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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a strong gain on Wednesday. In afternoon trade, the benchmark index is up 0.6% to 7,112.2 points.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here’s why they are tumbling lower:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

The Afterpay share price is down almost 4% to $106.68. This appears to have been driven by weakness in the tech sector today following a selloff on Wall Street’s Nasdaq index overnight. It isn’t just Afterpay that is under pressure. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) is down 1.5%.

Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ)

The ANZ share price is down 2.5% to $28.15. This follows the release of the banking giant’s half year results this morning. For the six months ended 31 March, ANZ reported cash earnings from continuing operations of $2,990 million. This was up 28% on its second half of FY 2020. This allowed the bank to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 70 cents per share. However, it appears that some investors were expecting even more from the bank.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino’s share price has fallen 2% to $104.58. This decline appears to have been driven by a broker note out of Macquarie this morning. According to the note, the broker has downgraded its shares to a neutral rating with a $108.50 price target. It notes that Domino’s has spoken cautiously about its outlook for the second half.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price has dropped a further 3.5% to $15.57. Investors have been selling the travel agent’s shares since the release of a third quarter update on Tuesday. The market appears disappointed that Flight Centre is expecting to post a second half loss in line with the one recorded in the first half. This morning analysts at Citi suggested that the company might not breakeven until FY 2023.

More reading

• The ASX 200 is within an arms reach of all-time record highs
• Here’s how much ANZ’s (ASX:ANZ) dividend is worth now
• ASX 200 jumps 0.7%: ANZ half year results, Nearmap jumps
• ASX 200 tech shares under pressure after Nasdaq selloff
• Is the Flight Centre (ASX:FLT) share price a buy after its Q3 update?

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited and 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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Great Boulder Resources Ltd (ASX: GBR) shares are on an extraordinary tear again today after the company announced that “exceptional gold grades” have been intersected at its Mulga Bill project. At the time of writing, the Great Boulder share price is trading a whopping 50.6% higher at 12.5 cents.

This follows yesterday’s rise of more than 80% for the company’s shares after separate gold intersection results were released to the market.

Great Boulder Resources is a relatively new Australian miner that’s focused on nickel, copper, cobalt and gold mining. Its current mining focus is on the lucrative Esperance Goldfields in Western Australia

Golden age

Today’s surge in the Great Boulder share price comes after the company reported initial results from reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Mulga Bill prospect within the Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia.

The company says that RC drilling undertaken beneath a high-grade air-core (AC) drilling intersection in one drilling hole returned an “extremely high-grade zone” of six metres at 31.2g/t Au from 130 metres deep, including one metre of 136g/t Au from 132 metres deep.

The results from a four-metre composite AC intersection have been re-assayed and returned a more accurate result of three metres at 34.5g/t Au from 32 metres deep.  The updated result follows resampling in one-metre sample intervals.

Another RC hole the company drilled directly below the former intersected three metres of quartz veining with no significant gold assays. This intersection will be re-assayed to check for coarse gold. Meanwhile, a second RC hole drilled 50 metres to the north of this section intersected 14 metres at 2.62g/t Au from 88 metres deep, including four metres at 5.86g/t Au.

The remaining results from this 4,000m RC program are expected in the coming weeks.

Management comments

Great Boulder managing director Andrew Paterson was clearly excited by the company’s drilling results, saying:

These are stunning results. We were initially excited with the AC result in hole 022 because it’s associated with quartz veining high in the weathering profile. That immediately draws comparison to the Wilber Lode at Andy Well. Resampling that intersection has returned even higher grades. To hit 6 metres at over an ounce per tonne below this zone that is a sensational result.

Coming on the back of our recent success at Whiteheads, these exceptional results from Mulga Bill validate our approach and the solid technical work we’ve been doing for the past two years.

Great Boulder share price snapshot

The Great Boulder share price has now risen a ridiculous 145% in one week, 257% over the past month and almost 300% over the past 12 months. The company has a market capitalisation of around $23 million.

More reading

• Great Boulder (ASX:GBR) share price surges 80%. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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 FINEOS Corporation Holdings PLC (ASX: FCL) share price is retreating today following the company’s acquisition announcement.

During early afternoon trade, the insurance software company’s shares are exchanging hands for $3.89, down 2.2%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is sitting at 7,364 points, up 0.6% for the day.

FINEOS moves to takeover Spraoi

Investors appear unfazed by the latest announcement by FINEOS, sending its shares lower for the day.

According to its release, FINEOS advised it has entered into a binding agreement with DigIn Technologies LLC (Spraoi) to acquire 100% of Spraoi’s issued securities.

Founded in 2017, Spraoi is a leading United States-based company that provides machine learning capabilities for the Employee Benefits and Life industry. The business has 8 clients and generated revenues of US$6 million in the last calendar year.

The transaction will involve an upfront cash payment of US$4 million, and an earnout of up to US$6.6 million over a 3-year period. This is provided that certain revenue targets are achieved within the timeframe. FINEOS will use its existing cash reserves to fund the deal, along with 700,000 share options issued to Spraoi. Once the acquisition is complete, FINEOS anticipates the Spraoi business to be earnings accretive after its first full year.

FINEOS highlighted that Spraoi’s products and services are a strategic addition to its current offering. The company foresees immediate opportunities arising through enhancing its machine learning platform capabilities, FINEOS Engage and FINEOS Insight.

Michael Kelly, CEO of FINEOS commented:

The North American employee benefits industry is undergoing tremendous change, which is continually accelerating due to the competitive and regulatory environment, as well as the constant advancement of technology capabilities.

…That combination makes Spraoi a natural addition to the FINEOS team as we continually improve the FINEOS Platform to meet the needs of our clients.

The deal is expected to be completed in the near future subject to customary closing conditions, with integration occurring over the next few months.

About the FINEOS share price

The last 12 months have been positive for FINEOS investors, with its shares posting a 27% increase. Year-to-date performance, however, is a little milder with a modest gain of 5%.

The FINEOS share price reached an all-time high of $5.75 in August 2020, before profit-taking led to its downfall.

Based on today’s current price, FINEOS commands a market capitalisation of around $1.1 billion, with roughly 301 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is climbing this morning

Aaron Teboneras has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends FINEOS Holdings plc. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended FINEOS Holdings plc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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Shares in Peel Mining Ltd (ASX: PEX) are creeping higher today after the company released its investor presentation for May 2021. 

The Peel Mining share price is up 2.98% at the time of writing, trading at 24 cents per share.

Peel Mining is an Australian company that explores and develops precious, base, and specialty metals resources in New South Wales.

Highlights from the investor presentation

Peel Mining’s latest investor presentation focused on one thing: copper. Peel is currently pivoting the brunt of its metals mining projects towards copper as the metal hits all-time highs on the commodity indexes. 

The company has interests in four main copper producing mines in the Cobar Basin and is currently drilling for a maiden high-grade copper resource at its Wirlong project.

Peel is also exploring its Mallee Bull mine for the metal, calling the central NSW region “one of [Australia’s] highest-grade undeveloped copper deposits”. The Mallee Bull mine is 100km south of Cobar on an 8,094-hectare pastoral lease owned by Peel.

The Australian miner will start drilling there at depths of approximately 60 metres and believes deposits may exist as deep as 800 metres.

The company is also touting the copper potential of highly prospective mines called Wagga and May Day, which also show anomalous potential for zinc and lead, among other minerals.

Background on Peel Mining

The company operates through three segments: it focuses on mineral exploration under its joint venture with CBH Resources at its Mallee Bull prospect, which it’s currently exploring for copper. It also has interests in mineral exploration under its farm-in agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC), although this doesn’t provide the majority of its revenue.

It also has its Peel Segment, which includes all other mineral exploration within Australia and properties 100% owned by the company. The majority of the company’s revenue is generated from the Peel segment. Its projects include other parts of Mallee Bull, the Cobar Superbasin Project, and the Wagga Tank Project.

Peel Mining share price snapshot

The Peel Mining share price has had a significant upswing over the past 12 months, rising by more than 80%. But that momentum has slowed in 2021 and the company’s share price is down 18% so far this year.

More reading

• Why the FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is edging lower today
• Why the IOUPay (ASX:IOU) share price is racing 9% higher today
• Why the New World Resources (ASX: NWC) share price is tanking
• It’s not just Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) driving ASX investor interest
• Ardent Leisure (ASX:ALG) share price slides on development plans

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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.

The post Peel Mining (ASX:PEX) share price lifts on copper’s ‘time to shine’ appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The IOUPay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price has been on form on Wednesday.

In afternoon trade, the Malaysia-based buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up 9% to 41 cents.

Why is the IOUPay share price surging higher?

The IOUPay share price was given a boost today by the release of a positive announcement.

According to the release, the company has entered into a Bill Payment Service Agreement with RMS Reloads.

RMS Reloads has been established for over 10 years as one of South East Asia’s largest offline-to-online payment networks.

The company was initially established in Malaysia in 2010 as MOL Accessportal, but was renamed RMS Reloads after being acquired in April 2018 by Razer Inc.

What is the agreement?

The agreement is for three years and will see RMS Reloads provide (on a non-exclusive basis) a collection agency service.

This service will enable IOUpay customers to make BNPL instalment payments at any merchant across RMS Reloads’ extensive national merchant network of more than 10,000 physical points-of-presence in Malaysia stores.

Under the terms and conditions of the agreement, the collection agency service is provided by RMS Reloads to IOUpay in exchange for a standard low fixed percentage fee of the payment amount on a per transaction basis. The percentage has not been disclosed due to standard commercial-in-confidence reasons.

Management notes that the agreement adds material strategic value to the company’s payment collection operations, in-field distribution presence, and merchant and customer reach. This is due to RMS Reloads’ wide-reaching physical points-of-presence, which includes 2,500 7- Eleven stores, 1,900 99 Speedmart stores, and 518 KK MART stores.

Though, given that these are convenience stores, they’re not exactly the type of locations that BNPL customers typically use these services.

Nevertheless, management is very positive on the deal. And so is the market, judging by the IOUpay share price performance.

IOUpay’s CEO, Mr Khong Kok Loong, commented: “We are delighted to be working together with RMS Reloads and the Razer Pay Group. Providing our customers with 10,000 of Malaysia’s most popular store locations with over-the-counter services to make their BNPL payments is an important step in making our BNPL service offering even more accessible and convenient for our customers.”

“The RMS Reloads merchant network represents an infield distribution channel with some of Malaysia and SEA’s biggest shopping brands. The Razer Fintech Group is a natural fit with IOUpay which we look forward to building further,” he concluded.

Following today’s gain, the IOUPay share price is now up over 100% year to date.

More reading

• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is up 15% this week
• Is the Klarna / Flybuys partnership the future for ASX BNPL providers?
• Will a retreating Reddit army trample the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price?
• The IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price is lifting today. Here’s why
• Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March 

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro 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 New World Resources (ASX: NWC) share price plunged in today’s trading session. This comes after the company has emerged from a trading halt. The sell-off follows a slew of announcements released by the company earlier today.

The New World share price last traded at 11 cents before entering a trading halt on Monday. Shares in the company are down 9.09%, trading at 10 cents each at the time of writing. Earlier today, shares hit an intra-day low of 9.9 cents.

Here’s what New World Resources announced and how it has influenced the company’s share price.

Capital raise announcement

Earlier this week, shares in New World were placed in a trading halt pending execution of a capital raising.

Shares in the company were reinstated today after New World announced firm commitments to raise $20 million via a share placement.  The two-tranche placement will involve the issue of 200 million new and fully-paid ordinary shares at 10 cents each. The issue price represents a 9.1% discount to New World’s last closing price of 11 cents per share.

The first tranche will see around 90 million shares issued in May 2021, with the second trance subject to shareholder approval.  

According to the company, funds raised will go towards accelerating the development of its Antler Copper Project. New World’s management noted that the placement will ensure that the company is fully funded to advance expansion drilling and feasibility studies.

More on New World Resources

New World Resources is an Australian company focused on the exploration and development of mineral resources. The company has numerous projects and assets in North America, with its flagship Antler Copper Project is based in Arizona.

In late April, the company announced that it had identified a significant exploration target near its Antler Project. According to New World, drilling confirmed that substantial thick and high-grade mineralisation remains unmined at the project.

As a result, the company believes that the Antler Project could have the highest-grade undeveloped copper deposits. In order to maintain focus on its promising Anther Project, New World has also proposed demerging its cobalt assets and projects into a separate listing.

The company currently has 100% interest in the Colson Cobalt-Copper Project in Idaho and the Goodsprings Copper-Cobalt Project in Nevada.

More reading

• It’s not just Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) driving ASX investor interest
• Ardent Leisure (ASX:ALG) share price slides on development plans
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price is at a new 52-week high
• Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price outperforms the big four
• Here’s why the Nearmap (ASX:NEA) share price is in a trading halt

Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram 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 Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price is down 1.7% over the past 24 hours. One Bitcoin is currently worth US$54,852 (AU$71,236).

The world’s biggest crypto, with a market capitalisation of US$1.02 trillion, continues to display high volatility. According to data from CoinDesk, the Bitcoin price traded at a 24-hour low of US$52,987 and a 24-hour high of US$56,662, a range of almost 7%.

Though well down from mid-April’s all-time high of US$64,829, Bitcoin remains up 88% year to date.

59% of surveyed ASX traders bullish on cryptocurrencies

While the upward trending Bitcoin price continues to garner the majority of financial media headlines, ASX investors aren’t limiting themselves to a single cryptocurrency.

Global investment and trading platform TradingView surveyed 2,134 Australian traders from its user base in February. Participants were asked what types of investment assets they were looking for in the year ahead.

Cryptocurrencies came in at number 2, just below shares. Furthermore, 54% of experienced traders (with more than 5 years in the markets) listed cryptocurrencies among their top 3 investment interests, while 65% of newer traders (with 1–5 years of experience) were bullish on cryptos.

Commenting on the survey results, Glenn Leese, director of growth for Australia at TradingView said:

The popularity of cryptocurrency appears to be moving ahead of most traditional asset classes. This seems to be true of both new and experienced investors. In fact, crypto is more popular than any other asset class among those that have been trading for less than 5 years.

Beyond general awareness, there is a key difference between the current crypto rush/momentum and previous ones in that it is not led by mum and dad investors, but rather by more sophisticated investors, institutions and corporates.

It’s not just Bitcoin driving ASX investor interest

TradingView noted that Bitcoin is far from the only digital token attracting investor attention, with altcoins getting increased attention on its platform.

Bitcoin represented 20% of the total views among the top 30 cryptocurrencies and only 9% of all cryptocurrency views on TradingView.

After Bitcoin, Ether and Ripple were the most widely viewed cryptocurrencies on the TradingView platform.

More reading

• Are Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) shares worth a look?
• Warren Buffett hates Bitcoin. Here’s why
• How Tether is fuelling the Bitcoin price rally
• Some takeaways from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway meeting
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Shares have average week but a great month

Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Bitcoin. 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 Ardent Leisure Group Ltd (ASX: ALG) share price is sliding today despite announcing plans to redevelop its Dreamworld Resort.

At the time of writing, the entertainment company’s shares are fetching for 79 cents, down 1.25%.

Dreamworld eyes comeback

Ardent Leisure shares have failed to take off as investors shrug off the company’s $75 million injection into Dreamworld Resort.

According to this morning’s release, Ardent Leisure advised it has entered into a non-binding agreement with accommodation developer, Evolution Group.

A family-run company, Evolution Group has built over 2,200 rooms around Australia through resorts and also accommodation houses.

The deal will see Evolution Group build an accommodation precinct on part of the unused land owned by Ardent Leisure. The area is conveniently situated adjacent to the Dreamworld theme park.

The accommodation will consist of a 4-star 250 room resort-style hotel, 40 bungalows, and a 5-star tourist park with 100 powered sites.

Ardent Leisure stated that the new facilities will be designed to cater for all guests, especially interstate travellers.

Within the complex, visitors will have access to family accommodation options, restaurants, conference rooms, swimming pools, and a gymnasium.

The agreement is subject to a number of customary preconditions to be met before works begin.

Comments from management

Dreamworld CEO, Greg Young welcomed the new partnership, saying:

The hotel and tourist park will complement Dreamworld as a premium entertainment destination and add a new level of convenience for guests who will have our theme park and water park on their accommodation’s doorstep.

This announcement is another positive step in the recovery of our parks post-COVID and will have a significant economic impact not only for Dreamworld, but also for the northern Gold Coast, one of Australia’s fastest growing regional corridors.

Evolution Group, John Robinson Jr went on to add:

We are incredibly excited to be taking these first steps with the Dreamworld team and we are looking forward to work collaboratively to deliver guests a range of high-quality accommodation options.

Ardent Leisure share price review

Ardent Leisure shares have performed relatively well over the last 12 months, gaining more than 130%. This is a stark contrast from when the company faced uncertain troubles at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on today’s share price, Ardent Leisure presides a market capitalisation of roughly $383 million, with 479 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Ardent Leisure (ASX:ALG) share price is surging 7%
• The ASX shares brokers think you should be watching

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price has today broken its 52-week record and printed a new high for the last 12 months. Telstra shares opened at $3.49 this morning after closing at $3.50 yesterday afternoon.

But at the time of writing, Telstra shares have risen 1.86% to $3.57 a share, a new 52-week high. That blitzes its old high watermark of $3.54 that has held since July last year.

So what’s been going so right for Telstra lately? Well, as we’ve flagged recently, the Telstra share price has been on the rise for a while now. The shares are now up around 4% in the past month, more than 17% year to date, and 32% since the start of November last year. So in many ways, today’s move is just an extension of this trend.

The Telstra share price has even managed to shake off a $1.5 million fine. This fine was announced yesterday. It was issued in response to Telstra breaching its customers’ rights to port their phone numbers in the first stages of the pandemic last year.

What has been pushing the Telstra share price to new highs?

Investors have been bullish on Telstra ever since the telco reaffirmed its generous 16 cents per share dividend for 2021 back in October last year. Telstra share shave had a monstrous run over the past several months. Even so, this dividend is still worth a yield of 4.49% on current pricing (or 6.41% grossed-up). That is certainly nothing to sneeze at in this era of near-zero interest rates.

Also supporting the Telstra share price has been its more recent structural separation announcement. Back in March, Telstra announced that it plans on dividing the company into 4 divisions by the end of the year. These will be InfraCo Towers, InfraCo Fixed, ServeCo, and Telstra International. By separating out its valuable infrastructure assets in particular, many investors are hoping that significant value can be unlocked. The market certainly seems to be thinking along these lines, seeing as this announcement has seemed to help push Telstra to its new highs today.

Finally, it’s worth mentioning the announcement that Telstra made just last month. The telco announced that it was spending $277 million on new 5G spectrum rights. The company stated that this purchase would help strengthen Telstra’s already dominant 5G network in Australia. In addition, it also informed investors that its 5G network is on track to cover 75% of the Australian population by the end of June this year.

All of these developments have evidently raised investors opinions of Telstra, and its plans for future growth. Telstra may still be a long way from the kinds of highs investors saw a decade or two ago. But it is a lot closer to those highs today than it has been for a while.

More reading

• Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price edges higher despite record $1.5 million fine
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price could be heading higher from here
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares that will help you beat low interest rates
• Why is the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rising today?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Shares have average week but a great month

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Telstra Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra 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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Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ) shareholders can rejoice. Over the last 12 months, the regional bank’s share price has the big four banks’ beat. Since this time last year, the Bank of Queensland share price has gained a massive 95%. Currently, the bank’s shares are swapping hands for $9.11 apiece. 

For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained around 32% in the same time frame. Of the big fours’ share prices, the largest increase came from Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ). The ANZ share price has gained 72% over the past year.

Let’s take a look at what’s been driving the growth of the Bank of Queensland share price these last 12 months.

What’s been happening to the Bank of Queensland share price?

The bank’s share price growth over the past year came after a tough start. On 14 May 2020, Bank of Queensland shares hit their lowest point in 20 years – dropping to $4.51 in intraday trading.

Fortunately, this left the company with plenty of room to grow. Despite a series of bad news updates, the bank’s share price grew around 45% by the time its FY2020 full-year results were released in mid-October 2020.

Some of this bad news included the bank’s quarterly APRA Basel III Pillar 3 report for the period ending 31 May 2020. It showed the bank was faced with $112 million worth of loans overdue by more than 90 days during the fourth quarter of the 2020 financial year.

Further, in September, Bank of Queensland reported it had completed its collective provision modelling for the 2020 financial year and expected the year’s loan impairment expense to be $175 million.

The bank also announced an $11 million expense resulting from a review of historical employee underpayments and missing entitlements.

2020 financial year results

On 14 October, Bank of Queensland released its full-year results for the 2020 financial year.

For the 12 months ended 31 August 2020, the bank reported cash earnings of $225 million. That was 30% less than the previous financial year. While less than previous periods, this was better than the market’s expectations.

The bank also declared a full-year 12 cents per share fully franked dividend.

2021 so far

The 2021 financial year has been a good one so far for Bank of Queensland.

It began positively, with the bank reporting it was on track to deliver on the outlook provided in its full-year results

Then, in February this year Bank of Queensland announced it had agreed to acquire Members Equity Bank (ME Bank) for around $1.3 billion in cash. The acquisition was to be funded by an underwritten capital raising.

The following day, the bank announced its first successful capital raise of $673 million. On 15 March, Bank of Queensland announced it has completed the retail component of its underwritten pro-rata non-renounceable entitlement offer, which was the last stage of the bank’s equity raising.

Half-year results

The bank released its results for the first half of the 2021 financial year on 15 April. 

Within its results, the bank reported a 9% increase in cash earnings after tax to $165 million. The increase was driven by balance sheet growth, improved net interest margin, disciplined expense management, and lower loan impairment expense. The news didn’t stop the Bank of Queensland share price from sliding 0.79% lower on the day of the release.  

Its board also declared a 17 cents per share interim dividend and provided positive outlook commentary.

Management appeared optimistic and noted the economic outlook was showing signs of continued improvement. In light of this, the bank was guiding to a solid second-half performance.

Bank of Queensland share price snapshot 

The regional bank is now one of the best performing banks on the ASX over the last 12 months.

Its 2021 has also been fruitful – the Bank of Queensland share price has gained around 21% year to date.

The bank has a market capitalisation of around $5.85 billion, with approximately 639 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why Accent, Bank of Queensland, Freelancer, & Zip shares are pushing higher
• Why the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price is charging higher today
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• Is the Bank of Queensland (ASX:BOQ) share price great value?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Brooke Cooper 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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