Tag: Motley Fool

The Fleetwood Corporation Limited (ASX: FWD) share price is rising this morning after announcing the appointment of its new CEO. At the time of writing, the Fleetwood share price is trading at $2.76, up 2.6%.

Let’s take a closer look at the announcement. 

New CEO succession

The Fleetwood share price is on the move today following the change of its leadership group.

According to this morning’s release, Fleetwood advised it has appointed Mr. Bruce Nicholson as its new CEO. An experienced building and construction materials executive, Mr. Nicholson will formally become head of the company on 1 July 2021. This follows former managing director and CEO Mr Brad Denison departure in November last year.

Current interim CEO Mr. Andrew Wackett will return to his original role as chief financial officer and joint company secretary. This will take place once Mr. Nicholson begins his tenure at Fleetwood.

The company went on to highlight Mr. Nicholson’s substantial experience. In particular, noting his aptitude for delivering results in difficult trading environments. Mr. Nicholson worked on projects in both Australia and New Zealand, as well as North America and Europe.

Most recently, he held the position of CEO and managing director of Waco Kwikform Group. The business is a leading supplier of scaffolding and falsework for construction, residential, and industrial markets throughout the ANZ region.

Furthermore, Mr. Nicholson also worked at Fletcher Building Group’s ROCLA concrete piping and products business as managing director. His most notable achievement included heading up the turnaround of a complex manufacturing operation.

Management commentary

Fleetwood chair, John Klepec, touched on Mr Nicholson’s being the right person for the top job, saying:

Bruce has a proven track record over an extended period in both major national established businesses and leading the turnaround of operations.

We are focussed on fully integrating our acquired Modular Building businesses across Australia whilst also profitably seizing the growth opportunity that currently presents. The modular construction model will transform to efficient manufacturing production systems and Bruce’s depth and breadth of experience are required for Fleetwood to be a major player.

He is a highly accomplished performance-oriented executive delivering results through customer partnerships, functional excellence and transformation.

About the Fleetwood share price

Over the past 12 months, the Fleetwood share price has risen over 120%, with year-to-date improving 29%. The company’s shares are also within the sights of hitting its 52-week high of $2.89 reached in February this year.

On valuation grounds, Fleetwood commands a market capitalisation of around $254.5 million. Additionally, the company has over 94.6 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) share price is storming higher today
• Here’s why the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price is surging 6% higher
• The Sky Network (ASX:SKT) share price is on watch after NBCU deal
• Why the Chorus (ASX:CNU) share price is on watch
• 2 excellent ASX mid cap shares to buy

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.

The post Why the Fleetwood (ASX:FWD) share price is rising this morning appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2Pu09Qf

The Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) share price is pushing higher in morning trade on Tuesday.

At the time of writing, the lithium developer’s shares are up almost 3% to 3.8 cents.

Why is the Sayona Mining share price pushing higher?

The Sayona share price pushed higher this morning after investors responded positively to the release of an announcement.

That announcement reveals that Sayona Mining has strengthened its project pipeline. This follows the acquisition of further prospective lithium acreage at its Tansim Lithium Project in Québec, Canada and the launch of an airborne magnetic survey over gold targets in Western Australia.

In respect to the Tansim Lithium Project, the company revealed that it has acquired an additional 75 claims at its emerging project, which is located just 82 kilometres south-west of its flagship Authier Lithium Project.

This means that Tansim now encompasses 350 claims spanning 20,256 hectares, a 27% increase in prospective lithium acreage following additions earlier in March. This is a big positive given that the recently completed Canadian NI 43-101 determined high exploration potential for lithium pegmatites across the project.

Over in Western Australia, drill targeting at the Deep well and Mt Dove projects has advanced with the commissioning and completion of geophysical surveying. This is targeting anomalies typical of the nearby massive Hemi gold discovery of De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG).

Management commentary

Sayona’s Managing Director, Brett Lynch, commented: “The additional Tansim claims will further enhance the critical mass of the Tansim project and strengthen Sayona’s push to become a world-scale spodumene producer based on our Abitibi lithium hub, with the potential for downstream processing. With investor confidence growing in the future of the North American EV and battery sector, these are quickly becoming highly valuable and strategic assets.”

“We are also keen to advance exploration across our Western Australian portfolio, given favourable gold prices and the success shown by nearby explorers. These gold projects add to the potential of our lithium portfolio in the world-class Pilgangoora lithium district,” he added.

More reading

• Why is the Novonix (ASX:NVX) share price up 8% this morning?
• The Sayona (ASX:SYA) share price is tumbling 5% today
• Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL) shares in trading halt after proposed US public offering
• Why the Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) share price is rocketing 25%
• These are the top performing ASX lithium stocks in 2021 so far

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.

The post Why the Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) share price is storming higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2PvNPPs

The Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) share price has started the week on a positive note.

At the time of writing, the clinical-stage drug development company’s shares are up 6% to 67 cents.

Why is the Noxopharm share price charging higher?

Investors have been buying Noxopharm’s shares after it provided an update on its Veyonda product.

According to the release, the company has lodged an international patent application aimed at protecting the use of Veyonda in blocking the development of septic shock associated with infections such as COVID-19 and influenza viruses.

Veyonda is being developed as an anti-cancer drug that enhances the effectiveness of standard anticancer treatments.

The release notes that one of its anti-cancer actions is the blocking of a signalling pathway called STING that serves as trigger for an immune response and repair of damaged tissue. In some individuals, the STING response is inappropriately excessive, pushing the individual over into septic shock. Veyonda appears to be the first drug that blocks STING in the clinic.

With an estimated one person dying globally every 3 seconds from cancer and one every 3 seconds from septic shock, management notes that the commercial opportunity for Veyonda has just doubled. It feels this underlines the commercial importance of the recent patent lodgement.

What about COVID-19?

The company advised that “long COVID” symptoms, such as long-lasting fatigue, breathing problems, headaches, along with severe organ damage and death, are all outcomes associated with septic shock.

Septic shock currently is managed with supportive treatments including drugs and fluids to restore blood pressure, anti-inflammatories such as dexamethasone, and antibiotics/antivirals. However, Noxopharm notes that the key need, that of providing a reduction in cytokine levels in a safe and comprehensive manner, remains largely unmet.

As a result, it sees a significant opportunity for the Veyonda product in this market.

More reading

• 3 ASX Healthcare shares feeling a little under the weather
• What is going with the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price today?

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.

The post Here’s why the Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) share price is surging 6% higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3dFVin1

The Sky Network Television Limited (ASX: SKT) share price is on watch this morning following an expansion of the company’s agreement with NBCUniversal (NBCU). The latest multi-year deal involves Sky Studios and Universal Studio Group, which encompasses Universal Television as well as other studio brands.

The Sky Network share price has been trading flat since mid-March. Shares in the New Zealand broadcasting and streaming company are currently 16 cents apiece.

Let’s look closer at this morning’s announcement from Sky Network.

New agreement

The new deal between Sky Network and NBCU will give Sky Network customers access to NBCU-owned channels, movies, and series.

It will see big-name channels such as E! and CNBC offered on Sky Network’s platforms and free-to-air broadcasting. As well as NBCU’s Universal TV ­– a channel dedicated to crime and drama.

Sky Network also stated the deal with NBCU will allow it to deliver “thousands of hours of blockbuster films and hit television series”. These include new series such as Young Rock, The Equalizer, and We Are Lady Parts. As well as NBCU feature films Trolls World Tour, The Croods: A New Age, the Bourne franchise, Pitch Perfect, and Back to the Future.

Also included in the deal will be Sky Studios’ original productions, although details of their involvement are scarce.

Commentary from management

Sky Network’s CEO Sophie Moloney commented on the company’s excitement over the agreement’s expansion.

With an amazing stream of new blockbuster movies and TV series to come, an incredible collection of popular library content, a brand-new channel for our customers in Universal TV and continued access to E! and CNBC, we’re really excited by this deal. Not only does it strengthen the depth and breadth of our offering, but it also secures more of the content that our customers love and value. Having tested the channel concept through our Sky Nation panel, customers are excited to be welcoming Universal TV to Sky.

Sky Network Television share price snapshot

2021 has been a productive year on the ASX for Sky Network.

The broadcaster’s share price is up 6.67% year to date. It’s also up by 14.29% over the last 12 months.

The company boasts a market capitalisation of around $279 million, with 1.75 billion shares outstanding.

More reading

• Why the Chorus (ASX:CNU) share price is on watch
• 2 excellent ASX mid cap shares to buy
• Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March 
• 2 beaten down ASX tech shares to buy this week
• Here’s why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price could be a buy

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.

The post The Sky Network (ASX:SKT) share price is on watch after NBCU deal appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3cPXSaE

The Chorus Ltd (ASX: CNU) share price is on watch this morning after a pre-market announcement from the telecommunications infrastructure group.

Why is the Chorus share price on watch?

Chorus today reduced its indicative Maximum Allowable Revenue (MAR) range. The Kiwi telco group reduced its MAR range to $680 million to $710 million. That represents a reduction from the previous $715 million to $755 million per annum range.

All of this is part of the group’s submissions and calculations for the latest New Zealand Commerce Commission regulatory process. Chorus CFO David Collins said the company holds “the strong view that the MAR should be set above forecast fibre revenue to maximise the socio-economic benefits of the investment we and the government have made in the Chorus fibre network”.

The MAR is a key component of the regulatory assessment for the Commerce Commission. It also comes as part of the wide-ranging review of the New Zealand fibre network industry.

The Chorus share price will be one to watch following this morning’s update on both the ASX and New Zealand’s Exchange (NZX). Shares in the Kiwi telco climbed 1.6% higher on Friday to close at $6.44 per share.

That’s not far from the group’s 52-week low of $5.95 having slid 11.4% lower in 2021. 

What else is happening on the ASX?

There is a bit happening for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) after the Easter break. The Reserve Bank of Australia will meet this afternoon for their monthly cash rate decision. No doubt investors will be keeping a close eye on any announcements.

Shares in major oil producers could be under pressure as crude oil prices sank lower before the weekend.

Away from ASX 200 shares, the SG Fleet Group Ltd (ASX: SGF) share price will be on watch as it returns to trade for the first time since Wednesday 24 March. The company announced a ~$86 million capital raising as it looks to fund its $387 million LeasePlan ANZ acquisition.

More reading

• UBS is calling time on the ASX iron ore supercycle
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Top broker picks the best ASX shares to buy for the new quarter
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares last week

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Why the Chorus (ASX:CNU) share price is on watch appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2PtWSQX

If small caps are too risky for your tastes, then you might want to look a little higher up on the risk scale at mid cap shares.

These shares still have the potential to grow rapidly in the future but, as they are more established than small caps, they are less likely to go bust in the near term.

But which mid cap shares should you consider? Two that you might want to get better acquainted with are listed below:

Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8)

Audinate is a $540 million digital audio-visual networking technologies provider. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been weighing on its short term performance, it looks well-placed to rebound once the pandemic passes. Particularly given the quality of its Dante product and its massive market opportunity.

The Dante product replaces all audio connections with a computer network. It then effortlessly sends hundreds of channels of audio over slender ethernet cables with perfect digital fidelity. Dante is the clear market leader, with eight times as many enabled devices as its nearest rival.

UBS believes Audinate is well-placed for growth thanks to its technology and the structural shift it is benefiting from. Its analysts have a buy rating and $10.10 price target on its shares.

ELMO Software Ltd (ASX: ELO)

ELMO is a $456 million cloud-based human resources and payroll software company. It provides a unified platform to streamline processes for employee administration, recruitment, on-boarding, learning, performance, remuneration, compliance training and payroll.

ELMO has been a strong performer in recent years and looks well-placed to continue this trend over the next decade. This is thanks to the shift to the cloud, its international expansion, and recent bolt on acquisitions.

Morgan Stanley is positive on ELMO and currently has an overweight rating and $9.70 price target on its shares.

More reading

• 2 explosive ASX growth shares to buy right now
• 2 rapidly growing ASX tech shares to buy in April
• 2 exciting ASX growth shares to buy next month
• The FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is now 30% off its August highs
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch

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 recommends BIGTINCAN FPO and Elmo Software. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and Elmo Software. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 2 excellent ASX mid cap shares to buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3sTMDDT

The hype surrounding South East Asia’s next buy now pay later (BNPL) provider,  IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) saw its share price surge as high as 250% this year. But in an unexpected turn of events, the IOUpay share price suddenly slumped. Down from 61 cents to 37 cents, or a decline of 40% in March. 

Why the IOUpay share price underperformed in March 

Broader weakness for tech and BNPL shares 

Rising bond yields and broader market volatility made it a challenging month for the tech sector.  This resulted in diverging performance between the S&P/ASX Information Technology (INDEXASX: XIJ) index which fell 5.80%, compared to the flat ASX 200.

Such weakness may have resulted in the IOUpay share price swimming against the tide despite key milestones including partnering with EasyStore to provide BNPL services, a merchant referral agreement with iPay88 and an expansion of its leadership team.

By comparison, large cap BNPL shares also faced heavy selling pressure with the likes of Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) falling a respective 20% and 33% in March. 

What’s next for the IOUpay share price? 

Eyes on revenue growth with new BNPL services 

IOUpay strives to become one of the leading digital transaction processors in South East Asia. This involves providing value add services such as smart short term revolving BNPL instalment offerings. In addition to services such as bill payments, mobile banking transactions, and digital commerce.

The company’s partnership with EasyStore resulted in a significant re-rate in valuation. This saw the company transform from a market capitalisation of approximately ~$90 million to $210 million. All eyes will be on the company’s ability to grow key BNPL metrics.  In particular, gross merchandise value, customers, and merchants. 

Tailwinds in the SEA market 

IOUpay has taken the first-mover advantage for BNPL in the SEA region. The company believes it can leverage its market-leading position for secure transaction and payment processing operations and existing customer data for rapid customer acquisition. This is further supported by its views on the SEA market: 

The “Sweet Spot” for BNPL is larger in SEA due to the lack of consumer credit and underbanked populations overlaid with mobile population levels and the ever increasing growth in e-payments which facilitate BNPL offerings and adoption rates.

More reading

• Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure
• 2 very exciting ASX tech shares to buy in April
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

Motley Fool contributor Kerry Sun 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 Why the IOUpay (ASX: IOU) share price tumbled 40% in March  appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3uo1u9L

Are you looking to take advantage of recent weakness in the tech sector? If you are, then you might want to consider buying one of these beaten down tech shares.

Here’s why they could be top options right now:

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The first tech share to look at is Appen. It is a leading developer of high-quality, human annotated datasets for machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI).

Appen uses a million-strong crowd sourced team of experts to prepare the data that goes into the AI models of some of the largest tech companies and governments in the world.

Given how these markets are expected to continue their strong rise for many years to come, Appen looks well-placed to deliver above-average growth over the next decade.

Ord Minnett is positive on the company, particularly given the recent pullback in its share price. The broker has a buy rating and $24.75 price target on its shares. This compares to the current Appen share price of $16.38.

Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN)

Nanosonics is a healthcare technology company with a focus on infection control. The company is currently a one-trick pony with its trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes. This technology is widely regarded as the best in its class and has been consistently winning market share in the United States and internationally over the last decade.

This has led to strong unit sales and even stronger recurring revenue growth over the period. The latter is due to the fact that its systems require consumables to function. This means that as its footprint grows, so too does demand for consumables.

Pleasingly, although it has been hit by countless delays, Nanosonics is planning to launch new products which have similar addressable markets. If they are even half as successful as the trophon system, then the future could be very bright for Nanosonics.

UBS currently has a buy rating and $7.00 price target on its shares. This compares to the latest Nanosonics share price of $5.67.

More reading

• 3 stellar ASX growth shares to buy next week
• 3 outstanding ASX shares to buy and hold
• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• Is the ASX tech sector in for more pain?
• 2 excellent ASX shares to buy and hold for a decade

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 Appen Ltd and Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nanosonics Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 2 beaten down ASX tech shares to buy this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3fIbhDJ

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price could be a really good one for long-term investors to consider.

It’s certainly not cheap after an increase of 89% over the last year. Xero has been a strong performer since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and all the associated impacts.

The business has been very effective at growing in its local markets of New Zealand and Australia. Now it’s taking on the world.

Xero still has a very promising growth-focused future and the Xero share price could still represent good long-term value today:

International subscriber growth

There not many ASX shares that have been able to expand overseas very effectively. There have been some painful expansion attempts from Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) and Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH).

But Xero is doing it the right way with fast growth of its international subscriber base. The diversification of earnings is useful and it will allow Xero to invest more into those regions as they become more important to the overall business.

Xero’s most important market is Australia, which now has over 1 million subscribers. The ATO single touch payroll initiative and the roll-out of jobkeeper stimulus payments by the Australian Government contributed to strong demand for Xero.

Other regions are also displaying attractive double digit growth. In the FY21 half-year result, UK subscribers grew 19% to 638,000 subscribers, with revenue rising 33%.

North American subscribers increased 17% to 251,000 and the rest of the world subscribers went up 37% to 136,000 with good growth in South Africa and Singapore.

Expanding product offering

Xero is heavily investing in its product offering for clients. Not only does it have its own development teams to make the technology even better, but it’s also acquiring other businesses to offer to its subscribers.

The most recent acquisitions are called Tickstar and Planday.

Tickstar is an e-invoicing infrastructure business that enables organisations to connect to a global e-invoicing network. Xero said that Tickstar technology will enable customers in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore to have access to faster and more secure transactions. It’s based in Sweden and already serves customers in a number of markets around the world.

The other acquisition is called Planday, which is a leading workforce management platform with more than 350,000 employee users across Europe and the UK. It integrates with Xero, other accounting solutions and third party workforce-related apps to deliver a real-time view of staffing needs and payroll costs. Planday can provide insights that help adjust staffing levels to match trading conditions and control labour costs.

As Xero expands and improves its product offering, it should be able to attract and retain subscribers.

Very scalable

Xero is still heavily investing for growth, which should lead to good outcomes over many years.

The FY21 first half result for the six months ending 30 September 2020 showed how profitable Xero can be if it were trying to control its costs.

HY21 operating revenue increased 21%, or NZ$71,179,000, to NZ$410 million. Xero has a very high gross profit margin of 85.7%, which can help profit increase quickly.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 86%, or NZ$55,915,000, to NZ$120.8 million. Net profit after tax (NPAT) increased NZ$33,150,000 to NZ$35.5 million and free cash flow went up NZ$49,439,000 to NZ$54.3 million.

The improvement of those profit measures are strong, at a high margin. That could be very attractive if it’s a sign of what Xero can deliver in the future when it’s not investing so heavily.

More reading

• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy next week
• 5 of the best ASX shares to buy after the Easter break
• Why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price outperformed in March
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• Is the ASX tech sector in for more pain?

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Here’s why the Xero (ASX:XRO) share price could be a buy appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3mjKLSq

The competition in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) field is fierce. 

The rising subsector is seen as crucial for the finance industry to winning millennial and generation Z clientele, who are shying away from traditional banking products.

But outside of the young folk, do people even know what brands like Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), Humm Group Ltd (ASX: HUM) and Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) actually do?

Only 36.9% of people knew about BNPL back in September 2018, according to polling firm Roy Morgan. 

But this week 72.4% of Australians were now shown to be aware of buy now, pay later services. Plus 14.7% actually use a BNPL service.

But it seems one particular company has a massive lead over its rivals.

Afterpay’s network effect

Afterpay was the “clear market leader” in awareness, according to Roy Morgan, with 70% of Australians now aware of what it does.

That’s a huge lead over second place, which was taken by Zip with 48.6% of Australians knowing about its services.

That’s more than 40% daylight between first and second.

Awareness of Afterpay has increased 36 percentage points since the last survey in September 2018. Zip is up 30.5 percentage points.

Afterpay’s market dominance becoming more entrenched could be seen as the network effect, where a system becomes more attractive the more people participate.

It’s the same phenomenon that’s seen Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) become so popular. As more people joined the platform, the more valuable it became and more attractive to those who hadn’t yet joined.

The ‘second tier’ BNPL players, as Roy Morgan labels them, had more modest brand awareness. About 20% of Australians were aware of Latitude Pay, and both Humm and OpenPay just topped 11% each.

Roy Morgan chief Michele Levine said there was definitely a generational difference in the use of the different BNPL brands.

“Although people aged 25-34 are the most likely to use market leaders Afterpay and Zip, the second-tier services provided by Humm, Latitude Pay, and Openpay are all more likely to be used by a slightly older demographic.”

COVID-19 pandemic boosted BNPL adoption

According to Levine, the coronavirus outbreak last year created a perfect storm for BNPL industry to thrive.

“Unprecedented stimulus payments from the government, including the $100 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy, supported the economy and led to a boom year for many larger retailers.”

Levine cited Australian Bureau of Statistics figures that retail sales increased by an average of 8.8% year-on-year for the 9 month period from May 2020.

“The closure of the international border, as well as domestic state borders for much of the year, prevented spending on travel and tourism and led many to spend on ‘retail therapy’.”

As well as younger Australians, women are taking up BNPL far more enthusiastically than men.

“Women are the key users of buy-now-pay-later services and have adopted the new fintech digital payment services at almost twice the rate of men while nearly a quarter of people aged 25-34 use the new services – a higher rate than any other age group,” said Levine.

Most of the ASX-listed BNPL providers saw their shares spike up on Thursday, just before the Easter long weekend.

Afterpay was up 4.12%, Zip soared 4.61%, Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY) added 4.55%, Humm gained 2.08% and Payright Ltd (ASX: PYR) put on 0.72%. Meanwhile, Openpay dropped 0.84%.

More reading

• Leading brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy today
• 2 very exciting ASX tech shares to buy in April
• These were the best performing ASX 200 shares in the Q1 of 2021
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Tony Yoo owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Facebook and Humm Group Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Afterpay (ASX:APT) leads Zip by 40% on one critical measure appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3uuxJV3