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Are you interested in adding some more ASX shares to your portfolio?

Three ASX growth shares that could be worth considering are listed below. Here’s what you need to know about them:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first ASX growth share to look at is Altium. It is a printed circuit board (PCB) design software provider which could be worth considering due to its leading position in a market exposed to the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence booms. The proliferation of electronic devices these markets are causing is expected to lead to increasing demand for its software over the next decade.

Bell Potter is positive on Altium and currently has a buy rating and $38.75 price target on its shares.

The broker has been pleased with Altium’s shift to subscriptions and sees the company as a potential takeover target. In respect to the latter, it said: “Altium has already received an unsolicited takeover offer from Autodesk at $38.50 which was rejected. Our view is Autodesk’s Fusion 360 platform is lacking a high powered ECAD offering so we believe Autodesk would still be very interested in Altium and may come back with a revised offer.”

Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL)

Another ASX growth share to look at is Aristocrat Leisure. It is one of the world’s leading gaming technology companies. It has bounced back strongly from the pandemic and appears to be winning market share from its rivals. Another positive is that its digital business, now called Pixel United, continues to grow strongly and generate significant recurring revenues.

Morgans is a fan of the company. It has an add rating and $48.00 price target on its shares.

The broker has previously noted that Aristocrat is “clearly excelling in the land based arena” and that its digital business is “well placed in the current environment with strong demand expected.”

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

A final ASX growth share to look at is Life360. This growing technology company is responsible for the Life360 mobile app. This market leading app is for families and offers useful features such as communications, driver safety, and location sharing. As of its last update, the company’s user base had reached over 30 million globally. This is generating significant recurring revenues and opens the door to material cross and upselling opportunities for its recently acquired businesses. These are wearables company Jiobit and items tracking company Tile.

Bell Potter is bullish on the company’s future. It currently has a buy rating and $10.00 price target on its shares.

The broker said: “[Life360] remains a key pick and we believe has been oversold as, despite currently being loss making, has ample cash to fund it through to cash flow breakeven or positive in 2023 or 2024 while maintaining strong top line revenue growth and realising the synergy benefits from the recent Tile acquisition.”

The post 3 ASX growth shares brokers rate as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Tech-tonic shift? ASX tech shares rally following Nasdaq’s lead
• 2 high quality ASX growth shares analysts believe have 20%+ upside
• 4 ASX shares we’re holding for both reopening and higher interest rates: expert
• Altium (ASX:ALU) share price hinges on this key detail, top brokers say
• Broker names the 3 best ASX tech shares to buy today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Life360, Inc. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended Altium and Life360, Inc. 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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If you’re looking for an easy way to invest your hard-earned money, then exchange traded funds (ETFs) could be worth considering.

This is because rather than deciding on which individual shares to put your money into, ETFs allow you to invest in a large group of shares through just a single investment.

With that in mind, here are three ETFs that are proving to be popular with investors right now:

BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA)

The first ETF for investors to look at is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. This ETF tracks the performance of an index comprising ~50 of the largest technology and online retail shares in Asia (excluding Japan). BetaShares notes that due to its younger, tech-savvy population, Asia is surpassing the West in terms of technological adoption. As a result, the sector is expected to remain a growth sector for some time to come. Among the ETF’s holdings are Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Samsung, Taiwan Semiconductor, and Tencent.

BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF (ASX: CRYP)

Another ETF to look at is the BetaShares Crypto Innovators ETF. BetaShares notes that this very high risk ETF provides “picks and shovels” exposure to the companies that are building crypto mining equipment, crypto trading venues, and other key services that allow the crypto economy to grow. At present, the ETF is invested in up to 36 crypto leaders such as Coinbase, Riot Blockchain, and Microstrategy. It also owns shares with indirect exposure such as Block/Square, PayPal, and Robinhood.

ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF (ASX: ACDC)

A final ETF to look at is the ETFS Battery Tech & Lithium ETF. The fund manager, ETFS, notes that this ETF offers investors exposure to the energy storage and production megatrend. This includes companies involved in the supply chain and production for battery technology and lithium mining. It notes that demand for energy storage is being driven by the movement towards emissions reduction and renewable energy, which bodes well for companies included in the fund. This includes AMG Advanced Metallurgical Group, Lockheed Martin, and Australian lithium miner Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS).

The post 3 exciting ETFs ASX investors need to know now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 3 exciting ETFs for ASX investors in March
• Here are 3 top ETFs for ASX investors to watch
• 3 ASX ETFs hitting 52-week lows on Friday
• Are these 2 ASX tech shares good buys in March?
• Check out these ETFs in March

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. owns and has recommended Betashares Crypto Innovators ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. 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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I’m a big fan of buy and hold investing and believe it is one of the best ways for investors to grow their wealth.

To demonstrate how successful it can be, I like to pick out a number of popular ASX shares to see how much a single $20,000 investment 10 years ago would be worth today.

This time around I have picked out the two ASX shares that are listed below:

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

The CSL share price has generated strong returns for investors over the last decade. This has been driven by consistently solid profit growth underpinned by strong demand for its immunoglobulins, its high level of investment in research and development, and successful acquisitions. Over the period, the company’s shares have provided a total return of 23.7% per annum, which would have turned a $20,000 investment in 2012 into almost $170,000 today.

Goodman Group (ASX: GMG)

Thanks to the expert positioning of this integrated industrial property company’s portfolio to in-demand areas such as ecommerce and logistics, Goodman has been a market beater over the last 10 years. During this time, Goodman’s shares have delivered a total return of 21.8% per annum. This means that if you would have invested $20,000 into its shares 10 years ago, it would now be worth almost $145,000.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

This job listings giant has been a great place to invest over the last decade. Thanks to its domination of the local market and its growing international operations, SEEK has delivered solid revenue and earnings growth over the period in question. This has ultimately led to the company’s shares generating a total return of 17.3% per annum since 2012. Which would have turned $20,000 into just under $100,000.

The post $20k invested in these ASX shares 10 years ago is now worth… appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price has struggled to gain traction in 2022. Does that make it cheap?
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• You can’t pick the bottom, but these 4 ASX shares are already bargains: expert
• Why CSL, Incitec Pivot, Lake Resources, and St Barbara are pushing higher
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price lifts following new regulatory approval

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price has struggled since the start of 2022. It’s down over 13%. Does that mean that the ASX healthcare share is cheap?

It’s now lower than it was at the bottom of the COVID-19 crash.

What’s going on with the CSL share price?

My colleague Tony Yoo has quoted the fund manager Jun Bei Liu from investment manager Tribeca.

She said pointed out that healthcare names have underperformed, not because of the war but because they were expensive companies relative to other sectors.

There is also the prospect of much faster interest rate hikes to combat the high level of inflation that the world is seeing.

Billionaire Ray Dalio from investment group Bridgewater Associates once said about interest rates:

It all comes down to interest rates. As an investor, all you’re doing is putting up a lump sum payment for a future cash flow.

The CSL share price initially rose after investors got a look at the result, but it has since dropped back.

To be able to call something “cheap”, knowing how much profit a business is generating can be useful.

FY22 half-year result

CSL reported a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1.67 billion for the first six months of FY22, which was down 5% in constant currency terms. However, revenue was up 4% in constant currency terms.

Management said that was strong growth in a number of areas for the business, whilst HPV royalties rebounded strongly (up 134%). Seqirus, the influenza vaccine business, was one of the segments that saw a strong performance with revenue up 17% in constant currency terms.

Ig and albumin sales were limited by constrained plasma collections in FY21.

In FY22, the net profit is expected to be in the range of between $2.15 billion to $2.25 billion at constant currency.

The interim dividend was increased by 8% in Australian dollar terms to A$1.46 per share.

Acquisition

The company also recently announced that it was acquiring Vifor Pharma, a global specialty pharmaceutical company with leadership in renal disease and iron deficiency.

Management said this will represent a meaningful acceleration of its 2030 strategy by further enhancing its focus on therapeutic leadership areas, innovation and sustainable growth.

Is the CSL share price a cheap buy?

When talking about CSL, Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD) and Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH), the fund manager Liu said:

All of them have reported pretty good numbers… And since then the share prices have come off again

All of that together makes these companies absolute standouts. When there’s a rebound it is these companies that will be the first ones to move [upwards]. They have pricing power. They can apply faster price increases so that their earnings growth is not going to be impacted. These companies will continue to grow.

Plenty of brokers also think that CSL is a buy, such as Citi, with a price target of $335. Morgans is another broker with a positive outlook – it rates CSL as a buy with a price target of $327.60.

On Citi’s numbers, the CSL share price is valued at 30x FY23’s estimated earnings.

The post The CSL (ASX:CSL) share price has struggled to gain traction in 2022. Does that make it cheap? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• $20k invested in these ASX shares 10 years ago is now worth…
• You can’t pick the bottom, but these 4 ASX shares are already bargains: expert
• Why CSL, Incitec Pivot, Lake Resources, and St Barbara are pushing higher
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price lifts following new regulatory approval
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: CSL and St Barbara charge higher

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended CSL Ltd. and Cochlear Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended ResMed. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. and ResMed Inc. 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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Although the outlook for interest rates is improving by the week, it looks likely to still be some time before rates are at a level that makes savings accounts or term deposits better options than dividend shares.

For example, according to the most recent weekly economic report from Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), its economists expect the cash rate to be 1.5% at the end of 2023. That’s much better than 0.1% currently, but still a long way from traditional levels of 4% to 5%.

In light of this, the following dividend share could be a good option for income investors for the time being. Here’s what you need to know about Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1).

Why Accent shares?

This footwear retailer could be a good option for income investors right now. Especially with the Accent share price down by almost 50% from its 52-week high.

This share price weakness has been driven by a decidedly poor half year result from Accent last month. Though, it is worth noting that this was outside the company’s control and caused entirely by COVID headwinds. Accent revealed that at times through the months of July to October, more than 55% or 400 of its 700 stores were required to close due to government mandated lockdowns.

The good news is that with COVID restrictions easing and life returning back to normal, Accent looks well-placed to bounce back strongly in FY 2023. It is for this reason that Bell Potter thinks investors should take advantage of its pullback.

It commented: “Notwithstanding COVID impacts on recent trading, we believe AX1’s core business remains strong with all growth levers intact. Valuation also remains undemanding.”

Bell Potter currently has a buy rating and $2.75 price target on the company’s shares. Based on the current Accent share price, this implies potential upside of 69% for investors over the next 12 months.

As for dividends, the broker has pencilled in a fully franked dividend of 5.8 cents per share in FY 2022 and then 10.9 cents per share in FY 2023. Based on the current Accent share price of $1.63, this will mean yields of 3.55% and 6.7% respectively.

The post Broker tips this ASX dividend share to rise 69% and offer a generous yield appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 recommended Accent Group and Westpac Banking Corporation. 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form last week. Over the five days, the benchmark index dropped 0.7% to end the period at 7,063.6 points.

Fortunately, not all shares dropped lower with the market. Here’s why these were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week:

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

The St Barbara share price was the best performer last week with a 16.4% gain. Investors were bidding the gold miner’s shares higher amid speculation it could be a takeover target of neighbouring WA-based peers. In addition, a strong rise in the gold price gave gold shares a boost. The latter helped drive Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR), Silver Lake Resources Limited (ASX: SLR), and a number of other gold miners notably higher last week.

Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX: IPL)

The Incitec Pivot share price was on form and charged 12.8% higher over the five days. This appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Credit Suisse. According to the note, the broker upgraded the agricultural chemicals company’s shares to an outperform rating with a $3.85 price target. Credit Suisse believes Incitec Pivot will benefit from higher fertiliser prices.

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

The Mesoblast share price wasn’t far behind with a 10.6% gain last week. This is despite news that the biotechnology company’s shares will be kicked out of the ASX 200 later this month at the next rebalance. Though, with its shares down by 50% over the last 12 months even after this gain, some bargain hunters may believe Mesoblast’s shares had bottomed.

Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM)

The Sims share price was a solid performer and rose 7.1% over the period. While there was no news out of the scrap metal company, it was the subject of a broker note out of UBS. In response to rising scrap metal prices, the broker has retained its buy rating and lifted its price target by 7.5% to $20.30.

The post These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX shares making unbelievable news this week
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block falls, Nickel Mines jumps

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 Bruce Jackson.

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The ASX share market saw more volatility this week and a number of ASX shares made headlines.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing. Inflation continues to be a key focus for economists.

With this in mind, here are five ASX shares that were key parts of the news:

Race Oncology Ltd (ASX: RAC)

This ASX share is a precision oncology company with a cancer drug called Zantrene.

It announced this week the final results from the clear cell renal cell carcinoma (a dangerous form of kidney cancer) preclinical program.

The research found that Zantrene on its own and in combination with known kidney cancer drugs can kill kidney cancer cells at clinically relevant concentrations. The company said that these results support advancing Zantrene into the clinic as a possible new treatment option for advanced kidney cancer patients.

Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)

Nickel Mines describes itself as a globally significant, low-cost producer.

The Nickel Mines share price fell 25% this week.

The ASX share has decided to withdraw its share purchase plan after aiming to raise $18 million, but then receiving applications for $57 million. But after the drop, the board decided to cancel the share purchase plan and return the money to shareholders in full. It confirmed that the proceeds of the share purchase plan are not required for the acquisition of the 70% interest in the Oracle Nickel Project.

Nickel Mines also addressed press speculation regarding a short position in LME nickel held by Tsingshan group and the implications of this for the global nickel markets. Tsingshan assured the company it had no intention of selling any Nickel Mines shares, there had been no change to its undertaking to buy all of the nickel pig iron produced by the company’s RKEF operations and it has no impact on the intention to receive Nickel Mines shares in the placement.

Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD)

After many years on the ASX share market, Sydney Airport was removed from the official ASX list on 10 March 2022 after the acquisition of the business by the Sydney Aviation Alliance.

The group that has taken over the airport business are entities associated with AustralianSuper, IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund, QSuper, IFM Global Infrastructure Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners.

St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM)

St Barbara is one of the larger gold miners on the ASX with a market capitalisation of more than $1 billion according to the ASX.

Over the week, the St Barbara share price climbed by 16%.

My colleague Brooke Cooper reported on speculation that St Barbara could be a takeover target. On top of that, gold prices have been rising amid all of the global uncertainty.

Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR)

This week, department store business Myer reported its result for the 26 weeks to 29 January 2022.

It reported “strong” total sales growth of 8.5% to $1.52 billion. Online sales grew much quicker, rising by 47.5% to $424.1 million, representing 27.9% of total sales.

Myer generated an underlying net profit after tax of $32.3 million, an increase of 55.2% if adjusted for jobkeeper.

The company also declared a fully franked dividend of 1.5 cents per share, the first since the FY17 final dividend.

The post 5 ASX shares making unbelievable news this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• Why were Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) shares still making news this week?
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• Why Core Lithium, Nickel Mines, SG Fleet, and Whitehaven Coal are pushing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block falls, Nickel Mines jumps

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Shareholders had a rare victory over an ASX-listed company in the Federal Court this week.

The full Federal Court sided with investors in their appeal against Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR).

The Federal Court had dismissed the class action initially, but the shareholders successfully appealed before the full bench.

The class action, represented by Shine Lawyers, is seeking compensation for investors who claim the engineering services company misled the markets in its financial forecasts back in 2013.

“Between August and November of 2013, WOR announced an FY 2012 profit of $322 million and provided the market with inflated earnings forecasts showing earnings growth in FY 2013,” said Shine Lawyers class actions leader Craig Allsopp.

“The company announced its inflated and erroneous earnings forecast in August 2013 and repeated it in October 2013, only to issue a downgraded forecast in November 2013.”

The shareholders allege that Worley had no “reasonable grounds” to make the initial forecast and that this resulted in a 26% drop in the stock price.

The Motley Fool has contacted Worley for comment.

All ASX-listed companies now ‘on notice’

The class action represents investors who bought Worley shares between 14 August 2013 and 19 November 2013.

Allsopp said this case focused on listed companies’ obligation for “accountability and the importance of implementing proper processes to ensure price sensitive information is disclosed to the market in a timely way”.

“This puts all corporations on notice and provides a timely warning to those companies that do not prioritise transparency in their disclosures to shareholders.”

The court will now return to a single judge who will rule on the compensation and legal cost orders.

The Worley share price has never really recovered from that period in question, closing Friday at $12.70. It was trading as high as $21.59 during that time in 2013.

The company revealed in the February reporting season that its net profit rocketed 259% upwards, while last week it announced a withdrawal from all business in Russia.

The post $7 billion ASX company loses court case vs shareholders appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 5 ASX 200 shares trading ex-dividend today
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• 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares hitting 52-week highs today
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Woolworths impresses but Domino’s crashes after earnings miss
• Worley (ASX:WOR) share price launches 6% as net profits triple

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Last week was a disappointing one for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The benchmark index dropped 0.7% over the period to end the week at 7,063.6 points.

While a good number of shares dropped lower with the market, some fell more than most. Here’s why these were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week:

Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC)

The Nickel Mines share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 25.2% decline. Investors were selling this nickel miner’s shares amid concerns over its ties with stainless steel giant Tsingshan. It is the company’s largest shareholder and one of its biggest customers. As Tsingshan has been caught up in a huge short squeeze, which reportedly will lead to billions in losses, there were fears that this could lead to share sales or sales contract terminations.

Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO)

The Rio Tinto share price was some way behind as the next worst performer with its decline of 11.7%. The majority of this decline is attributable to the mining giant’s shares trading ex-dividend last week for its $6.63 per share fully franked final dividend. Eligible shareholders will be paid this huge dividend next month on 21 April. It was largely for the same reason that the Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR) share price lost 9.1% of its value last week.

BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL)

The BlueScope share price wasn’t too far behind with a drop of 9.5%. This appears to have been driven by concerns over rising input costs. With iron ore and metallurgical coal prices climbing to sky high levels again, this could put significant pressure on the steel producer’s margins.

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

The Zip share price was out of form again and sank 8.7% last week. This appears to have been caused by weakness in the tech sector and a recent broker note out of UBS. In respect to the latter, UBS has downgraded Zip’s shares to a sell rating and cut the price target on them by 80% to just $1.00. Not even heavy insider buying was enough to keep the Zip share price above water.

The post These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• These 3 ASX 200 shares are topping the volume charts this Friday
• Guess which 3 ASX 200 shares are among the top 10 dividend payers in the world
• Why Core Lithium, Nickel Mines, SG Fleet, and Whitehaven Coal are pushing higher
• ASX 200 (ASX:XJO) midday update: Block falls, Nickel Mines jumps

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. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) shares made news this week one last time as an ASX company.

On 10 March 2022, Sydney Airport shares were removed from the official list after the acquisition of the business by Sydney Aviation Alliance.

Sydney Airport takeover implemented

The business has been taken over by a consortium comprising of entities associated with AustralianSuper, IFM Australian Infrastructure Fund, QSuper, IFM Global Infrastructure Fund and Global Infrastructure Partners.

The takeover price for Sydney Airport was $8.75 for each share. That cash was sent to Sydney Airport shareholders on 9 March 2022.

However, UniSuper, which owned approximately 15% of Sydney Airport, will receive an approximate 15% interest in the holding company of the bidder, so that it will retain its interest.

Sydney Airport’s directors David Gonski, John Roberts, Stephen Ward, Ann Sherry, Grant Fenn and Abi Cleland have all resigned.

The directors decided to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the takeover.

Why was the takeover attractive?

The Sydney Airport board pointed out that the offer of $8.75 per security represented a significant premium to Sydney Airport’s recent historical trading price. It represented a 50.6% premium to the closing price of the shares on 2 July 2021, being the last day before the announcement of the first bid.

It was also pointed out that there are several risks with the airport’s business and operations, whilst the cash offer provided certainty.

Some of those risks included:

• The ongoing impact of COVID-19
• Competition from Western Sydney Airport in the future
• Uncertainty about future aeronautical and commercial revenue
• The need for significant future capital expenditure in order to grow capacity at the airport
• Uncertainty about the future distribution profile
• Risks with Australia and China’s geopolitical relationship

Last travel update

A couple of months ago, the company told investors about its passenger update for December 2021. In that month, it saw 1.2 million passengers, which was down 69.7% on December 2019, but up 70.4% on December 2020.

Domestic passengers amounted to 949,000 in December 2021 – down 59.6% on December 2019. This was an increase of 44% on December 2020.

There were 248,000 international passengers that travelled through Sydney Airport, down 84.5% on the corresponding period in 2019. The business said that traffic was lower in December because of reduced demand cancellations and lower load factors due to the Omicron outbreak.

For the first 15 days of January, provisional data indicated that international passenger traffic was down approximately 85% and domestic passenger traffic was down approximately 58% compared to the corresponding period in 2019.

The business said that the outlook for passenger traffic continued to remain subdued due to tightly controlled inbound international travel, entry requirements and restrictions into key overseas markets, and the significant domestic flight cancellations announced for the first quarter of 2022.

The post Why were Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) shares still making news this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s why the Magellan (ASX:MFG) share price fell 7% today and could keep falling
• Here’s why the Neometals (ASX:NMT) share price surged 6% on Friday
• Here are the top 10 ASX shares today
• Is the NAB (ASX:NAB) share price a buy? Top broker expects sector-leading earnings growth
• 2 buy-rated small cap ASX shares analysts believe have 60%+ upside

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Bruce Jackson.

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