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The Hazer Group Ltd (ASX: HZR) share price sunk deep into the red today.

Hazer shares slumped 6.79% to $1.03 after the technology company reported its FY21 earnings.

Hazer Group share price sinks as after-tax loss blows out by 262%

• Revenue from ordinary activities increased by 85% year-over-year (YoY) to $2.66 million
• Loss from ordinary activities increased to $11.66 million from $3.26 million, a 262% change
• Operating expenditure increased by 41% YoY to $5.57 million
• Net operating cash inflow of $5.11 million, a 105% increase from FY20
• Cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet grew by 43% YoY to $24.64 million

What happened in FY21 for Hazer Group?

In a potential positive for the Hazer Group share price, the company managed to grow revenue from ordinary activities by 85% over the year.

This was coupled with a 105% YoY increase in net operating cash flow of $5.11 million. The gain here was underscored by a “research and development tax incentive rebate” of just under $1 million, in addition to “ARENA government funding” of $9.4 million.

Both funding initiatives were obtained for the company’s “Commercial Demonstration Plant Project (CDP)”, although ARENA funds are held in a “restricted cash account” until certain milestones are met.

However, in what could be a negative for the Hazer Group share price, the company also recognised a statutory loss that ballooned out to $11.66 million in FY21. This is a 262% loss increase from the year prior.

The company explained the increase stemmed from non-cash items on its income statement, such as the “impairment of expenditure” associated with the CDP. This means that because the impairment was a non-cash item, no amount of actual cash left Hazer’s bank account for these “expenditures”.

However, the impairment is recognised throughout the income statement, at the net income level. So it ultimately impacts the statutory profit/loss Hazer will report, but not the amount of cash flow.

Hazer also increased its operating expenditure this year to $5.57 billion in FY21, up from $3.99 million a year ago. The company attributes this to “increased finance costs” with its loan facility with Mitchell Asset Management.

In addition, the company also made a number of patent applications that totalled $1.16 million. It also exercised employee benefits of $2.88 million.

Finally, the company left FY21 with $24.64 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet. This is up 43% from last year.

What did management say?

Speaking on the announcement that is likely impacting the Hazer Group share price, the company’s directorship said:

During the past year, the company made significant progress towards commercialising the Hazer Process through advancing the engineering, procurement and construction of the Hazer Commercial Demonstration Plant (CDP) Project. The CDP will be the first-of-its-kind, fully integrated, operational production facility based on the Hazer Process and represents the key next step in fully commercialising the Hazer technology.

What’s next for Hazer Group?

The company expects “significant progress” in FY22 as it commissions its CDP. In fact, Hazer is “targeting practical completion” of this project by “the end of Q4 calendar year 2021”.

Operations will continue through to CY22 and CY23 for the “novel Australian technology”, as per the release.

No specifics on revenue or earnings guidance were provided by management.

The Hazer Group share price has posted a year-to-date return of 28%. This has outpaced the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO)’s gain of about 14% since January 1.

The post Hazer Group (ASX:HZR) share price sinks 6% as after-tax loss widens in FY21 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Why the Hazer (ASX:HZR) share price is up 12% this week

The author Zach Bristow has no positions 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) edged slightly lower to 7,488 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price fell around 3% after the ASX 200 retailing giant reported its FY21 result.

Wesfarmers reported that its continuing operations revenue increased 10% to $33.9 billion. Continuing operations earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased by 18.8% to $3.8 billion, net profit after tax (NPAT) grew by 16.2% to $2.4 billion and earnings per share (EPS) jumped 16.2% to 214.1 cents.

The ASX 200 share’s statutory net profit jumped 40.2% to $2.4 billion.

Bunnings earnings before tax grew 19.7% to $2.2 billion, Kmart Group grew earnings by 69% to $693 million and Officeworks earnings went up 7.6% to $212 million.

Wesfarmers managing director Rob Scott said:

Bunnings, Kmart Group and Officeworks delivered strong sales and earnings growth for the year. While customer demand remained resilient, sales growth in Bunnings, Officeworks and Catch moderated from mid-March as the businesses began to cycle elevated demand following the onset of COVID-19 in the prior year. Pleasingly, sales growth from mid-March remained strong on a two-year basis across all the group’s retail businesses.

The Wesfarmers full year dividend was $1.78 per share, an increase of 17.1%. Wesfarmers also decided to announce a return of capital amounting to $2 per share.

Looking at the 2022 financial year to date, Bunnings sales are down 4.7%, Kmart and Target sales are down 14.7%, Catch’s gross transaction value is down 8.5% and Officeworks sales are down 1.5%.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

Another ASX 200 share to drop today was Lynas – it fell 4% after its FY21 report was released.

The rare earth miner achieved record sales in the quarter ending June 2021. This helped revenue jump 60% to $489 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 294% to $235.3 million.

The Lynas net profit after tax surged 710% to $157.1 million.

Lynas said that it has made progress on the Lynas 2025 projects, with a number of milestones achieved, including further exploration of its Mt Weld Resource. The Kalgoorlie rare earths processing facility also achieved a number of milestones during the year, including the placement of orders for all long lead time items.

Planning continues for the ASX 200 share’s proposed US rare earth separation facility. It has signed two separate contracts for funding grants from the US government.

In the last three months of the year, the USA project team submitted detailed engineering and design work for the heavy rare earths facility.

Lynas noted that the rare earths market has rebounded despite the ongoing pandemic which reinforces the importance of its critical material globally.

Nextdc Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The Nextdc share price fell around 4% after the business released its FY21 result.

It said that its data centre revenue grew by 23% to $246.1 million. This drove underlying EBITDA higher by 29% to $134.5 million, beating guidance. Operating cashflow increased by 148% to $133.2 million.

Contracted utilisation went up 8% to 75.5MW and the number of customers increased by 13% to 1,547.

The ASX 200 share’s capital expenditure dropped 18%, or $116 million, to $301 million. Nextdc said that there has been a strong ongoing focus on capital management which has allowed the company to reserve cashflow ahead of expectations. It had $1.7 billion of liquidity at 30 June 2021.

In terms of guidance for FY22, it’s expecting data centre services revenue to grow by at least 15.8% to a range of $285 million to $295 million.

Underlying EBITDA is expected to grow by at least 19% to a range of $160 million to $165 million.

Capital expenditure is expected to come in at a range of between $480 million to $540 million (up from $301 million).

The post ASX 200 flat, Wesfarmers drops, Nextdc declines appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• These 3 ASX 200 shares were flying around the share market this Friday
• Why Integral Diagnostics, Mayne Pharma, NEXTDC, & Wesfarmers are dropping
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price slides as FY21 results flag weak near-term outlook
• ASX 200 midday update: Wesfarmers’ $2.3bn capital return, Appen & Pilbara Minerals fall
• The Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) dividend has jumped by 17%

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 owns shares of 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 Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) earnings result was one to watch this week. The Aussie private health insurer released its full-year results for the year ended 30 June 2021 (FY21) and had an instant share price impact.

The Medibank share price jumped 2% higher on Wednesday morning following the release before closing the day 0.6% higher at $3.57 per share.

As one of the biggest weeks of the August earnings season comes to a close, let’s compare the Medibank result against that of rival insurer, NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF).

How does the Medibank earnings result compare to NIB?

In case you missed it, some of the big takeaways from Medibank’s earnings result on Wednesday were:

• Revenue up 1.99% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) to $6.9 billion
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) up 39.8% on pcp to $441 million
• Earnings per share (EPS) up 39.8% on pcp to 16 cents
• Final dividend of 6.9 cents per share, making for a 5.8% increase in the full-year dividend to 12.7 cents per share

It’s worth noting the surge in profits was helped by a 4,900% increase in net investment income throughout the year.

In contrast, the NIB share price sank 6.3% lower on Monday following its half-year earnings update. The Aussie private health insurer reported that revenue was down 2.9% on pcp to $2.6 billion with expense claims up 2.5% on pcp to $2 billion.

NPAT came in 84.5% higher on pcp at $160.5 million, while NIB announced a 14 cents per share final dividend, fully franked.

There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic continues to weigh on earnings across the ASX but particularly for the Aussie health insurers.

The Medibank earnings result sent the company’s shares soaring while the same can’t be said for NIB. NIB reported significantly weakened international inbound and travel earnings as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group has also put aside $34 million in provisions to catch up on deferred claims in relation to COVID-19.

The NIB share price has climbed 10% higher in 2021 while Medibank shares are up 16.1% year to date. While shares in both insurers have seen double-digit gains, it does mean that Medibank is outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) while NIB is not.

The post How does the Medibank (ASX:MPL) earnings result compare to NIB? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Medibank (ASX:MPL) dividend boost as payout ratio reduced
• Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price on watch after 40% jump in profit
• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• How did the Medibank (ASX:MPL) share price respond last earnings season?
• NIB and Ampol share prices fall, new record for Domino’s. Scott Phillips on Nine’s Late News

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 recommended NIB Holdings 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 Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price was a very strong performer this week.

The travel agent’s shares rose an impressive 23% over the five days.

Why did the Flight Centre share price jump 23?

There were a couple of catalysts for the rise in the Flight Centre share price last week.

One was the prospect of international travel returning soon and the other was the release of its full year results for FY 2021.

In respect to the latter, while the numbers from that result did not look pretty (Flight Centre posted a loss after tax of $364 million), comments by management helped boost investor sentiment.

Flight Centre’s CEO, Graham Turner, revealed that he believes the company could become profitable again during FY 2022.

Mr Turner said: “Looking ahead, we believe our position as a diversified global business with compelling customer offerings across three main travel divisions – leisure, corporate and supply – will be of enormous value and a great advantage to us and to our major suppliers. Although we can’t predict the future, given the current government-enforced restrictions, we are targeting a return to monthly profitability later in FY22 and to return to pre-COVID TTV by June 2024, but with significantly reduced ongoing operating costs.”

Is it too late to invest?

One leading broker that is sitting on the fence with the Flight Centre share price is Goldman Sachs.

According to a note out of the investment bank, its analysts have retained their neutral rating and lifted their price target to $18.30.

Based on the current Flight Centre share price of $16.89, this implies potential upside of 8.3% over the next 12 months.

Goldman commented: “Overall, the positive progress of the corporate business and travel recovery in the Northern hemisphere is encouraging. However, we view these as mostly priced in, especially given the higher risk of ongoing uncertainties in the ANZ region which on a pre-COVID basis contributed to c. 57% of the group EBITDA.”

“We revise our earnings forecasts materially in FY22 to c. A$-1.8mn EBITDA with significant losses in 1H22 being offset by profits over 2H22. We expect all regions except ANZ to return to positive profits. We also revise our 12m Target Price on FLT to A$18.30, offering a total return of +7.6%. We maintain our Neutral rating,” it added.

The post Is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price good value? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Own Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) shares? Here’s what the company has planned for FY22
• Why Blackmores, Flight Centre, Kuniko, & Qantas shares are soaring today
• Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price lifts 4% as investors look to vaccinated future
• ASX 200 midday update: A2 Milk and Appen sink, Flight Centre rises
• Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price on watch after $364 million loss in FY21

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 recommended Flight Centre Travel Group 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 S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has had a pretty flat day this Friday. At the close of trade, the ASX 200 finished at 7,488.3 points, down 0.04% for the day. Yawn.

So let’s look at something a little more interesting instead – the ASX 200 shares topping the trading volume charts today. Dig in.

3 ASX 200 shares flying around the share market today

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

ASX Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) Scentre is our first ASX 200 share to check out today. This Friday has seen a hefty 23.21 million Scentre units change hands. Although there is no major news or announcements out of the company today, Scentre did report its FY21 earnings this week, which has seen the company jump around a fair bit.

Today has seen the Scentre unit price put on another 2.19% to $2.80. That puts its gains for the week at close to 9%. It’s probably this move upwards today that has sparked an increase in trading volumes for the Westfield owner.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Next up we have ASX 200 lithium producer Pilbara Minerals, a frequent guest star on this list. Pilbara has seen a healthy 24.32 million of its shares bought and sold today. Unfortunately for investors, this seems to be in response to the steep fall Pilbara shares have taken today.

The company reported its FY21 earnings yesterday afternoon after market close, and investors have evidently not been too impressed today by what they saw. At the closing bell, Pilbara was down a nasty 6.55% to $2.07 a share. It’s probably this steep fall that is behind this surge in trading volumes we have seen this Friday.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

And last but certainly not least we have ASX 200 diversified miner South32.

South32 has seen a whopping 33.71 million shares change hands today, more than any other ASX 200 share. Rather strangely, there has also been no major news or announcements out of South32 today that might explain such a large volume of shares trading.

The company did report its own FY21 earnings last week. However, the company finished up 0.35% today to $2.90 a share after a brief fall into the red this morning. It might be this volatility that is resulting in an elevated level of trading today.

The post These 3 ASX 200 shares were flying around the share market this Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price slides 7% after selloff in lithium sector
• ASX 200 midday update: Wesfarmers’ $2.3bn capital return, Appen & Pilbara Minerals fall
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price on watch after doubling sales in FY21

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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has finished the day up 0.16%. CBA’s share price currently stands at $101.15.

CommBank made headline news this week on a number of occasions, most notably for its efforts in helping stem the tide against the resurgent COVID-19 pandemic. The bank is pitching in both through financial assistance and by directly aiding with vaccination programs.

CommBank rolls up its vaccine sleeves

On Monday, when the CBA share price closed up at 0.9%, the bank reported that it’s opening COVID-19 vaccination centres for its employees and their families.

CommBank stated that a survey of 11,000 of its employees revealed that 90% intend to get the jab.

Its first vaccination centres are opening in the most highly impacted areas of the Greater Sydney area before moving further afield to New South Wales regional hotspots. The bank said it plans to extend the program Australia-wide.

Supporting impacted businesses

On Wednesday, when CBA’s share price gained 0.4%, the bank came out in support of the government’s increased assistance for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) impacted by the pandemic.

Commonwealth Bank urged businesses to take advantage of the support measures offered by the expanded SME Recovery Loan Scheme (SMERLS), as well the bank’s own support measures.

CBA’s group executive business banking, Mike Vacy-Lyle said:

The impacts of the pandemic are widespread and diverse across businesses and industry sectors. Many require access to credit to help them through this period, and the expansion of SMERLS is an excellent initiative to ensure that more businesses will be able to access business lending at low rates and on flexible terms.

Vacy-Lyle said CommBank “funded more than half of all the loans issued under the first phase of the scheme, and we plan to play a leading role in the expanded SME Recovery Loan scheme”.

Are you eligible for the COVID-19 Disaster Payment?

Wondering if you may be eligible for the COVID-19 disaster payment?

If so, you’re not alone.

Today, when the CBA share price is again on the rise, the bank reported that its digital ‘Benefits finder’ app has recorded an all-time high number of claims for customers seeking to access unclaimed government benefits and rebates.

CBA’s chief data & analytics officer, Andrew McMullan said:

We quickly saw the COVID-19 Disaster Payment become one the most popular benefits since it was recently added into Benefits finder. That’s not a surprise to us, given that this particular benefit supports those workers adversely affected by a state public health order.

CommBank launched ‘benefits finder’ in 2019. McMullan said a record high of more than 180,000 claims were made by its customers last month, a 150% increase year-on-year.

As you’d expect, customers in New South Wales accounted for more than 50% of claims in Australia, with Victorian customers making up around 20%.

CBA share price snapshot

The CBA share price is up an impressive 47% over the past 12 months, more than double the 22% gains posted by the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

Year-to-date the CBA share price has continued to run strong, up 21%.

The post What’s moving the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price this week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Here’s what has been moving the CBA (ASX:CBA) share price in August 2021
• Here’s what has been moving the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price in August 2021
• What’s moving the ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) on Monday?
• CBA (ASX:CBA) share price gaining as bank rolls out vax centres
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Miners drag ASX back to earth

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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It has been another busy week for Australia’s top brokers. This has led to the release of a large number of broker notes.

Three broker buy ratings that have caught my eye are summarised below. Here’s why brokers think these ASX shares are in the buy zone:

Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

According to a note out of Bell Potter, its analysts have retained their buy rating and lifted their price target on this app maker’s shares to $10.75. This follows the release of a strong half year result this week. Bell Potter has upgraded its revenue forecasts for the coming years to reflect higher annualised monthly revenue and higher average revenue per paying circle. And while it is expecting larger losses because of higher investments, the broker appears to believe this is worth it to drive long term growth. The Life360 share price was fetching $9.34 on Friday.

MNF Group Ltd (ASX: MNF)

A note out of Ord Minnett reveals that its analysts have retained their buy rating and increased their price target on this VoiP focused technology company’s shares to $7.33. This follows the release of a pleasing full year result, which saw the company achieve the top end of its guidance. Ord Minnett was particularly pleased with the growth in its higher margin recurring revenues. Looking ahead, the broker expects more of the same in FY 2022 and notes that it has $100 million of cash on the balance sheet to support its growth plans. The MNF share price is trading at $6.12 today.

Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)

Analysts at Macquarie have retained their outperform rating and lifted their price target on this lithium miner’s shares to $2.70. According to the note, Pilbara Minerals’ full year results fell short of the broker’s expectations. Nevertheless, Macquarie remains positive on the company due to the positive outlook for lithium and its long term production growth. The latter is being driven by the staged development of its Pilgan and Ngungaju operations. The Pilbara Minerals share price was fetching $2.07 on Friday.

The post Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price slides 7% after selloff in lithium sector
• ASX 200 midday update: Wesfarmers’ $2.3bn capital return, Appen & Pilbara Minerals fall
• Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) share price on watch after doubling sales in FY21
• Half-year report sends Life360 (ASX:360) share price to record high
• Here are the 3 most traded ASX 200 shares this Tuesday

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 shares of and has recommended Life360, Inc. and MNF Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended MNF Group 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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In late trade on Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on track to record a small decline. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.1% to 7,484.7 points.

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

Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX)

The Integral Diagnostics share price is down 15% to $4.60. This is despite the diagnostic imaging provider reporting a 27.2% increase in revenue to $350.9 million and a 25.3% jump in net profit to $38.1 million in FY 2021. Management revealing that some of its businesses have been hit with COVID-19 related restrictions and closures in FY 2022 appears to be weighing on its shares.

Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX)

The Mayne Pharma share price has crashed 10% to 26.7 cents. This follows the release of a disappointing full year result by the pharmaceutical company. It reported a 12% decline in revenue to $400.8 million and an 18% reduction in EBITDA to $66.1 million. This was due to FX headwinds and weak generic products sales. Finally, due to another non-cash impairment of its generics business, Mayne Pharma posted a loss after tax of $208.4 million.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The NEXTDC share price is down over 5% to $12.79. Investors have been selling the data centre operator’s shares despite it announcing a record result in FY 2021. NEXTDC reported a 23% lift in revenue to $246.1 million and a 29% increase in EBITDA to $134.5 million. Looking ahead, more strong growth is expected in FY 2022. Management is guiding to revenue growth of 16% to 20% and EBITDA growth of 19% to 23%.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

The Wesfarmers share price is down 3% to $62.13. This follows the release of the conglomerate’s full year results. Although Wesfarmers delivered strong profit growth in FY 2021 and announced a $2.3 billion capital return, its FY 2022 trading update looks to have spooked investors. Management revealed that Bunnings sales are down 4.7% financial year to date and combined Kmart and Target sales are down 14.3%.

The post Why Integral Diagnostics, Mayne Pharma, NEXTDC, & Wesfarmers are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price slides as FY21 results flag weak near-term outlook
• Integral Diagnostics (ASX:IDX) share price slides 14% on FY21 earnings
• Which ASX shares are ending the week as the biggest movers today?
• Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) share price crashes 10% on $208.4m loss in FY21
• ASX 200 midday update: Wesfarmers’ $2.3bn capital return, Appen & Pilbara Minerals fall

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. 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 shares of and has recommended Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Integral Diagnostics Ltd. 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 Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) share price has spent all day in the red today after the company released its FY21 results.

As the close of trade draws near on Friday, the Wesfarmers share price is down 2.74% to $62.21.

How did Wesfarmers perform in FY21?

Wesfarmers delivered a solid FY21 performance with strong contributions from its retail operations. Key financial highlights include:

• Revenue up 10% to $33,941 million.
• Net profit after tax increased 16.2% to $2,421 million.
• Full year ordinary dividend up 17.1% to 178 cents per share
• Proposed $2.3 billion or $2.00 per share capital return to shareholders.

Bunnings, Kmart Group and Officeworks all delivered solid earnings growth, with earnings before tax (EBT) rising a respective 19.7%, 69% and 7.6%. The three businesses make up the bulk of Wesfarmers’ earnings, contributing approximately 87% of EBT.

What might be dragging the Wesfarmers share price lower?

Wesfarmers flagged that sales in its retail divisions have been affected by recent COVID-related lockdowns that have required store closures and restricted trading across multiple regions. The company said that sales growth so far in the 2022 financial year-to-date had varied considerably across regions, with solid customer demand and performance in areas less affected by lockdowns.

Bunnings sales for the first 7 weeks of FY22 has declined 4.7% on the prior corresponding period (pcp) as solid growth from commercial customers was offset by a decline in consumer sales.

Combined Kmart and Target sales for the first 8 weeks of FY22 declined 14.3% on pcp. Wesfarmers said the drop reflected the “significant impact” of COVID-19 restrictions with almost 50 per cent of stores closed by mid-August.

Officeworks’ sales have also moderated, with a 1.5% decline for the first 7 weeks of FY22.

Looking ahead, Wesfarmers warned:

Given the impact of lockdowns in recent months and the prospect of continued trading restrictions, earnings in the Group’s retail businesses during the first half of the 2022 financial year may be below the prior corresponding period.

Ongoing disruptions to supply chains as well as global supply constraints for some products and inputs are expected to create additional costs and impact stock availability in some categories.

The prospect of weaker near-term earnings could be the catalyst behind the weaker Wesfarmers share price on Friday.

The post Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price slides as FY21 results flag weak near-term outlook appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 midday update: Wesfarmers’ $2.3bn capital return, Appen & Pilbara Minerals fall
• The Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) dividend has jumped by 17%
• What you need to know about Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) $2.3bn capital return
• Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) share price on watch after strong profit growth and $2.3bn capital return
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 shares of 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 Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR) share price is giving back all its gains made in the past few days, with the IT distributor set to end the week on a disappointing note.

At the time of writing, Dicker Data shares are swapping hands for $14.50, down 9.32%.

What did Dicker Data announce?

Concerns are rising among investors, sending the company’s share price into freefall.

According to the company’s latest release, its chair and CEO David Dicker sold a parcel of his shares today.

In total, 2.74 million Dicker Data shares were offloaded in an on-market trade at a price of $15.40 per share. While this is not uncommon as directors and CEOs alike sell for various reasons, the company noted the sale was to meet “personal projects”.

The transaction represents roughly 1.6% of Dicker Data’s share registry, and reduced Mr Dicker’s entire holding to around 33.6%.

Furthermore, the company noted that Mr Dicker has entered into a lock-up arrangement on his remaining shares until the end of 2021. This essentially means the chair and CEO won’t be selling those shares anytime soon.

Mr Dicker made a series of purchases between 17 March and 1 April 2020, taking advantage of the share-price weakness when COVID-19 hit. Mr Dicker bought 186,505 shares in on-market trade for about $861,500.

Dicker Data share price snapshot

Despite today’s drop, over the past 12 months, Dicker Data shares have rocketed 88%, with year-to-date gains of around 40%.

In particular, the past month has been an extremely positive one for investors, with its shares up 30%. Just yesterday, the company released its interim results for FY21, highlighting solid growth throughout the year. The Dicker Data share price hit a record high of $16.60 during the day.

Based on today’s price, Dicker Data commands a market capitalisation of approximately $2.5 billion, with 172.7 million shares on hand.

The post Why the Dicker Data (ASX:DDR) share price is sinking 9% 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. owns shares of and has recommended Dicker Data Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Dicker Data 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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