover talks between Origin and the combined Brookfield and EIG outfit were officially laid to rest on 7 December 2023. Interestingly, the Origin share price has gradually increased since then, as shown below.

What did Origin management say?

Origin expects “increased value opportunities” for its battery projects amid greater intra-day electricity price volatility and unplanned outages. Just this week, half a million Victorians were left without power as AGL suffered a complete shutdown.

Outlining the company’s plans for further developments, Calabria noted:

We have continued to accelerate renewables and storage in our portfolio, having committed approximately $1 billion to develop two large scale batteries at our Eraring and Mortlake power stations. We also acquired a prospective 500 MW greenfield wind development in New South Wales and are progressing potential offshore wind projects in Victoria and New South Wales.

What’s next?

Guidance for both FY2024 and FY2025 were provided today — though details on the latter were sparse.

FY2024:

• Energy Markets EBITDA is expected to be between $1,600 million to $1,800 million (excluding Octopus Energy).
• Octopus Energy EBITDA is expected to be positive, but less than $100 million.
• APLNG production is slated to be between 680 petajoules (PJ) to 710 PJ

FY2025:

Origin believes energy markets EBITDA will be hampered by a decline in regulated customer tariffs. The softening is forecast to be somewhat offset by a lower cost base.

Origin Energy share price at a glance

The Origin share price has performed solidly over the past year, leaping 23.7%. For context, the Aussie benchmark is only 3.5% better off than a year ago. Most of this gain occurred around February last year when takeover bids were being lobbed its way.

The post Origin share price lifts as profits explode to almost $1 billion appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Origin Energy shares burn brighter despite gas cash slipping 17%

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

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The South32 Limited (ASX: S32) share price is in the green today.

Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) diversified mining stock closed yesterday trading for $3.08. At the time of writing late Thursday morning, shares are swapping hands for $3.11, up 0.8%.

For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.5% at this same time.

This comes as investors digest the company’s half-year results for the six months ending 31 December (H1 FY 2024), as well as a major project announcement.

Here are the highlights.

(*Note, all figures in US dollars.)

South32 share price lifts despite profit dive

• Underlying revenue of $3.88 billion, down 14% from H1 FY 2023
• Profit after tax of $53 million, down 92% from the $685 million after tax profit in the prior corresponding period
• Underlying earnings down 93% year on year to $40 million
• Interim fully franked dividend of 0.4 US cents per share, compared to the prior interim dividend of 7.3 Aussie cents per share

What else is happening with the ASX 200 miner?

In other metrics that could impact the South32 share price, the company reported underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of US$708 million.

Management noted that despite record aluminium production over the six months, underlying EBITDA was down 48% year on year due to lower commodity prices as well as lower volumes of its metallurgical coal. Coal production was impacted as the ASX 200 miner completed planned longwall moves at its Illawarra Metallurgical Coal asset.

Pleasingly for passive income investors, South32 returned US$180 million to its shareholders over the six months. That included US$145 million in dividends and a US$35 million on-market share buyback.

On the cost front, the miner’s focus on efficiencies and options to defer non-critical projects has seen it lower or maintain its FY 2024 operating unit cost guidance across most operations.

South32 share price boosted by US$2.2 billion project approval

In big news today, the South32 share price looks to be shaking off the plunge in profits after the company announced it has approved a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit at its Hermosa project in the US state of Arizona.

What did management say?

Commenting on the Hermosa FID that appears to be offering some tailwinds for the South32 share price today, CEO Graham Kerr said:

We have taken the next step in our portfolio transformation by announcing a US$2.16 billion investment in the Taylor zinc-lead-silver deposit at our Hermosa project in Arizona, with first production expected in H2 FY 2027.

This investment is a major milestone for our business, that further reshapes our portfolio towards commodities critical to a low-carbon future. Taylor is expected to deliver value for shareholders for decades to come and underpin further growth phases at our regional scale Hermosa project, establishing it as a globally significant producer of commodities critical for a low-carbon future.

What’s next for South32?

Looking at what could impact the South32 share price in the months ahead, the company maintained its FY 2024 production guidance. The miner expects to deliver a 7% increase in production volumes in the current half-year.

Kerr added the miner will also “remain focused on driving operating performance and cost efficiencies across” its business.

South32 share price snapshot

The South32 share price has struggled over the past 12 months, down 32%.

The post South32 share price lifts off as ASX 200 miner greenlights US$2.2 billion project appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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More reading

• Brokers say these ASX mining shares are strong buys in February
• ‘Start building a position’: 3 ASX shares to pounce on right now
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Goldman Sachs says these ASX 200 mining shares can rise 20%+
• South32 share price falls after disappointing December update

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

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