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ASX industrial chemicals company Incitec Pivot Ltd (ASX:IPL) has been something of a surprise success story over the last 12 months. Despite a recent pullback, its share price has gained more than 20% over the past year, rising to $2.43 at the time of writing. However, after a disappointing first half FY21 result that was impacted by outages in some of its North American manufacturing facilities, investors will be watching the company intently over the next few months. 

Company Background

Incitec Pivot is a global company specialising in the manufacture and distribution of fertilisers, industrial chemicals, and explosives. It is the largest producer of fertiliser in Australia, supporting the grain, cotton, pasture, dairy, sugar and horticulture industries, mainly across the east coast of Australia.

Incitec also provides explosives to mining and construction companies (among others) across Australia and North America. The company has a global reach, with more than 20 wholly-owned manufacturing facilities located across the US, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey, and several joint ventures operating in other countries.

Recent Financials

As mentioned earlier, Incitec recently released some underwhelming first half FY21 financial results. The company reported a 7% drop in revenue versus the prior comparative period (to a little over $1.7 billion), while earnings before interest and tax expenses (EBIT) declined by 31% to $110.2 million. The result was adversely impacted by planned (and unplanned) interruptions across its North American manufacturing facilities, offset by favourable commodity prices and a strengthening Australian dollar.

Outlook

Incitec is forecasting a significant turnaround over the second half of FY21. The company claims to have significant stores of ammonium phosphate on hand, enough to realise more than $25 million in profit if they were to be sold at current prices.

Incitec has also flagged that there will be fewer interruptions across its manufacturing facilities for the remainder of FY21. Three “turnarounds” of its manufacturing plants were completed in the first half of FY21 – this is where a company will take an entire process or facility offline in order to restore and improve its operations.

These turnarounds alone resulted in a $59 million drag on earnings during the first half of FY21. However, with Incitec only planning to conduct one plant turnaround over the second half, the company (and its shareholders) will be hoping for a swift rebound in earnings.

One lingering issue for Incitec is its Waggaman ammonia plant in Louisiana. This facility was included in the turnaround program, but some significant issues were uncovered and it was subsequently taken offline again for repairs. Incitec estimates that the additional impact to the company’s FY21 EBIT stemming from the ongoing plant shutdown is a hit of between $33 million and $42 million. Getting this facility up and running again successfully will be a key short-term aim for Incitec.

The post The Incitec Pivot (ASX:IPL) share price has gained 20% in the last 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Rhys Brock 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.

It’s inevitable that Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) will surpass Walmart (NYSE: WMT) in total merchandise sales in the U.S. at some point. One’s growing sales volume more than 20% every year, the other is growing in the low single digits.

But few analysts expected Amazon to overtake the retail giant so quickly. An April report from e-commerce data company Edge by Ascential said Amazon won’t pass Walmart until 2025. But J.P. Morgan analyst Doug Anmuth thinks Amazon will pass Walmart in U.S. sales next year. And his assumptions are well within reason.

Where we stand today

Americans spent nearly $818 billion with online retailers over the last 12 months, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Amazon holds a market share of approximately 40% of all online sales in the U.S., which puts its gross merchandise volume over the last 12 months around $327 billion. And don’t forget, Amazon has a “small” physical retail operation that’s brought in over $15 billion in revenue over the last four quarters. That puts its total retail volume around $340 billion.

Walmart U.S. and Sam’s Club generated combined revenue of $439 billion over the last four quarters. While Walmart also operates a third-party merchant marketplace — of which Walmart only counts a percentage of sales as revenue — it represents a relatively small portion of sales. It also includes gasoline sales in its revenue, which shouldn’t count as retail sales. 

So, as we stand today, Amazon is still about $100 billion or so behind Walmart. That’s a big gap to make up in just seven quarters. But Anmuth believes Amazon’s gross merchandise volume excluding its physical stores will climb to $377 billion this year and reach $457 billion in 2022. 

Can Amazon grow U.S. sales volume around 20%? Absolutely

The growth in U.S. e-commerce has remained resilient even as more people get vaccinated and become more comfortable with shopping in stores again. People started using Amazon.com and other online marketplaces for more items in 2020, and those shopping habits are sticking. Even so, e-commerce represented less than 15% of all retail over the last year.

There’s a lot of room for e-commerce to take share of total retail sales, which ought to lead to sustainable double-digit growth. Amazon has, historically, grown its share of e-commerce sales over time, despite increasing competition. That’s in large part thanks to the network effect of its Prime membership and Fulfilled by Amazon programs.

As such, a growing portion of Amazon’s online sales come from third-party merchants using its warehouses and logistics networks to provide speedy delivery to Prime customers. As a result, Amazon’s gross merchandise volume should be able to sustain growth rates faster than total online retail.

In order for Amazon to reach Anmuth’s estimates, it only has to grow gross merchandise volume by about 20% per year this year and next. That’s well within reason for Amazon.

The biggest retailer puts a big target on Amazon’s back

Surpassing Walmart as the country’s largest retailer is a big milestone for Amazon and its investors. It shows the strength of Amazon’s core business and the advantages it holds in e-commerce.

That said, it puts an even bigger target on Amazon’s back, which has faced growing pressure from regulatory authorities over the years. Amazon has often defended itself pointing out it only accounts for a small portion of all retail sales. With Lina Khan, a big Amazon opponent, now chairing the Federal Trade Commission, and Amazon’s growing dominance of U.S. retail, the pressure will continue to mount. Regulatory changes present a growing risk for Amazon shareholders.

Amazon’s growth story — not just in retail, but cloud computing and advertising as well — remains too compelling to eschew the stock as too risky. Still, it’s something investors should be cognizant of when considering Amazon’s stock.

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

The post Amazon could surpass Walmart as America’s largest retailer by next year appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Adam Levy owns shares of Amazon. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has recommended the following options: long January 2022 $1,920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1,940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. 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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It’s only Monday, but already the Yojee Ltd (ASX: YOJ) share price is off to a flying start this week. Yojee shares are up a healthy 31.11% at the time of writing, trading at 17 cents a share. That comes after the company previously closed at 14 cents a share last Friday.

So what might be going on today to cause such a dramatic jump in this software company’s valuation?

A business update…

Well, it appears that a business update that Yojee released to investors this morning just before the market open might be the primary catalyst for this move today.

In this update, Yojee informed the markets that it has signed a major expansion agreement with an “existing global enterprise customer”. This agreement will, according to Yojee, “clear the way for deployment from one country at present to 18 additional countries across APAC [Asia Pacific Region].

Yojee said the agreement covered “major parts of the customers’ operations including distribution and warehousing logistics along with e–commerce”. It is also effective for a minimum term of 3 years across these 18 countries.

Here’s some of what Yojee managing director Ed Clarke had today on this announcement:

We are pleased to report this latest development, coming only a short time following announcing an expansion order in the Philippines last week with the same global enterprise customer. Importantly, this significantly increases Yojee’s directly addressable revenue–generating parcel movements…

Our embedded growth roll-out strategy is materialising as expected and supports our goal of rolling-out to 126 Logistics Hubs over 3 years with global enterprise customers whom we are already working with operating in APAC. With nearly $20m of cash to fund this growth, our team is confident and focused on creating great customer outcomes.

Evidently, investors are sharing in this optimism today, judging by the performance of the Yojee share price today so far

About the Yojee share price

Yojee is an ASX tech company specialising in cloud-based logistics. Its online platform is supplied on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model, with customers paying a monthly fee to use the service. Although the Yojee share price is on fire today, the company’s success over the past year or two has been more patchy.

Yojee shares are currently down more than 35% from the 52-week high of 29 cents that we saw back in September last year. They are also down 20% year to date so far in 2021. However, the company is up 167% over the past 5 years.

At the current Yojee share price, the company has a market capitalisation of $171.65 million.

The post Here’s why the Yojee (ASX:YOJ) share price is up 31% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• Why CSL (ASX:CSL) could be an ASX 50 share to buy
• Temple & Webster share price surges with other ASX COVID winners
• Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price slips despite new partnership

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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Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) shares had a bumper start to the week. In early trade, the Kogan share price leapt by 10.2% to an intraday high of $13.45. At the time of writing, however, Kogan shares have retreated back to $12.20 — flat for the day so far.

With no market-sensitive news from the company, let’s take a look at what might have been boosting Kogan shares on Monday.

COVID-19 winners making a comeback?

Major COVID-19 winners in the e-commerce sector seem to be making a comeback on Monday.

Alongside the rising Kogan share price, Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) and Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) shares are also up 6.3% and 7.18% respectively.

These e-commerce shares are grinding higher despite the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) sliding 0.07% at the time of writing. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) has also slipped 0.02% today.

Today’s bounce for Kogan and its e-commerce peers comes following increasing travel restrictions around Australia, including lockdowns across Greater Sydney, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Credit Suisse is bullish on the Kogan share price

Credit Suisse is looking past the near-term challenges for Kogan and is an avid believer in its medium-term growth trajectory.

On 25 June, the broker had an outperform rating and $17.93 target for the Kogan share price.

Foolish takeaway

A disappointing third-quarter update in April and profit downgrade in May sent the Kogan share price to as low as $8.70.

By June, Kogan shares managed to find their footing around the $10 level and are now up by almost 20% this month.

The company’s shares temporarily clawed their way back up to a 2-month high this morning but are currently still down by around 36% year to date.

Based on the current share price, Kogan has a market capitalisation of around $1.37 billion.

The post The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price jumped 10% this morning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• The Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price has fallen 44% in 2021

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. owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Temple & Webster Group 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 Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) share price is deep in negative territory today. This comes after the gold mining company provided a quarterly production update to the ASX.

At the time of writing, Gold Resources shares are down 7.25% to $1.32.

Let’s take a look at how the company has performed for the last 3 months.

How did Gold Resources perform for the quarter?

Investors are heading for the hills, selling Gold Resources shares following a disappointing production update.

According to its release, Gold Resources announced it will fail to meet its gold production targets at the Gruyere Gold Mine.

The company advised that disruptions caused to processing plant operations are to blame. A mill feed conveyer belt became torn, thus requiring specialist personnel and equipment to replace the part. While the milling circuit was shut down to make the changeover, a coupling on the ball mill stopped working. As a result, processing rates temporary slowed down, with only the SAG in operation.

Repairs were made to the ball mill last Friday, with the processing plant returning to normal loads during the weekend. Gold Resources noted that it is currently investigating the cause of the issue to prevent any future occurrence.

For the June quarter, the company is expecting gold production to stand between 52,000 ounces and 55,000 ounces. All-in Sustaining Costs (AISC) is estimated to be in the range of $1,675 to $1,800 per ounce of gold.

Looking at the 2021 calendar year, Gold Resources is projecting to achieve gold production at the lower end of its guidance. The company is forecasting 260,000 to 300,000 ounces of gold with an AISC of $1,325 to $1,475. Higher maintenance and labour costs coupled with the lower June quarter production are said to be the main contributing factors.

Gold Resources share price summary

In the past year, Gold Resources shares have trodden almost 20% lower. However, in 2021, the company’s share price is relatively flat.

Gold Resources has a market capitalisation of roughly $1.1 billion, with more than 880 million shares on its registry.

The post Gold Resources (ASX:GOR) share price sinks 7% on production update 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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If you’re looking to boost your portfolio with some quality shares, then you might want to look at the ASX 50 index. This index is home to some of the largest and highest quality shares on the Australian share market.

One ASX 50 share that could be worth considering is CSL Limited (ASX: CSL).

Why CSL?

CSL is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies. It comprises two businesses, CSL Behring and Seqirus. The former is a specialist in plasma-based products, whereas the latter business specialises in vaccines.

Combined, the two businesses have been underpinning solid sales and profit growth for CSL in recent years. And while plasma collection headwinds could subdue CSL’s near term growth, its long term outlook appears very positive. This is thanks to increasing demand for its core therapies and vaccines, and its lucrative research and development (R&D) pipeline.

In respect to the latter, thanks to its consistent investment in R&D (~11% of sales each year), CSL has a pipeline filled to the brim with products that have the potential to generate millions and potentially even billions of dollars in sales each year.

One of these is CSL112, which is a novel apolipoprotein A-I infusion therapy that has been shown to have an immediate and significant impact on the ability to remove cholesterol from arteries. Its phase 3 trial is enrolling more than 17,000 patients from approximately 1,000 medical centres across the world, with the results due at the end of the year.

Another is is clazakizumab, which is being developed to treat kidney transplant rejection. This product alone could generate peak sales of US$5.4 billion.

Is the CSL share price in the buy zone?

While opinion is admittedly divided on whether the CSL share price is in the buy zone right now, one broker that is bullish is UBS.

It currently has a buy rating and $330.00 price target on the company’s shares. Based on the latest CSL share price, this implies potential upside of almost 15% over the next 12 months.

The post Why CSL (ASX:CSL) could be an ASX 50 share to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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• ASX 200 up 0.3%: CSL downgraded, Zip drops, Charter Hall impresses

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 CSL Ltd. 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 Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price surged to a four-month high as several states rushed to shut their borders due to new COVID-19 scare.

The COVID spot fires across at least three states is creating winners and losers on the ASX this morning.

Online ASX shares bolstered by COVID spree

No prizes for guess which camp the Temple & Webster share price sits in. The online homeware retailer surged over 7% to $11.21 at the time of writing.

Other online retailers like the Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price and Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price have also joined the rally.

Never have so many Aussies been confined to their homes since the first outbreak of the pandemic over a year ago.

COVID lockdown and restrictions hit several states

Sydney and Darwin are in a lockdown, while Western Australia, Queensland, the ACT and Victoria have imposed restrictions.

Investors are betting that online retailers will experience another surge in sales from stuck-at-home consumers.

The outperformance of these ASX shares marks a turnaround in sentiment. Many online retailers that surged last year have either returned most, if not all, of their gains.

Supermarkets join the ASX COVID winner’s circle

Another group of winners are the supermarkets. The Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price gained 2.6% to $37.74 while Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price increased 0.4% to $16.89. No doubt images of long lines of grocery shoppers on the news is helping fuel this sector.

There are also signs of a flight to safety. ASX shares with defensive earnings are also outrunning the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) this morning.

ASX defensive shares back in favour

These include healthcare shares like the CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price and Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL) share price.

Rail operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) and telco Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) are also in favour.

ASX COVD-losers getting trampled

On the flipside, investors are dumping ASX shares that are seen to be losers from new COVID restrictions.

Precious few will be traveling interstate for the school holidays this time round. And that’s reflected in the 4.6% dive in the Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price.

The same sentiment is dragging on the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price and Sydney Airport Holdings Pty Ltd (ASX: SYD) share price.

Get use to the volatility fellow Fools. Until we reach herd immunity (assuming our political leaders can decide what that is), the shutdown/reopening trade will be alive and well!

The post Temple & Webster share price surges with other ASX COVID winners appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Aurizon Holdings Ltd, CSL Limited, Sonic Healthcare Limited, Telstra Corporation Ltd, Webjet Limited and Woolworths Group Ltd. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and has recommended CSL Ltd., Cettire Limited, Kogan.com ltd, and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COLESGROUP DEF SET, Kogan.com ltd, Telstra Corporation Limited, and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings Limited, Cettire Limited, Flight Centre Travel Group Limited, Sonic Healthcare Limited, and Temple & Webster Group 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 Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) share price is slipping today after the company announced a strategic partnership to enter the rapidly growing Middle East market.

At the time of writing, the Splitit share price is down 0.87%, trading at 57 cents.

New partnership struggles to rally the Splitit share price

Splitit announced that it had signed a new partnership agreement with leading Middle East buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution provider, Tabby Inc.

Tabby operates in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia markets, serving more than 2,000 merchants including high profile retailers such as IKEA, SHEIN, Marks and Spencer, Adidas and Toys R Us.

Tabby offers a classic BNPL financing option, allowing customers to split purchases into four equal installments alongside cashback features.

According to today’s statement, Tabby has a “high-profile brand in the region” and integrates directly into merchant checkouts or POS systems.

Splitit said e-commerce in the UAE and Saudi markets in 2020 was estimated to be worth US$7 billion and US$11 billion respectively. And the e-commerce markets in both countries are expected to double over the next 5 years, according to the company.

The partnership will involve Splitit integrating its payments technology as a white-label solution into the Tabby BNPL platform. The integration will see an additional option for customers to pay in instalments using their credit card.

Splitit believes this integration will expand Tabby’s product offering to new merchant categories, especially those with higher average order values.

Splitit’s integration with Tabby’s BNPL platform is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter 2021.

What did management say?

In response to the expansion, Splitit CEO Brad Paterson commented:

We are delighted to be partnering with Tabby to expand their market-leading offering. We’ve always seen our solution as complementary to other BNPL providers, which this new exciting partnership with Tabby highlights perfectly.

Our global payments platform is the only solution leveraging credit card payment networks, with the flexibility to scale internationally without the need for major on-the-ground support.

Paterson said that the platform now has the ability to offer white label solutions as a way of entering new regions by “partnering with established players that already have a strong market presence.

Splitit share price down 56% year-to-date

Its been a painful year for Splitit shareholders, with its shares sliding from $1.30 to 57 cents.

The Splitit share price slipped another 8% in June, even when its large cap peers, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) managed to surge ~26% and 16% respectively.

Splitit isn’t alone in its share price headwinds, with other small BNPL players including Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) and Laybuy Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) sliding this year as well.

The post Splitit (ASX:SPT) share price slips despite new partnership appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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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. owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T 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 Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) share price started this morning’s session in the red. This comes after the bank announced it will sell its vehicle dealer finance and novated leasing businesses to Angle Finance, a portfolio company of US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

Westpac shares are currently down 0.66% to $25.73 at the time of writing.

Westpac offloads $1 billion loan book

As apart of the transaction, Westpac have agreed to transfer auto dealer and introducer agreements together with wholesale dealer loans of approximately $1 billion, strategic alliance agreements with vehicle manufacturers, and novated lease origination capability and related agreements.

Westpac will also retain its existing retail auto loans of around $10 billion originated by the businesses being transferred.

The sale is still subject to the final value of the portfolio transferred, however Westpac believes it will generate accounting gain on completion. The divestiture also is expected to add around 6 basis points to the company’s common equity tier 1 (CET-1) capital ratio. As of 31 March 2021, Westpac had a CET-1 capital ratio of 12.34%.

Westpac chief executive Jason Yetton commented::

This sale brings certainty for our customers, new opportunities for our people and continues the progress we are making on becoming a simpler bank.

Angle Auto Finance is committed to the Auto Finance industry and will provide the capability and strategic focus to grow and improve the business.

The announcement reports that final completion of the sale is expected for the end of the calendar year.

About the Westpac share price

Westpac shares come into Monday’s session after finishing last week 2.67% in the red. Over the previous month, the Westpac share price has fallen 2.8% at the time of writing, and over the year-to-date the company’s share price has gained around 31%.

On current prices, Westpac has a market capitalisation of around $94 billion and the company’s stock has a price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) of around 22.

The post Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price dips following vehicle finance sale appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Share market breaks 5 week winning streak
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• Westpac (ASX:WBC) share price on watch after NZ update

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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At lunch on Monday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to start the week with a small decline. The benchmark index is down 0.1% to 7,298.8 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Metcash full year results

The Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS) share price is edging higher today after the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 April, Metcash reported a 9.9% increase in revenue to $14.3 billion and a 27.1% jump in underlying profit after tax to $252.7 million. This allowed Metcash to declare a full year fully franked 17.5 cents per share dividend, up 40% on the prior corresponding period. The company also announced a $175 million share buyback.

Travel shares under pressure

One area of the market that is acting as a drag on proceedings today is the travel sector. Lockdowns in Sydney and numerous state border closures have led to concerns that the domestic travel market recovery could take longer than expected. Companies such as Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) and Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) are trading notably lower today.

Costa returns

The Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC) share price is trading lower today after completing its institutional entitlement offer. The horticulture company has raised $114 million at an offer price of $3.00 per new share. This represents an 11.8% discount to its last close price. Costa is raising funds to acquire the business and assets of 2PH Farms for $200 million in cash. Queensland-based 2PH Farms is the largest citrus grower in northern Australia.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Monday has been the Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) share price with a 2.5% gain. This morning Macquarie put a neutral rating and $38.40 price target on its shares. The worst performer has been the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price with a 6% decline. This appears to have been driven by profit taking after a strong gain last week.

The post ASX 200 down 0.1%: Metcash results, Costa returns, travel shares sink 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 shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended AFTERPAY T FPO and COSTA GRP FPO. 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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