Tag: Motley Fool

There are some ASX growth shares that are being sold off, but could be worth thinking about because of their long-term growth potential.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropped by 2.4% on Friday, but some businesses (which are generating high levels of growth) fell much harder than that.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan.com share price fell 10.4% on Friday to $14.

Kogan.com reported its FY21 half-year result to investors which included a lot of growth metrics.

It revealed that the gross sales went up 97.4% to $638.2 million, gross profit went up 126.2% to $112.9 million, adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 184.4% to $51.7 million and adjusted net profit after tax (NPAT) increased by 250.2% to $36.5 million.

Reported NPAT came in at $23.6 million, with adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.35, up 211.7% to $0.35. The Kogan board decided to increase the dividend by 113.3% to $0.16 per share.

The number of active customers continued to climb for the ASX growth share, it went up 76.8% to 3 million. It also had 719,000 active customers at Mighty Ape, which is a newly-acquired New Zealand e-commerce business.

Kogan.com continues to see growth across the business, particularly with its marketplace business which saw gross sales growth of 194.3%. This growth doesn’t require a corresponding increase of investment in inventory and helps margins.

One thing that Kogan wanted to point out to investors was its improving operating leverage. Compared to the prior corresponding period, the gross margin improved 460 basis points to 27.3% and the delivered margin (after all logistics costs) grew 510 basis points to 22.9%. Despite the increasing the percentage of market costs to revenue from 4% last year to 7.4% in this half-year, the EBITDA margin grew by 180 basis points to 9.4%.

According to Commsec, the Kogan.com share price is trading at 19x FY23’s estimated earnings.

Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL)

Redbubble is an e-commerce business. It sells artist-designed products on the websites that it owns called Redbubble.com and TeePublic.com.

The ASX growth share sells various everyday products like apparel, stationery, housewares, bags, wall art and so on.

Redbubble is another business that is seeing strengthening operating leverage as it gets bigger. In the FY21 half-year result, the gross profit margin increased by 4.1 percentage points to 40.8%.

The marketplace revenue rose by 96% to $353 million, the gross profit went up 118% to $144 million and operating cashflow grew 95% to $80 million. It generated $42 million of earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in that half-year result.

This growth was achieved despite mask demand falling to 7% of the overall mix for the second quarter and higher shipping charges resulting in lower margins for the month of December. Foreign currency also acted as a drag on the earnings.

The ASX growth share revealed that healthy demand continued into January, with marketplace revenue growth of 66% (or 82% in constant currency terms).

The CEO of Redbubble, Michael Ilczynski, said at the time of the half-year result: “The strategic priority for the group now is to ensure we extend the market leadership we have established. We intend to invest in both the artist and customer experiences, to improve loyalty and retention and to ensure long-term growth.”

More reading

• Why Afterpay, Kogan, Orica, & Service Stream shares are crashing lower
• Growth outlook fails to save the Aristocrat share price today
• ASX 200 down 2.3%: Afterpay & Kogan sold off, Orica smashed, AMP pushes higher
• Kogan.com (ASX:KGN) share price sinks 9% following half year results
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

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 Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post 2 ASX growth shares to buy in March 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

With the market sell-off on Friday, there are a number of ASX dividend shares that could be worth considering for March.

When a dividend stock is sold down, it increases the yield on offer, assuming that dividend isn’t cut.

The two ASX dividend shares below all have relatively high dividend yields and may be able to boost income for investors:

Pacific Current Group Ltd (ASX: PAC)

This business is an investor in global fund managers. It tries to help them grow with capital and expertise. Pacific Current then benefits from the increase in funds under management (FUM) and management fees of the manager.

Broker Ord Minnett likes the business and has a share price target of $7.60.

It just reported its FY21 half-year result which showed that its FUM increased from $93 billion at June 2020 to $113 billion at December 2020.

Pacific said that there was strong investment performance, particularly among active equity managers. Whilst GQG attracted most of the inflows, the ASX dividend share said there was FUM growth across the portfolio.

Management fees increased 10%, or 16% in US dollar terms and expenses were lower by around 24%. However underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) declined 13.4% to $11.6 million because of lower performance fees and the strengthening of the Australian dollar compared to the US dollar. Had the exchange rate stayed the same, underlying net profit before tax would have been A$0.9 million higher than it was.

During the period it announced the investment into Astarte Capital Partners, which is a London-based alternative investment manager focused on private markets real asset strategies. Astarte’s model is that it provides anchor/seed capital, working capital and strategic support to operating experts and emerging investment managers to support growth. Pacific Partners will receive approximately 40% of the net income.

In terms of the dividend, Pacific Current declared an interim dividend of $0.10 per share, the same as last year, which represents a 44% dividend payout ratio. The ASX dividend share is still targeting a dividend payout ratio of 60% to 80% of earnings.

Ord Minnett thinks that Pacific could pay a FY21 dividend of $0.40 per share, which translates to a forward grossed-up dividend yield of almost 11% at the current Pacific Current share price.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Rural Funds is an agricultural landlord that owns a variety of different farm types including almonds, macadamias, vineyards, cattle and cropping (sugar and cotton).

The real estate investment trust (REIT) has a goal of growing the distribution by 4% per annum for investors.

It achieves this goal through two methods. The first is that it has built-in rental increases in its contracts, linked to either CPI or a fixed 2.5% annual increase, plus market reviews. The other way it grows is through productivity improvement investing at its farms, such as improved irrigation for crops or better water access for the cattle.

The ASX dividend share has a number of high quality, listed tenants such as Olam, JBS, Select Harvests Limited (ASX: SHV), Treasury wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) and Australian Agricultural Company Ltd (ASX: AAC).  

Rural Funds recently gave guidance of another 4% increase in the distribution for FY22. Based on that estimated payout of 11.73 cents per share, it has a FY22 distribution yield of 5% at the current Rural Funds share price.

More reading

• Pacific Current (ASX:PAC) share price down despite FUM growth of 24%
• Select Harvests (ASX:SHV) share price on watch after asset sale and restructure plans
• 2 quality ASX dividend shares to buy this week
• 3 ASX shares that keep growing the dividend every year
• 3 little-known ASX dividend shares offering big income

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison owns shares of PACCURRENT FPO and RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED and Treasury Wine Estates 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 top ASX dividend shares to buy in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

It was a painful day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) as it fell around 2.4% to 6,673 points.

Reporting season has now finished for another six months, though there will be a few more over the next few weeks with businesses that don’t have December 2020 end dates for their reports.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX:

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price

The Afterpay share price fell by 11% today, it was one of the worst falls, but not the biggest.

Most of the ASX went into the red today, but Afterpay suffered heavily after returning to trade from its trading halt for its notes offering and the release of its FY21 half-year result.

Indeed, most of the buy now, pay later sector saw heavy declines today. The Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price fell by another 5%.

The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price finished 2.9% lower after reporting, though it had been down more than 10%. Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) also reported today, it saw a share price fall of 3.8%.

AMP Limited (ASX: AMP)

The best performer in the ASX 200 was AMP.

It announced that AMP and Ares Management intend to pursue a joint venture partnership for AMP Capital’s private markets businesses of infrastructure equity and infrastructure debt, real estate and other minority investments.

In the proposed transaction, Ares would acquire 60% of private markets and assume management control, with AMP retaining 40%. The two businesses are going to enter into a 30-day period of exclusivity, to work towards a binding transaction.

Ares will be acquiring its stake for $1.35 billion, valuing the whole private markets joint venture business at $2.25 billion. This values AMP Capital’s entire private markets business at up to $3.15 billion.

Orica Ltd (ASX: ORI)

The Orica share price has fallen 18% today, it was the worst performer in the ASX 200.

Today, the company announced that CEO and managing director Alberto Calderon will step down from his position after almost six years in the role. The new person in charge will be Sanjeev Gandhi, who is currently group executive and President of Australian Pacific Asia.

The company also gave a market update.

It said that a number of factors were going to reduce earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the first half of FY21.

Mining activity earnings is going to be reduced by between $70 million to $80 million because of the trade tension between Australia and China which is impacting demand for its higher margin Australian thermal coal market.

In the first half of FY21, demand for Orica’s products and services from affected mines is expected to be approximately 60 thousand tonnes of ammonium nitrate lower than the prior corresponding period.

COVID-19 is also causing difficulties with mine disruptions and closures in Colombia, Europe, Africa, Mexico and Indonesia.

Foreign exchange impacts are being observed by the strengthening Australian dollar, hurting earnings to the tune of $20 million to $25 million.

There are also additional items amounting to $15 million to $20 million because of further arbitration costs relating to the Barrup plant and additional SAP system stabilisation costs in the first half.

More reading

• Here are 3 ASX 200 diamonds in the spotlight while the market sank today
• The big themes from ASX reporting season
• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price has slumped 26% in 8 days
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now

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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post ASX 200 sinks 2.4%, Afterpay plunges, AMP jumps appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3uCnVt4

The PainChek Ltd (ASX: PCK) share price was among the few ASX shares that stayed in the green today, closing up 2.56% at 8 cents.

The share price increase came off the back of the company half-year report announced to the market yesterday. Let’s take a look.

Why did the Painchek share price rise today?

Shares in the small-cap rose as revenue jumped 40% to $2.08 million for the half-year ending 30 December 2020.

However, this does not fully represent how the company performed in the period. Looking deeper into the results, we can see that revenue from continuing operations fell 30% to $127,000. The majority of the group’s revenue was made up of research and development (R&D) and government grants.

As such, the company reported a net loss from operations for the half-year of $1.35 million.

PainChek continued to deliver sales growth in Australian residential aged care (RAC). Sales growth in the period resulted in total global licenses covering 71,318 beds, a 123% growth year on year (YoY). Furthermore, domestic sales reflected more than 30% of the Australian RAC.

Moreover, the company now has 884 aged care clients, growing 133% on the previous corresponding period. Forward-looking revenue equates to more than $3 million in annualised recurring revenue.

Looking ahead

PainChek aims to further develop its platform for use in new and larger healthcare market segments. The company said this was core to its business growth over the next 12 months.

In addition, the company has a number of products pending regulatory clearance. PainChek’s business strategy includes the release of an app for assessing pain in young children.

Having recently completed the app development and clinical validation work, the company is projecting Australian (TGA) and European (CE) mark regulatory clearances in the second quarter of the calendar year 2021.

Promisingly, its children’s app serves a potentially larger market than the adult app with a large hospital market and home care market opportunity.

More reading

• Here are 3 ASX 200 diamonds in the spotlight while the market sank today
• The Santos (ASX:STO) share price dips on stable credit rating
• Genworth Mortgage (ASX:GMA) share price slumps on $107 million loss
• Why the WhiteHawk (ASX:WHK) share price is crashing 8% lower
• Why the Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price fell today

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing 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 Painchek (ASX:PCK) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

It was a sea of red on the US markets last night, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX: .DJI) and Nasdaq Composite (INDEXNASDAQ: .IXIC) fell 1.75% and 3.52% respectively.

The catalyst for this selloff has been a swift rise in bond yields, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.

10-year Treasury notes broke into a 52-week high, creating pressure on equities. As often happens, the Australian market followed suit with its own selloff.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) plummeted 2.32% today, its biggest fall in 5 months.

3 ASX 200 shares shining today

Out of the ASX’s top 200 shares, only 36 of them finished in the green today. On days like today, it’s worth having a closer look at the performers and what might have given them that extra sparkle.

Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)

Eagers Automotive was a green needle in the red ASX200 haystack today. The automotive retailer gained 2.47% today, amounting to a 56% return in 12 months.

It’s no secret that car sales have been going gangbusters since the COVID-19 low last year. This was reflected in the company’s recent FY20 results, with statutory revenue increasing by 50.4% to $8,749.7 million. Despite the result, shares sold off 7.3% on the announcement.

However, today tells a different story as investors push the price higher. As excitement wanes in ASX 200 tech shares, bricks-and-mortar is catching some of the outflows.

Eagers is eager to drive an even stronger bricks-and-mortar approach in the future after the company announced its plan to start popping up in shopping centres near you.

Austal Limited (ASX: ASB)

The Australian shipbuilder and global defence contractor, Austal, propelled 3.04% higher today. Although, it hasn’t been all smooth sailings for this ASX 200 participant. Over the last year, Austal has sunk 38%.

A combination of mismanagement allegations and impacted revenues have circled the company in recent months.

The ship lost its captain when Austal’s US president resigned following the commissioning of an investigation. The investigations pertain to the write-back of work in progress (WIP) from a past program.

With all the panic of overvaluations today, investors may have found comfort in Austal’s price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 8.9. Compared to the broader ASX 200, this is a relatively low multiple, potentially indicating that the company is ‘cheap’.

Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

The Lynas Rare Earths’ share price gained 5.65% today. Lynas is a rare earth resource producer with operations in Malaysia. Today’s gain puts the ASX 200 member at a return of 219% in the last year.

So why all the exuberance today? The answer is mind-blowing first-half results. Revenue from operations increased by 12.4% to $202 million. But the truly bonkers metric is the company’s 944% growth in net profit – taking it $40.6 million.

Continued tensions with China have facilitated a favourable market for rare earths that can be sourced from elsewhere. Lynas also reinforced its ‘Lynas 2025 project’ in the results today. Using the $425 million raised during the half, the company expects to construct a new facility at Kalgoorlie.

More reading

• The big themes from ASX reporting season
• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone
• Growth outlook fails to save the Aristocrat share price today
• ASX 200 down 2.3%: Afterpay & Kogan sold off, Orica smashed, AMP pushes higher
• The Harvey Norman (ASX:HVN) share price slips despite soaring profits

Mitchell Lawler owns shares of Lynas Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Austal Limited. 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 are 3 ASX 200 diamonds in the spotlight while the market sank today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3son90w

The Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price slipped lower today despite the gas company providing an update on its credit rating. The Santos share price finished the day slightly in the red, down 1.3% to $7.23.

Let’s take a closer look at what Santos announced to the ASX market.

What did Santos announce?

The Santos share price ended the day mostly unscathed from the wider ASX market plunge that took hold today.

In its release, Santos advised that S&P Global Ratings (S&P) reaffirmed its BBB-credit rating with a stable outlook.

The report stated that S&P recognised Santos’ successful strategy in improving its portfolio resilience and diversifying its assets. This included the company determination in lowering unit production costs across its different class of assets.

In addition, the broker said that Santos increased its exposure to fixed-price gas volumes within the Australian market.

Santos took this measure to protect its balance sheet and shore up positive cash flows to fund its Barossa Project. The ratings agency expects the company to maintain its well-controlled operating model over the next 12 to 24 months.

Head of management comments

Santos managing director and CEO Kevin Gallagher commented on the company’s progress in overcoming volatile trading conditions. He said:

The confirmation from S&P of Santos’ BBB- (stable) rating is an outcome of the disciplined operating model we have implemented over the past five years, combined with our diversified asset portfolio making us more resilient through the oil price cycle.

About the Santos share price

In the past 12 months, the Santos share price fared relatively well despite being hit by COVID-19 woes. The company’s shares are up just above 3% from this time last year.

In the March 2020 market sell-off, its shares hit a multi-year low of $2.73 before rebounding in the later months.

At the current share price, Santos commands a market capitalisation of more than $15.1 billion.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• ASX investors watch out for a rise in interest rates in 2022
• 4 ASX hydrogen shares powering forward in 2021
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Monday

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 The Santos (ASX:STO) share price dips on stable credit rating appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2O71Sde

The Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia Ltd (ASX: GMA) share price took a pummelling today. Shares in the lender’s mortgage insurance provider opened at $2.50 – compared to yesterday’s close of $2.68 — and sunk as low as $2.44 in early trade. The Genworth share price made a small recovery in afternoon trading to close the day at $2.58.

The losses come off the back of the company’s publication of its 2020 annual report.

Why the Genworth share price is tanking

Genworth Mortgage haemorrhaged a $107.6 million loss for the 2020 calendar year. To understand the magnitude of that number, in the prior corresponding period (pcp) Genworth made $120 million profit.

In a glimmer of good news, the net earned premium of the mortgage insurance broker was up on the pcp ($312 million versus $298 million). However, this was overwhelmed by the company’s operating expenses.

Net claims incurred were up 92.6% on the pcp (from $150.8 million to $289.8 million). Acquisition costs were up 319% on the pcp (from $46.9 million to $196.2 million). All up the underwriting result went from $42.1 million in the black to $234 million in the red.

Further compounding Genworth’s misery, investment income on assets backing insurance liabilities was down $6 million on the pcp. As well, investment income on equity holders’ funds collapsed by $43 million.

Earnings per share (EPS) went from 28.6 cents per share in 2019 to a loss of 26.1 cents per share in 2020.

Unsurprisingly, the company did not pay a dividend in the calendar year.

Why did it all go so wrong for Genworth in 2020?

According to Chair Ian MacDonald, the blame lies squarely on the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Genworth’s 2020 financial performance was materially impacted by the effects of COVID-19 on the economy, that led to increased reserving for anticipated future claims outcomes contributing to a full-year Statutory NPAT [net profits after tax] loss of $107.6 million.”

He added:

“As at 31 December 2020, Genworth’s regulatory solvency ratio was 1.65 times the Prescribed Capital Amount…representing surplus capital of $203.2 million above the top end of the range.”

According to the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, from May to December 2020, the gross value of loan deferrals totalled $156 billion. Housing loan deferral rates peaked at 11% in May 2020.

Genworth’s share price snapshot

Although investors offloaded Genworth’s shares en masse today, the stock has been trending upward over the last 6 months.

At one point the Genworth share price was trading at an all-time low of $1.33 in September 2020 – in the midst of the harsh Victorian lockdown.

More reading

• Why the Genworth (ASX:GMA) share price is tumbling 6% today
• The Genworth Mortgage (ASX:GMA) share price smashed 14% higher today

Motley Fool contributor Marc Sidarous 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 Genworth Mortgage (ASX:GMA) share price slumps on $107 million loss appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The WhiteHawk Ltd (ASX: WHK) share price crashed lower today as the company announced its preliminary final report.

Shares in the online cybersecurity small-cap were down 7.69%, trading at 30 cents at market close.

Why is the WhiteHawk share price crashing lower?

Shares in the company were trading lower today amid the ASX market-wide sell-off. The fall in WhiteHawk share price may also have been triggered by the company’s report for the year ended 31 December 2020.

During the year, WhiteHawk invoiced for US$2.1 million, recognising US$1.9 million revenue for 2020. This was up 83.5% on the company’s revenue for 2019. However, the increase was not enough to stop the company from posting a loss of US$1.81 million, down 34.2% on the previous corresponding period.

During the 2020 calendar year, WhiteHawk also executed a number of important contracts. Notably with the United States Department of Homeland Security for US1.5 to $1.8 million, starting in October last year.

Furthermore, the company continued its transition to produce a cybersecurity exchange as a tailorable platform as a service (PaaS).  On this front, the company formed an initial partnership with a global insurance group and requested a quote from a US manufacturer association.

WhiteHawk finished 2020 with a cash balance of $2.4 million without any debt.

Outlook

Looking ahead, the company stated that it was strategically positioned for continued growth in 2021.

WhiteHawk is working on growing revenue through two primary paths.

As mentioned, PaaS enables users to manage cyber threats. The other stream will come from the company’s embedded SaaS offering. This aims to prevent financial fraud, identity theft and mobile device security among other things.

On the sales front, the company claims to have 40 ongoing engagements in the pipeline, of which 5 to 10 should be executed this year.

About the WhiteHawk share price

WhiteHawk recently underwent the due diligence to become an ESG (environment, social, governance) registered company. This is a new standard in measuring the sustainability and ethical impact that a company makes.

The WhiteHawk share price has performed well in the last year, gaining 408%.

More reading

• Why the Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price fell today
• Pentanet (ASX:5GG) share price falls despite strong gaming interest
• Some of my best gains last year were invisible
• The big themes from ASX reporting season
• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing 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 WhiteHawk (ASX:WHK) share price is crashing 8% lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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

The Immuron Ltd (ASX: IMC) share price closed over 4.4% lower today at 22 cents a share.

The slide follows the release of the biotechnology company’s half-year (1H21) results for the period ended 31 December 2020.

Let’s take a closer look at how Immuron has been performing recently.

What did Immuron report?

The company reported a 98.7% revenue crash for the period, with 1H21 revenue coming in at $20,000.

Immuron incurred a $5.7 million loss for the period, which was 277.2% greater than the $1.5 million loss of 1H20.

Compared to 30 June 2020, the group’s net assets increased from $5.6 million to $28.5 million as of 31 December 2020. Cash reserves also increased over this period from $3.3 million to $26.4 million.

The business received $358,280 during the period via the government’s research and development (R&D) income tax concession program.

The Immuron share price lost 2.6 cents a share for the 1H21 period, versus a loss of 9 cents a share for 1H20.

Clinical progress and updates

Immuron’s focus is the development and sale of oral immunotherapeutics to prevent and treat unmet medical needs. The company’s orally active polyclonal antibodies provide a targeted delivery inside the gastrointestinal tract so they do not cross into the bloodstream

The company advised that it continued to progress a number of clinical developments during the 1H21 period. 

Some milestones reached include receiving written guidance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in relation to a new drug the company is developing, completing a successful vaccination campaign, and executing a research agreement with Monash University.

Immuron also recommenced its Travelan US registration strategy. Travelan is an over-the-counter supplement that can be taken to reduce the risk of travellers’ diarrhoea. The company notes that the coronavirus has significantly disrupted international travel throughout the world. According to Immuron, COVID continues to impact every Travelan market.

Immuron share price snapshot

The Immuron share price has gained 60.7% over the previous year, however, it’s fallen 29.7% over the past 6 month period.

The company’s market capitalisation is approximately $51.1 million and there are 227.2 million shares outstanding.

More reading

• Pentanet (ASX:5GG) share price falls despite strong gaming interest
• Some of my best gains last year were invisible
• The big themes from ASX reporting season
• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price great value?

Motley Fool contributor Gretchen Kennedy 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 Immuron (ASX:IMC) share price fell today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/3uz31L9

The Pentanet Ltd (ASX:5GG) share price is falling in late afternoon trade despite announcing a positive update to the market. At the time of writing, the Pentanet share price is down 2.34% to 62.5 cents.

What’s driving the Pentanet share price?

The Pentanet share price is backtracking today, perhaps as a result of the heavy sell-off in the ASX market.

In its release, Pentanet advised it has received strong market interest in the Australian launch of GeForce Now – NVIDIA’s flagship cloud-based game streaming service.

The company launched an expression of interest to gauge potential market demand for gaming services late last month. Future GeForce Now users completed online registrations to receive an invitation to the Beta program.

So far, Pentanet has recorded more than 24,300 registered gamers, greatly exceeding early interest expectations for the upcoming new service. The company said the demand further validated its business case to ramp up its launch plans.

Due to the strong registration response, Pentanet upped its hardware order with NVIDIA from 12 to 18 RTX game servers. The order value is estimated to be around $3.2 million.

Once received, the company will split up and send the servers to Perth or Sydney.

In addition, Pentanet is targeting the rollout of GeForce Now beta in Australia sometime this year, followed by a commercial launch. Pricing for the service is yet to be determined and will be announced at a later date.

The beta program will give the company further insights on usage patterns, and how many users the server can support. This will allow for improvements to ensure a smooth transition to its commercial launch.

A quick take on Pentanet

Based in Perth, Western Australia, Pentanet is a telecommunications carrier and internet service provider (ISP). The company delivers high-speed internet services through its own NBN, LBN and private fixed-wireless network.

In the Perth metro area alone, Pentanet covers more than 80% of customers who require next-generation internet needs.

More recently, the company is seeking to expand in the cloud gaming market through a subscription-based entertainment service. Pentanet signed an alliance agreement with NVIDIA to use its GeForce Now technology throughout Australia.

Management comments

Pentanet managing director Stephen Cornish welcomed the registration response, saying:

We are encouraged by the very strong interest in GeForce NOW and now have a very clear indication from market demand that Australian gamers appear to understand and support the service, mirroring the strong demand also seen overseas.

As someone who grew up playing video games, I am proud to be championing the next generation of gaming service into Australia, and I am looking forward to demonstrating both the power of this technology and its ability to shift the gaming market.

Since listing at the end of last month, the Pentanet share price has risen 4.2%.

More reading

• Some of my best gains last year were invisible
• The big themes from ASX reporting season
• Why this ASX tech ETF is in the buy zone
• Is the Qantas (ASX:QAN) share price great value?
• The Zip (ASX:Z1P) share price has slumped 26% in 8 days

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 Pentanet (ASX:5GG) share price falls despite strong gaming interest appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

from The Motley Fool Australia https://ift.tt/2ZRt0zn