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The National Tyre & Wheel Ltd (ASX: NTD) share price is plummeting today on the back of its earnings for the first half of financial year 2022.

At the time of writing, the National Tyre & Wheel share price is $1.33, 16.75% lower than its previous close.

Though, that’s an improvement on its intraday low of $1.21 – representing a 24% drop.

National Tyre & Wheel share price tumbles on as profit slides

• Revenue of $251.5 million ­– up from $212.4 million in the first half of financial year 2021
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $5.56 million – down from $9.83 million
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $17.44 million – down from $20.76 million
• 4.7 cents of earnings per share (EPS) – down from 8.7 cents
• Operating cash flow came to a loss of $4.3 million – down from $10.7 million
• 3 cent interim dividend ­– flat with its previous interim dividend

National Tyre & Wheel’s diversified earnings streams offset some of the COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions experienced by the company in the last half.

Demand for the independent tyre and wheel importer and distributor bore the impact of lockdowns and outbreaks that saw staff availability, customer fulfilment, and sales volumes fall.

Sales volumes were also hampered by supply chain issues that saw shipping capacity impacted while delays in overland transport increased.

As a result, the company’s inventory levels in December were around $15 million higher than normal.

Additionally, associated costs saw most of the company’s business units pushing two or more price rises last half, with more expected to come.

However, two months of earnings from its newly-acquired Black Rubber business offset some of the pandemic-related expenses.

Expenses were also higher than the prior comparable period due to the company’s ownership of new acquisitions, employment costs born from extra staff, and marketing costs.

The company ended the period with $90.3 million of debt and $45 million of cash.

What else happened during the half?

During the first half, National Tyre & Wheel acquired Black Rubber ­– sending its share price surging 6.5% in November.

The purchase cost the company $26.3 million. It bolstered National Tyre & Wheel’s commercial truck and bus tyre offerings, value-add services, and provided tyre recycling abilities.

It also acquired Access Alloys for $1.121 million last half.

The purchase saw National Tyre & Wheel’s subsidiary, Dynamic Wheel Co, with exclusive Australian distribution rights for brands American Outlaw and Elite Off Road.

The company expects the brands to bring annualised earnings before interest and tax of at least $500,000 from annual revenue of more than $3 million.

What’s next?

The company expects its surplus inventory to reduce this quarter. It also expects COVID-19 impacts to lessen over the current half.

National Tyre & Wheel expects its revenue to strengthen over the remainder of the financial year, driven by promotional activities, cross-selling opportunities, and organisational changes at its subsidiary, Tyres4U.

Earnings could also be bolstered by recently acquired businesses (the company also acquired Carters Tyre Service in January, conducting a share purchase plan to do so), ­along with cost savings.

Additionally, the fourth quarter is normally National Tyre & Wheel’s strongest. It’s expected to be stronger this year, partly due to more stable trading conditions.

However, its factory and shipping costs are expected to peak this year, while employment costs could increase due to low rates of unemployment.

The company’s now focusing on improving margins in its existing businesses rather than more merger and acquisition activity.

National Tyre & Wheel is confident organic revenue and earnings growth will continue from financial year 2023, with warehouse consolidations in Sydney and Melbourne completed and new purpose-built leased premises in Brisbane and Perth to be completed in the December quarter.

That puts the company on track for occupancy savings and logistic synergies of around $3 million annually.

National Tyre & Wheel share price snapshot

Today’s slip has plunged the National Tyre & Wheel share price into the year-to-date red.

It’s now trading for 9% less than it was at the start of 2022.

However, it’s still 56% higher than it was this time last year.

The post National Tyre & Wheel (ASX:NTD) share price plunges 24% on half-year earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Whopper copper! Why the Aeris (ASX:AIS) share price is higher today
• Ramelius (ASX:RMS) share price crumbles on lower profit and gold production

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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 Airtasker Ltd (ASX: ART) share price has dropped over the last six months. But the company is due to release its FY22 half-year result tomorrow, what are some things to focus on?

Before getting that, for investors that don’t know, Airtasker describes itself as Australia’s leading online marketplace for local services, connecting people and businesses who need work done with people who want to work.

These are some of the things that could feature:

Revenue and gross marketplace volume (GMV) growth

The business is trying to rapidly scale. Revenue and marketplace volume growth are the first two things that the company tells investors about in each of its updates.

In FY21, the company achieved revenue of $26.6 million, up 38% year on year. FY21 GMV was $153.1 million with growth of 35% year on year.

The second quarter of FY22 included the ending of lockdowns in NSW and Victoria. Quarterly GMV was $48.6 million, up 39% quarter-on-quarter. Second quarter revenue was $8.1 million, up 37.5% quarter-on-quarter.

The average task value continues to improve, with increasing demand for local services. In the second quarter, the average task value rose 24% to $255.

As a result of the underlying GMV growth trajectory and clear outlook on no further lockdowns, Airtasker decided to increase its FY22 second half GMV volume guidance from $105 million to $110 million – that guidance was increased by 4.8%.

Will the company stick with that guidance? Increase it?

In the absence of statutory net profit after tax (NPAT), revenue and the growth rate can be key focuses for investors when considering the Airtasker share price.

The broker Morgans thinks that Airtasker’s growth runway is attractive.

Gross profit margin

Airtasker has a very high gross profit margin of 93%, which is one of the highest on the ASX. In FY21 the payment costs were 4.9% and insurance costs were 2.1%.

The ASX tech share puts this high margin down to its user-aligned business model and light-touch operations which make the gross margins possible.

What will happen with the gross profit margin this time?

International growth

Airtasker management point to an enormous global opportunity for existing local service industries across Australia, the US and the UK. In Australia, it has reached a 0.3% market penetration of the $52 billion market. It points out that 0.3% of the UK market would be $210 million of GMV and 0.3% of the US market would be $1.5 billion of GMV.

In the second quarter of FY22, UK GMV was up 121% and the US posted task growth of 71% quarter-on-quarter.

In the first six months of launching in the US, Airtasker has focused on four key cities – Atlanta, Kansas City, Dallas and Miami. It’s trying to create a steadily increasing flow of job opportunities. But additional Airtasker marketplaces are also emerging in non-core cities across the US.

The company may provide some more colour on its international growth progress and plans.

It’s spending to achieve to achieve more growth. This could help the Airtasker share price.

Growth spending

A few weeks ago, Airtasker said that it was going to increase its marketing investment.

The company also continues to invest in its technology to grow engagement and task numbers. For example, the initial launch of ‘smart tasker alerts’ led to 34% growth of tasker engagement.

It’s investing significantly into core organic growth marketing channels such as SEO, content and CRM.

Marketing operations teams have been established to execute on responsive, local and seasonal campaigns.

A global campaign marketing investment in working-media is to be heavily skewed to the second half with a 25%-75% split.

The company may decide to further outline some of the progress here.

The post Own Airtasker (ASX:ART) shares? Here’s what to watch when the company reports tomorrow appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 recommended Airtasker Limited. 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 All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has shaken off early morning losses and is currently up 0.3% for the day.

Taken as a whole, All Ordinaries shares have been struggling in recent months.

One major headwind for ASX shares has been inflation concerns. This is seeing analysts ramp up their expectations for the size and pace of interest rate hikes ahead, putting particular pressure on growth shares.

More recently, Russia’s military deployment around Ukraine had raised the spectre of a hot war in Europe.

All up we’ve seen the All Ordinaries slide 6% since the opening bell on 4 January. This has taken the 52-week gains for the index down to 4.9%.

But not all ASX shares are created equal.

3 ASX All Ordinaries shares hitting 52-week highs

Checking our screens today we note that not 1 but 3 All Ordinaries shares are notching up fresh 1-year highs.

First up we have G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM). G8 Education is Australia’s largest provider of early childhood education and care, operating more than 470 centres across Australia.

The G8 Education share price struggled for much of the past year before lifting strongly in 2022. Shares got another lift earlier this week on the back of strong full year results. Significantly the company reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $45.7 million after seeing a Net Loss After Tax of $189 million the previous year.

Currently trading at $1.32 per share, the G8 Education share price is up 21.1% in 52 weeks.

The next All Ordinaries share hitting 52-week highs today is Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR). The global engineering company provides services to the resources, energy, and industrial sectors and counts as Australia’s largest oil and gas engineering group.

Worley shares had a difficult second half of 2021 before a sharp recovery this year. As with G8 Education, the Worley share price received another leg up this week after reporting its half year financial results. Along the strong results was a 259% increase in the company’s NPAT, which reached $79 million.

The Worley share price, currently at $12.57, has gained 15.4% in 12 months.

Leading the pack

The third All Ordinaries share hitting 52-week highs today is Mincor Resources NL (ASX: MCR). The ASX resource company is primarily focused on gold and nickel.

The Mincor share price began tracking higher in mid-July and really took off in early December.

Driven by surging commodity prices, the Mincor share price is up a very impressive 72% over the past 52 weeks.

There you have it.

Three not so ordinary All Ordinaries shares at 12 months highs trouncing the returns posted by the index.

The post 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares hitting 52-week highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price has been among the best performers on the ASX 200 on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the healthcare company’s shares are up 6% to $4.45 after the market responded positively to its half year results.

Healius share price higher amid stellar profit growth

• Revenue up 43% to $1,339 million
• Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) up 177% to $376.1 million
• Underlying net profit after tax up 226% to $245.6 million
• Fully franked interim dividend up 54% to 10 cents per share

What happened during the first half?

Healius had an incredibly positive half thanks largely to demand for COVID testing services. The company notes that it played a pivotal role in Australia’s public health response to the Delta and Omicron outbreaks, with PCR testing the main driver of its 43% jump in revenue to $1,339 million.

This was supported by growth in non-COVID Pathology revenues, above market growth from its Victoria and Queensland imaging businesses, and revenue growth from its flagship day hospital, Westside Private.

Another positive was that its operating cash flow was strong and, normalised for exceptionally high volumes in the last two weeks of the year, EBITDA conversion was well over 90%.

Management highlights that its balance sheet remains conservatively geared and is positioned to reward shareholders, fund growth, and meet the sustaining capital needs of the business.

Management commentary

Healius’ Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Malcolm Parmenter, commented: “Following the huge surge in late December and early January, we have now returned to same-day turnaround times for PCR testing. We are expecting an on-going baseload of PCR testing for some time to come, as the clinical issues around this disease remain of concern, in particular for the more vulnerable within the population.”

“Following the science, we are also investing in more efficiency initiatives in preparation for any new variants which may unfortunately coincide with increased influenza next winter. This includes investing to lower our cost per test and to handle a higher number of tests with the same level of staff,” he added.

Looking ahead, Dr Parmenter expects the rest of its business to experience an acceleration in demand.

He explained: “With the country now opening up, all of our businesses are expecting an acceleration in demand for routine healthcare services, including a period of catch-up for the backlog in diagnosis and surgery. This is likely to be a strong driver for growth over the near-term, in particular our imaging and day hospitals businesses are well-placed to deliver on the return of elective surgery.”

The chief executive also revealed that Healius intends to put its strong balance sheet to use.

He commented: “With the deleveraging of our balance sheet from the sale of Healius Primary Care and with the revenue we are receiving from COVID testing, as I have said before we have a real opportunity to invest in digital leading-edge applications to permanently change for the better how consumers access diagnostic healthcare in Australia. We’re already on this path with our COVID digital initiatives and I am excited about what we can and will develop over the next few years.”

No guidance has been given for the remainder of FY 2022.

The post Healius (ASX:HLS) share price up 6% after tripling half year profits appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 Aeris Resources Ltd (ASX: AIS) share price is in the green today amid a company announcement on recent gold and copper assays obtained from the company’s Tritton tenement.

At the time of writing, the Aeries share price is trading 3.85% higher at 13.5 cents.

Golden results push Aeris Resources share price higher

Aeries provided an update on the latest assay results from the “ongoing resource definition drilling program” at the Constellation deposit. The deposit is located at the company’s Tritton tenement in New South Wales, not far from the Tritton processing plant.

The announcement notes the company has received assay results for a further ten diamond drill holes from the drill program at Constellation.

Results are promising and show extensions below the current mineral resource of both gold and copper deposits.

Specifically, the company intersected 5.21m @ 7.45% Cu, 3.19g/t Au, 59.4g/t Ag (from 354.10m) and 8.27m @ 4.76% Cu, 1.55g/t Au, 16.3g/t Ag (from 148.80m).

Data obtained from these tests has given Aeris further insight into the Constellation deposit at Tritton.

“The orientation of the majority of the Constellation deposit is a continuous gently dipping sulphide body. Toward the northern margin of the deposit, the primary sulphide envelope changes orientation, from a north-south trending gentle dipping envelope to a sub-vertical east-west trending system,” the company said.

On the back of these updates, the company confirmed that resource definition drilling at Constellation is nearly completed.

Consequently, investors can expect updates on the mineral resource “in the June quarter of this year”, according to the company’s announcement.

Management commentary

Speaking on the announcement, Aeris’ executive chair Andre Labuschagne said:

The Constellation drilling program continues to deliver excellent high-grade copper and gold assays. The latest assay results from the drilling within the current Mineral Resource continues to demonstrate that the near surface section of the deposit contain exceptionally high-grade copper and gold mineralisation. This provides the potential for significant early cashflows from open-pit mining. The latest drilling below the current Mineral Resource was focused on the southern margins of the deposit, with assays also showing both good copper and gold grades.

Aeris Resources share price snapshot

In the last 12 months, the Aeris Resouces share price has soared by around 35%. However, it is down more than 18% this year to date.

During the past month of trading alone, the company’s shares have collapsed almost 13%.

At its current share price, the company presides a market capitalisation of approximately $304 million.

The post Whopper copper! Why the Aeris (ASX:AIS) share price is higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) share price is crumbling today following the release of the gold miner’s half-year earnings.

In the report, the Western Australian miner revealed a drop in profits across the board.

At the time of writing, the Ramelius share price is down 5.16% at $1.47.

Let’s take a look at what the company reported.

What did Ramelius tell ASX investors?

For the half-year ending 31 December 2021, Ramelius revealed the following results:

• EBITDA down 3% to $187.7 million compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp)
• NPAT down 10% to $73.4 million
• Sales revenue down 9% to $310.1 million
• Net cash and bullion down 29% to $164.5 million
• Gold production down 8% to 132,605 ounces.

Ramelius attributed the drop in profit mainly to “lower head grades” at its Mt Magnet gold project in WA. However, it said this was still “in line” with internal expectations.

Further, the miner experienced higher costs and COVID-19 challenges during the half — a trending factor across the wider resources industry.

These issues drove up its all-in sustaining cost (AISC) to $1,473 per ounce — an increase of 17% against the pcp.

What else did the gold miner report?

A number of other factors ultimately impacted the miner’s cash balance during the half.

Ramelius said the drop in net cash and bullion was due to the finalised acquisition of Apollo Consolidated Limited.

Coming with the buy was the Rebecca Gold Project — a site containing “advanced and growing gold discoveries” that will drive future growth, Ramelius said.

Development operations at the miner’s Penny Gold Mine in WA began ramping up with “meaningful high grade ore production” expected in the next financial year.

The miner also offloaded assets during the half, including the sale of its Kathleen Valley Lithium Royalty for $30.3 million (before tax).

All in all, inventories for the period were up 46% to $147.1 million.

Managing director Mark Zeptner said:

The acquisition of Rebecca, our commitment to exploration and ongoing development opportunities at both production centres, combined with the strength of our balance sheet will allow us to continue both organic growth and the assessment of growth opportunities as they rise.

There was no interim dividend declared for the period, which was “in line with past practice”, the miner said. The board will assess dividends at the end of the financial year.

Since 31 December 2021, the Ramelius share price has dropped by 10%.

What did management say?

Despite the drop in profit and production, Ramelius management was “pleased” by the latest financial results.

Zeptner said:

The inability to deliver planned tonnages of high-grade ore from Tampia and Marda also impacted the bottom line. However, this is a timing issue only as the high-grade ROM stocks at both mines will get processed over the coming year. By way of future cashflows, this will begin to realise some of the A$147 invested in inventories on hand at the end of the period.

Despite the higher costs and slightly lower gold production, our underlying EBITDA margin remains very strong at just over 50%. This compares well with our peers and highlights that our business model remains robust.

Ramelius share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Ramelius share price has increased by 7.3%.

The shares were trading as low as $1.18 at the beginning of 2021 and as high as $2 in May 2021. This was not long after the gold miner achieved its gold guidance for the 2021 March quarter.

The company has a market capitalisation of $1.275 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of 9.42.

The post Ramelius (ASX:RMS) share price crumbles on lower profit and gold production appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Alice de Bruin 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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Shares in Nickel Mines Ltd (ASX: NIC) are on the move today after the company released its financial results for the full year ended 31 December 2021.

At the time of writing, the Nickel Mines share price is trading 6.7% higher at $1.43.

Let’s take a look at what has ASX investors excited about Nickel Mines today.

Nickel Mines share price spikes on earnings growth

Key takeouts from the company’s earnings results today include:

• Sales revenue US$$645.9 million, up from US$523.5 million in 2020
• Gross profit came in at US$216.8 million, representing a substantial gain from US$165.1 million in 2020
• Profit after tax US$176.0 million, up 14.5% year on year from US$153.7 million
• 40,410 tonnes (32,328 tonnes attributable) of nickel metal produced in 298,353 tonnes of nickel pig iron
• Acquired an 80% interest in the Angel Nickel RKEF Project
• A record 2,457,694 tonnes of saprolite ore mined at the Hengjaya Mine
• Execution of agreement to acquire 70% of the Oracle Nickel RKEF Project
• A$100.6 million of dividends distributed to shareholders.

What else happened with Nickel Mines in 2021?

The company notes that 2021 saw Nickel Mines “continue on its rapid growth trajectory”, charging towards completion of its Angel Nickel Project in Indonesia.

It also announced an investment into the Oracle Nickel Project in November, which Nickel Mines touts as “a new 4-RKEF line development project within the IMIP”.

In its statement to the ASX, Nickel Mines said:

Oracle represents another highly value accretive investment for the Company and one which alongside ANI will see the Company’s existing production profile more than triple current levels when fully commissioned, not to mention the transformative impact both projects will have on the Company’s finances.

Aside from that, the group’s Hengjaya and Ranger RKEF operations delivered a record EBITDA of US$224.9 million. This was underpinned by an annual output of circa 40,000 tonnes.

At the Hengjaya site, limonite supply commenced in November. From this, 98,313 tonnes of limonite were delivered to the Huaye Nickel Cobalt project. The EBITDA from mine operations was US$22 million.

The company also acquired the Siduarsi Nickel-Cobalt project and the Tablasufa Nickel project with Bolt Metals Corp (CNSX: BOLT). Also pending is the “eventual acquisition of the Pt. Adadi Nikel Nusantara and Pt. Sulawesi Nikel Abad nickel projects”. All of these projects are located in Indonesia.

These results enabled the company to declare a final dividend of 2 cents per share, which was paid on 10 February.

Management commentary

Speaking on the results, Nickel Mines chairman Robert Neale said:

As always, I would like to finish by thanking you, our shareholders, for another year of support and belief in the company’s vision to rapidly and responsibly build Nickel Mines into a globally significant nickel business. We are delighted to have been able to pay out 4 cents per share for 2021 and distribute to our shareholders some of the cash flows generated by operations.

What’s next for Nickel Mines?

The company says the Hengjaya mine is on target to deliver a budgeted 3 million tonnes of saprolite ore production in 2022.

Nickel Mines also announced that Angel Nickel had entered its commissioning phase earlier this year. All four lines are anticipated to have commenced operations by the end of April 2022.

Nickel Mines told the ASX:

Responsibly managing our capital and the deployment of cashflows will again be a key objective for the Company in 2022, but with 8 RKEF lines coming online over the next 12 months and a growing contribution from Hengjaya Mine set to continue, we should all be optimistic for a prosperous 2022.

Nickel Mines share price summary

In the past 12 months, the Nickel Mines share price has fallen by 2.7%. Over the same period, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index has gained 4.9%.

The post Nickel Mines (ASX:NIC) share price surges 6% on full-year earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Zach Bristow 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 Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) share price is edging lower today. This comes amid the backdrop of the company’s release of its first-half results for FY22 last Thursday.

The toll road operator’s shares advanced 1.55% to $13.08 on the day of the announcement. However, since then its shares have fallen wayside with three consecutive days of losses, not including today.

At the time of writing, Transurban shares are swapping hands for $12.71, down 0.24%.

Below we look at the company’s latest financial performance and the details regarding the interim dividend for investors.

How did Transurban perform for H1 FY22?

In the half-year results for the 2022 financial year, Transurban reported challenging trading conditions caused by government-mandated restrictions related to COVID-19.

Proportional toll revenue fell 0.4% to $1.2 billion over the prior corresponding period. This was triggered by average daily traffic which decreased 4.8% generally across all regions.

In addition, proportional earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) slid 4.1% to $805 million.

Free cash also fell 1.6% to $459 million, as a result of a decrease in cash flows from owned assets, an increase in distributions and shareholders’ loan note payments, and unfavourable movements in working capital.

Nonetheless, the board declared an unfranked interim dividend of 15 cents per share to eligible shareholders.

Transurban noted that the distributions for the first half were covered by free cash with no capital releases conducted.

Payment details of the Transurban dividend

If you were hoping to get in on the action, unfortunately you are out of luck. The ex-dividend date by which you must have acquired Transurban shares was 30 December 2021.

Furthermore, the company paid the interim dividend to eligible shareholders yesterday.

There was also a distribution reinvestment plan (DRP), where investors receive additional shares in substitution for some or all cash distributions.

The last date for receipt of an election notice for participation in the DRP was 4 January 2022.

While no discount had been applied when determining the price of the stapled securities, just 2.3% of shareholders participated.

The post Just banked the Transurban (ASX:TCL) dividend? Here’s what you need to know appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) share price is in the red today on the back of the company’s half-year results.

At the time of writing, St Barbara shares are swapping hands at $1.39 apiece, a 3.33% fall, after the share price dropped as low as $1.34 earlier in the session. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 0.33%.

Let’s take a look at what the gold miner reported today.

St Barbara share price share price drops

Highlights of the company’s half-year (H1 FY22) results include:

• Statutory profit of $14 million, down 62% on the previous corresponding period (PCP) of H1 FY21
• Underlying profit of $15.1 million, down 63% on PCP
• Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $103 million, down 32% on PCP
• Gold production of 132,524 ounces
• All In Sustaining Cost (AISC) of $1,539 per ounce

What else happened in the half?

The company’s underlying profit dropped 63% from $39.9 million in the first half of FY21 to $15.1 million. This was due to a drop in contribution from the company’s Simberi and Atlantic operations. However, this was partly offset by a higher contribution from its Leonora operations.

Gold production fell 18% compared to the first half of 2021, while the AISC also fell 4%. Partially offsetting this decline in production was a boost in the realised gold price. This jumped by 13% to $2,417 per ounce.

The board has decided not to pay an interim dividend due to the operational issues at the Simberi mine in Papua New Guinea.

Gold production at Simberi is not achieving its target rates and there is still uncertainty as to when the mine will return to full workforce participation. This is due to high COVID-19 infection rates.

As the company reported on 18 February, there were 139 active cases among the mine’s 600 strong workforce.

Nonetheless, the company reported cash contributions from its operations of $41.583 million.

In December, St Barbara revealed plans to acquire Bardoc Gold Ltd (ASX: BDC) for $157 million. If approved, this will provide St Barbara with access to advanced Aphrodite and Zoroastrian underground deposits.

Management commentary

Speaking on the results, St Barbara CEO and managing director Craig Jetson said:

I’m pleased to present St Barbara’s strong results, which we’ve achieved in spite of several enduring headwinds, including those brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We now have all three assets in operation, are well progressed in the scheme of arrangement with Bardoc Gold and are laser focused on delivering to our upcoming pre-feasibility and feasibility study milestones.

As we continue to execute the province plans put in place in late 2020 delivery of these plans underpins our new aspiration of annual gold production of 600 thousand ounces (koz) per annum with ten years of life – a real differentiator in the market.

What’s next for St Barbara?

As Jetson outlined, St Barbara has aspirations to produce 600 koz of gold annually from its mining operations.

This includes 270 koz at its St Leonora operations once its proposed 2.1 million tonnes per annum processing facility is installed and 180 koz from its Simberi operations once it has completed its sulphides project.

St Barbara also has a plan to produce 150 koz from its Atlantic operations once production comes online at Beaver Dam, Fifteen Mile Stream, and Cochrane Hill.

The company said it has business continuity plans in place to reduce COVID-19 disruptions at all of these operations.

St Barbara hopes to achieve shareholder approval of the Bardoc Gold acquisition before the end of the financial year. A meeting of Bardoc shareholders is planned for 30 March 2022.

According to the company’s report, the board will reassess whether it pays a final dividend at the end of FY22.

St Barbara share price summary

The St Barbara share price has dived 35% in the past 12 months while it is down around 5% year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark ASX index has returned around 5% over the past year.

St Barbara has a market capitalisation of about $989 million based on today’s share price.

The post Profits down: St Barbara (ASX:SBM) share price slides 5% on half-year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price is having a mildly positive day on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the logistics solutions technology company’s shares are up 1% to $43.28.

This modest gain by the WiseTech share price may be quite disappointing for shareholders given the company’s strong half year result and guidance upgrade.

What’s going on with the WiseTech share price?

It’s not often you get such a muted response to an earnings guidance upgrade, but that is what’s happening with the WiseTech share price today.

In case you missed it, this morning the company reported an 18% increase in revenue to $281 million and a 54% jump in EBITDA to $137.7 million. This strong result was driven by increased market penetration, customer usage, and adoption of its technology, as well a price change to CargoWise.

Recurring on-demand revenue grew 25.4% to $225 million and WiseTech’s CargoWise attrition rate was once again below 1%.

This ultimately led to management reaffirming its full year revenue growth guidance and upgrading its EBITDA guidance.

Based on market conditions not materially changing, WiseTech expects revenue growth of 18% to 25%. This will represent revenue of $600 million to $635 million.

As for its earnings, management has upgraded its EBITDA growth guidance to 33% to 43%, which represents EBITDA of $275 million to $295 million. This is up from its prior guidance of 26% to 38%, which implied EBITDA of $260 million to $285 million.

Why are its shares not rising more?

There are a couple of potential reasons for the subdued performance by the WiseTech share price.

One is the company’s track record of upgrading its guidance. Over the last few years, WiseTech has upgraded its guidance on a number of occasions. This may have led to the market already pricing in a guidance upgrade.

Another factor that could be weighing on the WiseTech share price is management’s outlook commentary. Although it is positive on the second half, its guidance came with a warning.

Management said: “Uncertainty around future economic and industrial production growth and/or global trade may lead to alternative outcomes. Prevailing uncertainties relating to sovereign and geopolitical risk may also reduce assumed growth rates.”

The post Great expectations: Why is the Wisetech (ASX:WTC) share price not gaining more today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended WiseTech Global. 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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