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For a while now, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) shares have been an eye-catcher on the ASX boards. Even before its most recent share price run, Lynas was a company that has long attracted attention due to its unique position as not just one of the few rare earths miners in Australia, but also the largest.

It was only a few years ago that one of the ASX’s largest constituents, Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), tried to buy up Lynas in full. It has been to the benefit of Lynas shareholders (and to the detriment of Wesfarmers investors) that that deal fell through.

So as we’ve briefly touched on, Lynas has been on an absolutely stellar share price run over the past two years. But how much money exactly has the Lynas share price made its investors? Let’s dig in.

How rich has Lynas made its investors?

Fittingly, the lowest share price Lynas has touched over the past few years was back in March 2020, at the height of the coronavirus-induced share market crash. At the time, Lynas got down to around $1.25 a share.

Today, it’s trading at $8.99 at the time of writing, having lost a nasty 3% thus far today.

That puts its gains at an approximate but very pleasing 620% since 27 March 2020.

So if an investor bought $10,000 worth of Lynas shares back then for $1.25 each, they would have picked up 8,000 shares for their efforts. Those 8,000 shares would be worth roughly $71,920 at today’s pricing. Pleasing stuff indeed, if any investor was actually lucky enough to make this trade.

But it could have been a lot better. Like many ASX shares, Lynas has taken a substantial haircut over the past month or two. We only have to go back less than a month to see the Lynas share price at a new record high of $11.39 a share, a good 20% off today’s pricing.

At that all-time high, those 8,000 Lynas shares would have been worth $91,120.

Needless to say, Lynas has been a very lucrative investment to have held in recent times. Especially over the past two years or so.

At the current Lynas Rare Earths share price, this ASX rare earths miner has a market capitalisation of $8.13 billion.

The post Here’s how rich Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) shares have made ASX 200 investors over the past 2 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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 owns and has recommended Wesfarmers 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 Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) share price is trading lower today following the release of its half year results.

In afternoon trade, the audio-visual media networking solution provider’s shares are down 2.5% to $7.54.

Audinate share price lower despite delivering strong revenue growth

• Revenue increased 31.6% over the prior corresponding period to $20.2 million (US$14.8 million)
• Gross margin of 75.6%
• EBITDA up 11% to $2 million
• Net loss after tax of $2.1 million
• Strong cash and term deposits balance of $60.3 million prior to completion of Silex acquisition in January

What happened during the half?

For the six months ended 31 December, Audinate overcame supply chain disruptions and chip shortages to deliver a 31.6% increase in revenue to $20.2 million or 33.3% in US dollars terms to US$14.8 million.

Management advised that this growth was driven primarily from its chips, cards and modules, which was supported by robust demand for software products. This helped offset a decline in revenue from design wins as it moved away from up-front license fees and adopted a subscription model to successfully drive more design wins.

Nevertheless, Audinate still secured 57 designs wins with OEMs during the period, with 16 of these design wins related to next generation Dante software products. The company also revealed that it has grown the number of OEM customers shipping Dante enabled products to 403 OEMs. This represents an increase of 12% over the prior corresponding period.

Management commentary

Audinate’s Co-Founder and CEO, Aidan Williams, was pleased with the half, particularly given the challenging operating conditions.

He commented: “The business performed strongly during the first half in a very challenging operating environment and delivered revenue growth exceeding 30%. Further supply chain tightness is expected in 2H22 but we are pleased to have received indicative additional commitments from chip suppliers. Consequently we now anticipate satisfying demand for our Brooklyn and Broadway products in the second half.”

Outlook

Management advised that second half revenue will be driven by chip availability for both Audinate and its OEM customers. At this stage, it expects USD revenue growth for FY 2022 overall, but not at historical growth rates.

Audinate advised that it is proactively managing the challenging operating environment through product redesign, sourcing of alternative parts, and passing through price increases. Positively, it expects to be able to continue to meet demand for most flagship products.

Once again, Audinate’s committed sales orders continue to grow to all-time highs, which it believes positions the business strongly for a future supply chain easing, fulfilment of orders, and associated revenue.

Though, it is also expecting its costs to increase in the near future as it grows its headcount. This reflects the Silex acquisition and the desire to support ongoing growth and drive development of video and cloud services. Audinate is targeting a headcount of 185 staff at the end of June, which will be up 37% from 135% at the end of FY 2021.

Mr Williams concluded: “The acquisition of the Silex video business is another exciting chapter for Audinate. With the establishment of the Cambridge (UK) video software team, the acquisition completes a significant transformation of our video capabilities over the last twelve months. Whilst supply chain disruption is likely to linger through CY22, we look to fulfilling increasing demand for our products and services. We also look forward to the release of future video and cloud products that complement our existing revenue streams.”

The post Audinate (ASX:AD8) share price lower despite stellar sales growth 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 AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns and has recommended AUDINATEGL FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The AGL Energy Limited (ASX: AGL) share price is back in the green after tumbling 9% late last week after the release of its updated plan to back out of coal-fired power.

The company’s decision to only knock a total of 5 years off the planned closure of its two major coal-fired power stations seemingly disappointed the market.

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) didn’t sit quietly after the energy producer and retailer’s release.

“AGL proves its incompetence time and again by continuing to ignore the majority of its shareholders with its failure to align the closure of its coal-fired power stations with the Paris Agreement,” said its director of climate and environment, Dan Gocher.

Let’s take a closer look at the backlash to Australia’s biggest carbon emitter‘s latest deadline on coal.

AGL’s updated coal closure plan not enough: ACCR

Within its half year results, released on Thursday, AGL announced its planning to close its Baywater and Loy Yang coal-fired power stations by 2033 and 2045.

That will see doors close at the respective stations 2 and 3 years earlier than previously planned.

However, Gocher believes that flies in the face of the 53% of shareholders who voted to implement goals and targets in line with the Paris Agreement last year.

AGL’s coal-fired power stations will be held by Accel Energy after the company splits into Accel Energy and AGL Australia. The demerger is expected to occur before the end of this financial year.

The company stated the new closure dates will see Accel Energy’s electricity generation assets’ emissions cut by an additional 90 million tonnes between financial year 2023 and financial year 2050.

However, Gocher said the change is “next to meaningless for these crumbling assets”:

AGL is facing increasing sustaining capital expenditure on its coal-fired power stations (up $17 million to $162 million), while it steadfastly refuses to invest in the transition, with growth and transformation capital expenditure declining (down $18 million to $62 million).

Gocher also stated that by “desperately clinging on to coal”, the company is ignoring the changing energy landscape.

“Shareholders must be questioning the competence of the board and the executive to manage the transition effectively,” said Gocher.

Gocher also claims AGL’s board has failed to appoint directors with needed skills to manage the energy transition.

He called on shareholders to “seek change at the highest level” if the company’s demerger goes to vote without Paris-aligned targets.

AGL share price snapshot

While the AGL share price is well and truly in the long-term red, it’s recording a decent gain for 2022 so far.

Right now, the company’s stock is up 12% year-to-date. For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slid 4% in the same time frame.

However, over the last 12 months, the AGL share price has tumbled 34%. It’s also down 71% over the last 5 years.

The post AGL (ASX:AGL) blasted for ignoring shareholders and committing to ‘crumbling assets’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

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

Figuring out how to invest your money can feel daunting when there are so many different types of assets to buy. And if you aren’t sure how to research individual companies, you may feel like getting your money into the stock market is simply too risky. 

But there’s also a huge cost to not buying equities, as it can be difficult to earn the returns you need to build wealth if you don’t put your money into the market. The good news is that you can become a wealthy investor even without a lot of specialized knowledge. That’s because there’s a simple option out there that almost everyone can figure out how to invest in. 

How to become a successful investor without picking stocks 

If you don’t want to research individual stocks or spend time studying companies, the simplest, easiest way to still grow your wealth through investing is to put your money into exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

ETFs trade like stocks. But when you buy an ETF, you aren’t gaining an ownership interest in a single company. Instead, the fund you pick will have a specific objective and will spread your money around many different assets designed to achieve that goal. 

For example, there are ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX). That’s a financial index created by Standard & Poor’s to measure the performance of around 500 of the largest US companies. When you buy an S&P ETF, the money you’ve invested buys a very small ownership stake of all 500 of those companies. 

There are also hundreds of other ETFs, including those tracking other financial indexes or that are designed to provide exposure to specific industries. This includes ETFs that invest your money in small companies, midsized companies, emerging markets, real estate, bonds, cryptocurrency-related businesses, the cannabis industry, healthcare, and just about anything else you can imagine. 

The great thing about ETFs is that it’s really easy to find ones that match your investing goals and interests. If you want to be pretty conservative in your investing, for example, you could build a very low-risk portfolio by dividing your money between an S&P 500 fund and a bond fund.

But if you have an interest in specific industries you think will outperform the market as a whole, you can invest in them without having to do a ton of research. If you think the cannabis market is poised to explode, you can buy a marijuana ETF and instantly be invested in producers, distributors, and researchers working within the field without having to wade through tons of details about individual cannabis businesses. 

Because ETFs spread your money around, it’s virtually always less risky to buy them than it is to invest in stocks. You can achieve diversification with a lot less effort. And most brokerage firms have ETF screeners that enable even novice investors to pick the appropriate funds in a matter of minutes by searching based on fund goals, fees, and past performance. 

Now, because you are buying an interest in so many companies with most ETFs, it’s unlikely you’ll substantially outperform the market, since not every company in the fund is going to see big increases in value. But you don’t need to beat the market to become rich through investing if you buy ETFs consistently over time and take a responsible approach to balancing risk and potential rewards.

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

The post Can’t pick stocks? Investing can still make you rich 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.

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

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The Praemium Ltd (ASX: PPS) share price is packing its bags and taking a trip to the downside on Monday.

The disappointing price action follows the release of the investment platform’s FY22 half-year results.

At the time of writing, Praemium shares are swapping hands for $1.085 apiece, down 11.4%.

Let’s take a closer look at the company’s results.

Praemium share price plunges as earnings swing to a loss

• Revenue up 25% from prior corresponding period to $39.2 million
• Record funds under administration (FUA) of $49 billion, increasing 43%
• Record net platform inflows of $2.9 billion, representing an increase of 87%
• Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $7.5 million, up 6%
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) swings from $2.8 million to a loss of $2.6 million
• Maintained cash reserves of $19.4 million at the end of the December period

What else happened during the half?

For the six months ended 31 December, Praemium achieved record FUA and platform growth, taking the company to $49 billion in FUA. This result is partly boosted by the inclusion of a full six months worth of revenue from the Powerwrap acquisition.

Additionally, the financial services company witnessed higher growth in FUA in its international platform than its Australian platform. For reference, the international platform experienced a 58% jump, compared to the Australian segment’s 28% increase.

However, as announced on 21 December 2021, Praemium is offloading its international business to Morningstar for A$65.1 million. Shareholders were relatively unfazed by the news at the time, with the Praemium share price moving a mere 2% higher.

Shareholders might be unsettled by the swing back into loss-making territory in the latest half. This marks the first time Praemium has made a loss on the bottom-line since 2015.

According to the half-year report, this reflects an increase in expenses in “key investments” in operations; sales and marketing; and research and development. The largest of these expenses was a $12.3 million investment in operations, representing a 31% increase.

What did management say?

Commenting on the result, Praemium CEO Anthony Wamsteker said:

The first half of FY2022 saw continued strong growth in revenue, reflecting the ongoing success of our investments in people and technology, including the recent acquisition of Powerwrap. Following another half year in which we significantly expanded the size of our team in order to further improve the underlying proprietary technology and client service levels, we are confident that our strong growth will continue.

Regarding the sale of Praemium’s international business, Wamsteker noted:

The sale of our International business segment to Morningstar should provide all our stakeholders with confidence in our ongoing strategy. It allows a dedicated focus on our home market in Australia whilst the quality of the acquirer ratifies our underlying platform and technology.

The ability to now focus exclusively on the Australian platform market at a time of a major shift from incumbents to independent challengers and in the expectations of advisers and clients regarding the range of assets to be managed in one place, creates strong alignment between our strategy and our opportunity.

What’s next?

Praemium remains confident in its future prospects, citing further tailwinds for independent wealth management platforms. Namely, the push from new regulations, a generational shift in advisors, and growing wealth among high net worth individuals.

Additionally, the company believes there is space for further disruption in the market. Currently, Praemium holds a 2% market share.

Finally, Praemium is expected to complete its sale of the international business during Q2 or Q3 of 2022. Any surplus proceeds from the sale are to be returned to shareholders.

Praemium share price snapshot

It seems the Praemium share price has gotten off on the wrong foot in 2022. Shares in the company are down 26% since the start of the year. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is 4.8% in the red, making it the better performer.

Despite the pullback, Praemium shareholders are still up 33% in the last 12 months.

The post Ups and downs: Praemium (ASX:PPS) share price tumbles 12% following half-year results appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns and has recommended Praemium Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Praemium 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 JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price has started the week very strongly.

In early afternoon trade, the retail giant’s shares are up 4.5% to $51.30.

At one stage today, the JB Hi-Fi share price was up as much as 7.5% to $52.75.

Why is the JB Hi-Fi share price racing higher today?

Investors have been bidding the JB Hi-Fi share price higher today following the release of its half year results.

And while the retailer had already pre-released its sales and profit figures in January (sales down 1.6% and profit down 9.4%), there was enough included in the release to get investors excited.

Firstly, the release included a trading update which revealed positive trends so far in the second half.

JB Hi-Fi advised that total sales were up 4.3% for JB Hi-Fi Australia and 2.5% for The Good Guys during January. And although the JB Hi-Fi New Zealand business reported a 1.5% decline in sales for the month, this is an improvement on what it recorded during the first half.

But perhaps the item that has given the JB Hi-Fi share price the biggest boost was news that it is following the lead of the banks by returning funds to shareholders through a share buyback.

According to the release, JB Hi-Fi is launching an off-market share buyback of up to $250 million. Combined with its fully franked interim dividend of 163 cents per share, this will mean a total of up to $437 million will be returned to shareholders.

Why launch a buyback?

A separate announcement explains the rationale for the buyback.

Chairman Stephen Goddard commented: “Due to JB Hi-Fi’s continued strong financial performance and strong cashflow generation, JB Hi-Fi has surplus capital and a significant franking credit balance.”

“After returning capital to shareholders via the Buy-Back, JB Hi-Fi will still maintain a conservative gearing position with the financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities. The Board believes that the Buy-Back can be completed without adversely affecting JB Hi-Fi’s capacity to pay fully franked dividends for the foreseeable future,” he added.

What are the terms?

Eligible shareholders will be able to tender their shares at discounts of 8% to 14% to the market price. The market price will be calculated as the volume weighted average price of the JB Hi-Fi share price over the five trading days up to and including the closing date of 8 April.

The capital component of the buyback price is $3.18, with the remainder classed as a fully franked dividend.

Goldman Sachs estimates that this buyback, which is happening sooner than it anticipated, represents approximately 5% of its issued capital.

Goldman commented: “Management announced an off-market buyback of up to A$250mn. We expected capital management to be undertaken at year-end, making the timing a positive surprise. At the last closing price, the 8-14% discount represents a total buyback of c. 4.8% to 5.2% of issued capital.”

The post $250m buyback sends JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price shooting higher 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 All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is bouncing between small gains and small losses today. At the time of writing, the All Ordinaries is flat for the day.

It’s a different story for some of the big-name buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares.

The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price is down 4.74% in lunchtime trade, while the Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price has sunk a painful 6.36%.

That sees both Zip and Sezzle shares trading in the unwelcome 52-week low basket.

Why are these All Ordinaries BNPL shares plunging?

The BNPL sector has broadly come under pressure over the past year after posting tremendous gains in the months following the outbreak of the global pandemic.

Some investors remain concerned that government will institute greater regulatory oversight of the industry, which could hinder their margins.

Other investors may have been selling as some big-name competitors enter the BNPL space, like US giant PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) and Australia’s biggest financial institution, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), to name a few.

But companies like Zip and Sezzle are also being impacted by the wider tech sell-off hitting the ASX and global share markets as investors nervously eye a future of rising interest rates.

While the All Ordinaries is down 4.9% in the New Year, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) has lost 18.6%.

And ASX BNPL shares could be facing an extra hit from rising rates.

As The Motley Fool reported earlier this month, Grant Halverson, the CEO of payments consultancy McLean Roche, said that “the BNPL sector could suffer from rising interest rates, which would make it trickier to make a profit and raise money.”

How do these BNPL shares compare with the All Ords performance?

Over the past 52 weeks the All Ordinaries is up 5.3%.

The Sezzle share price, meanwhile, has plunged a painful 82.4% in 52 weeks. And the Zip share price hasn’t done much better, down 77.1% for the full year.

The post Why these 2 All Ordinaries BNPL shares are plunging to 52-week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns and has recommended ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended PayPal Holdings. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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On a day where the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is barely making a move, it’s perhaps surprising that an ASX All Ords share would be making a new all-time record high. Let alone two such ASX shares. But that’s the position we seem to find ourselves in so far this Monday. Yes, while the All Ords is currently up just 0.18% after spending much of the morning in negative territory, two ASX mining shares are making their own highs.

Let’s take a look!

2 All Ordinaries mining shares making new record highs today

 Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU)

So the first share to check out is Iluka Resources.

Iluka is a major supplier of titanium minerals, as well as zircon – an ore of zirconium. This company has enjoyed a robust day of trading on the markets so far this Monday, with the Iluka share price currently up a healthy 1.97% at $11.41 a share. However, Iluka went as high as $11.50 a share earlier in today’s trading session. That was a new all-time high for Iluka. That puts this company’s 12-month performance at 60.9%. So what’s been going so right for Iluka that investors are sending it to previously unexplored territory?

Well, a well-received quarterly update last month may have helped. This reported a 54% increase in zircon production over the quarter. Iluka is also scheduled to report its annual earnings in about 10 days, so perhaps some investors are expecting big things and are getting in early too. Whatever the reason, it has certainly been a big day for Iluka Resources.

Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM)

Our second ASX mining share is none other than Capricorn Metals. Capricorn is a mining company specialising in gold exploration, with its flagship project being the Karlawinda Gold Project located in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Capricorn shares are currently priced at $3.61 so far today, up a pleasing 4.34%. But Capricorn rose as high as $3.75 a share earlier this morning, a new record high. That puts this company’s gains over the past year at a very pleasing 116% or so.

So it’s not immediately clear what has caused Capricorn’s new ASX highs. It’s possibly related to the rising gold price we have seen lately. But Capricorn posted a pleasing quarterly update last month as well that could be at play too. This detailed a year-on-year increase in gold production from 24,329 ounces of gold in the previous quarter to 30,316 ounces over the quarter ending 31 December 2021.

Perhaps investors have taken notice. But whatever the reason for Capricorn’s new high today, it’s certainly the latest move in a very impressive recent performance.

The post 2 All Ordinaries mining shares smashing all-time highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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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 Bruce Jackson.

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The GPT Group (ASX: GPT) share price is in the green today on the back of the company’s FY 2021 financial results.

The real estate investment trust’s (REIT) shares are currently swapping hands at $5.07 apiece, a 1.4% gain.

Let’s take a look at what GPT reported today?

GPT share price rises amid full year results

Highlights of the financial results for the 2021 year include:

• Net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1,422.8 million after a net loss after tax of $213.2 million in 2020
• Investment property valuations gained $924.3 million in 2021
• Net tangible assets (NTA) per security of $6.09, up 9.3% from $5.57 in 2020
• Funds from operations (FFO) of $554.5 million, down 0.03% from $554.7 million in 2020
• FFO per security of 28.82 cents, up 1.2% from 28.48 cents in 2020
• Full year distribution of 23.2 cents per security, up 3% from 22.5 cents in 2020.

What else happened in the half?

GPT’s office portfolio achieved a 5.8% net valuation increase in 2021. In December, GPT started its development of 51 Flinders Lane in Melbourne. This project is expected to be completed in early 2025. During the half, GPT also built on its development opportunity in George Street, Parramatta with the acquisition of adjacent properties.

GPT’s Logistics portfolio improved by $1.4 billion to $4.4 billion during the year. This portfolio also saw its valuation increase by 14.4% in 2021. The company reported strong tenant demand for logistics space.

The GPT retail portfolio improved in the first half of 2021, however, COVID-19 lockdowns impacted trading conditions in July.

Despite this, GPT reported retail sales recovered compared to the previous year. Total centre sales climbed 3.7%, while total specialty sales improved 6.2% on the previous year.

Melbourne Central is still experiencing strong demand from retailers although the development is reliant on foot traffic from workers, students, and tourists in the city.

Management comment

In an announcement from the GPT Board, it was noted:

GPT commenced 2021 with solid momentum however this was disrupted by the Delta outbreak of COVID-19 in the second half of the year.

Severe lockdown measures restricted trading activity and impacted the performance of our Retail portfolio, particularly during the third quarter. Despite these impacts the group’s diversified portfolio generated a total return of 14.1% for the year.

While Omicron has been another recent setback to the recovery, we are optimistic that the worst is behind us with case numbers trending in the right direction, high vaccination rates and the need for restrictive measures diminishing.

What’s next for GPT

GPT is expecting to deliver an FFO of 31.7 to 32.4 cents per security in the 2022 financial year. The company is also optimistic it can achieve a distribution of 25 cents per security in 2022. This guidance is assuming operating conditions get back to normal by the end of the first quarter, including no further lockdowns.

More activity in the Melbourne and Sydney central business districts, including workers returning to the office, is important to GDP’s outlook for 2022.

GPT share price recap

The GPT share price has surged 23% in the past year but is down more than 6% year to date.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned roughly 6% over the past year.

At its current share price, the REIT has a market capitalisation of $9.7 billion.

The post ‘Worst is behind us’: GPT (ASX:GPT) share price climbs despite COVID-19 disruptions 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 Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is shooting higher on Monday.

At the time of writing, the gold miner’s shares are fetching for $3.98 a pop, up 8.45%. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is edging 0.31% higher to 7,239.9 points.

What’s driving Evolution Mining shares higher?

With Russia massing its forces around Ukraine for a potential regime change, investors have fled to safe haven assets.

The price of gold has surged toward US$1,860 an ounce, an increase of almost 3% in the past week alone.

This is driving the Evolution Mining share price higher as elevated gold prices translate to bumper profits for the company.

At its most recent report released late last month, Evolution Mining recorded 318,766 ounces of gold produced for 2022. All-in sustaining costs (ASIC) came to A$1,381 (US$985) per ounce.

This means at the current gold price of US$1,860, Evolution is making around US$875 profit for every ounce sold. It’s worth noting that this does not include the capital and discovery expenditure used on developing and bringing the assets online.

Furthermore, the company advised that it is on track to deliver its FY22 group guidance given the solid performance above. As such, management is forecasting 670,000 to 725,000 ounces at a sector leading AISC of A$1,135 to A$1,195 per ounce.

Evolution Mining is scheduled to release its half-year results for the 2022 financial year this Wednesday 16 February.

Evolution Mining share price summary

Evolution Mining is an Australian mining and exploration company that owns and operates five mines, mostly based in Australia. They include Cowal in New South Wales, Mungari in Western Australia, Mt Rawdon and Ernest Henry in Queensland, and Red Lake in Ontario, Canada.

Over the past 12 months, the Evolution Mining share price has lost more than 13% in value. A deterioration in commodity prices throughout the latter part of 2021 caused investors to run for the hills.

On valuation metrics, Evolution Mining commands a market capitalisation of around $7.29 billion, with approximately 1.83 billion shares outstanding.

The post Why is the Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) share price leaping 8% today? 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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