Tag: Motley Fool

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) and three other companies, is famous for many things. Flamethrowers, shooting rockets (and cars) into space, smoking cannabis on-air during a podcast, or just tweeting rather random things all the time… Mr. Musk certainly knows how to capture the spotlight.

More recently, Musk has managed to add another feather to his cap. The title of ‘world’s richest person’. As recently as a year ago, it was unthinkable that anyone could dislodge Amazon.com Inc‘s (NASDAQ: AMZN) Jeff Bezos from this perch. But due to a staggering surge in the Tesla stock price over the past year, Musk managed to topple Bezos last month.

However, Musk has just lost that coveted title once again.

Musk gets a Tesla-driven downgrade

According to reporting in the Australian Financial Review (AFR) today, Musk lost a staggering US$15.2 billion ($19.2 billion) in net worth… just this week. That was largely a result of Tesla’s stock price falling to its lowest level yet in 2021 so far. Tesla has fallen more than 10% over the past week. Tesla is now roughly 20% below the company’s 52-week high of US$900 a share that was hit back in late January.

The volatility we are seeing in the price of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) also isn’t helping. Tesla made headlines a few weeks ago by purchasing more than US$1.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency on its balance sheet. Bitcoin has fallen around 10% over the past week. Although it remains at a higher level than when Tesla announced its purchase.

Despite Musk’s new place as the ‘silver medallist’ of the world’s richest people, I’m sure he won’t be too bothered. The AFR reports that his net wealth is still sitting at around US$183.4 billion. Although that’s a ways away from his wealth peak of US$210 billion in January, it’s only a touch behind Mr Bezos at US$186.3 billion.

Also assisting Musk’s massive wealth accumulation over the past year has been the recent re-valuation of one of Musk’s other (private) companies – SpaceX. According to the AFR, SpaceX is now valued at roughly US$74 billion after a recent $850 million capital raise. That’s a 60% increase since last August.

In addition to Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk also heads The Boring Company, as well as Neuralink (both private). The Boring Company is aiming to develop futuristic solutions to traffic congestion, mostly in California. It’s also the company behind Musk’s flamethrower line. Neuralink is an artificial intelligence company that is aiming to develop ways to connect the human brain to computers.

More reading

• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: ASX lower despite bumper dividends
• Amazon buying AMC isn’t as crazy as you think
• Why Tesla and Peloton Interactive led the Nasdaq lower Wednesday
• Bitcoin hits record high: Why Saxo says the cryptocurrency is here to stay
• Why the Fatfish (ASX:FFG) share price is diving 21% today

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Bitcoin and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Bitcoin and recommends the following options: long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon and short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Think Childcare Ltd (ASX: TNK) share price is currently up 7% after the company announced its FY20 result and told investors that it had beaten its guidance.

Think Childcare is one of the largest childcare operators in the country.

FY20 result impresses

Think Childcare’s group underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $26.8 million was an increase of 89% compared to the prior corresponding period. It was actually 7% better than the guidance range it had previously given of $24 million to $25 million.

The company boasted that this result demonstrated significant momentum as it continues to execute on its strategy as Australia’s leading provider of premium childcare services to suburban families.

Management said that there has been a solid rebound in occupancy driven by recovery in existing enrolments and new enrolments. The enrolled occupancy peaked at 79%, with the attendance occupancy reaching 73%.

The business said that there has been a significant return from its marketing investment during the COVID-19 period with 43% of total enrolments being new at 31 December 2020.

Think Childcare said it recorded $30.1 million of underlying EBITDA in the 2020 calendar year, which was up 104% year on year, with an expected similar result in the 2021 year despite approximately $4 million of increased of corporate costs in the current year to support future growth.

The company finished with $22.9 million of cash at 31 December 2020.

Think Childcare dividend

The childcare business’ dividend for 2020 was 12 cents per share, representing a 30% cut compared to 2019.

Think Childcare share price

Over the last year, the Think Childcare share price is up 66% as it recovered from COVID-19 impacts. Since the start of September 2020, the Think Childcare share price is up 173%.

2021 Outlook

The childcare business said that the 2021 occupancy has started ahead of 2020 by 2%, driven largely by its incubation strategy. That’s a business called Think Childcare Development (TND) which is the largest developer of purpose-built leasehold childcare services to meet the Nido brand requirements.

TND builds up a childcare business before selling it to Think Childcare at a 75% occupancy rate at a valuation of around 4 times EBITDA. It has a pipeline of 26 leasehold sites to be developed over the next two to two and a half years. There are currently 10 new services that are in ‘trade-up’. Management believe this unique model eliminates business transition risk. This pipeline will generate $25 million of service-based EBITDA within three years.

Enrolments for the first eight weeks of 2021 are ahead of the same time as last year.

It expects to generate $26 million of underlying EBITDA in the current financial year.  That includes an investment of $2.4 million in new roles and the $1.6 million in the annualised impact of roles added in the 2020 calendar year to support future growth which will be subject to ongoing monitoring of trading performance.

More reading

• Why the Mayne Pharma (ASX:MYX) share price is dropping 5% today
• Why the Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) share price is up 5% today
• ASX cheats offered immunity… with one catch
• Here’s why the SeaLink (ASX:SLK) share price is shooting 17% higher
• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price down despite recording 10th consecutive net profit

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison 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 Mayne Pharma Group Ltd (ASX: MYX) share price is falling today after the specialty pharmaceutical company provided its slumping half-year results.

Despite the company launching new products and expanding its portfolio, Mayne Pharma’s revenue fell slightly, and losses increased. Shareholders are clearly disappointed today with the result, as the shares are down 5% to 29.5 cents a share.

What’s moving the Mayne Pharma share price?

It was very much a mixed bag of results for the pharmaceutical company. This was the case for all Mayne Pharma’s various operating divisions, including the Speciality Products Division (SPD), Metrics Contract Services (MCS), Generic Products Division (GPD), and Mayne Pharma International (MPI).

Specialty product sales were down 6% on the first half of FY20 but improved by 32% compared to the last half. The company’s generic product division suffered falling sales in the half. Gross profit for the GPD segment came in at US$27.5 million, a decline of 12% from last year. GPD performance was impacted by a continuation in price competitiveness across the portfolio.

On a more positive note, Mayne benefitted from an increase in its MPI segment. Sales increased by 10% compared to FY19, equating to $21.3 million. Gross profit for the segment also greatly improved to $6.9 million, an increase of 38% on the prior corresponding period (pcp). This improvement is a result of additional contract development projects and an increase in manufacturing revenues.

Mayne Pharma’s total revenue came in at A$209 million (down 8%) while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) finished at $39.9 million (down 16%) for the half. Net loss after tax crumpled to a stark $181.3 million, compared to a loss of $18.2 million the prior year.

Impacts and accounting

Mayne Pharma’s CEO, Scott Richards, provided further details for the impacted results. A continued weakening of the US dollar and lingering challenges of COVID-19 are partly to blame for softer generic sales. Mr Richards further stated:

We continued to deliver substantial cost savings across the business with operating and gross development spend down $19m versus the pcp and have delivered a solid cashflow result that enabled net debt to be reduced by $40m. At the bottom line, the net loss after tax was impacted by a non-cash intangible asset impairment of the generic portfolio.

Mayne Pharma’s non-cash intangible impairments realised consisted of the following:

• An increase of $2.6m for capitalised development costs
• An increase of $3.3m for other intangible asset additions
• A decrease of $23.4m for specific impairments
• Notably, a decrease of $191.1m for CGU impairments
• A decrease of $28.3m for amortisation
• A decrease of $82.0m due to foreign currency translation with the AUD / USD exchange rate decreasing from 0.6877 on 30 June 2020to 0.7708at31 December 2020.

Mayne has several pharmaceutical products awaiting approvals from the FDA, TGA, etc. Management advised that future performance would depend on influential factors such as the US dollar, approvals, and competitors.

The Mayne Pharma share price has fallen 9.2% in the last 12 months. Placing the pharmaceutical company at a market capitalisation of $520 million.

More reading

• Why the Viva Energy (ASX:VEA) share price is up 5% today
• ASX cheats offered immunity… with one catch
• Here’s why the SeaLink (ASX:SLK) share price is shooting 17% higher
• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price down despite recording 10th consecutive net profit
• Why the AMA Group (ASX:AMA) share price has crashed 7% today

Motley Fool contributor Mitchell Lawler 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 Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX: VEA) share price is on the move today, rising 5.12% at the time of writing to $1.74 a share.

The catalyst for this healthy bump is Viva’s earnings report for the 2020 calendar year that was released this morning.

Viva is an energy company (as you might have gathered) that operates a fuel refinery in Geelong, Victoria. This refinery is one of only four in Australia and supplies more than 10% of Australia’s fuel needs.

The company is the exclusive supplier of fuels and oils to the Shell chain of service stations around the country. Viva also manufactures other petroleum products such as bitumen, paint, adhesives and industrial chemicals.

What did Viva Energy report this morning?

It was a mixed bag from Viva this morning. The company reported sales volumes of 12.34 billion litres, down 16% from 2019’s 14.7 billion litres.

That lead to group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $519.4 million, down 19.4% on 2019’s $644.5 million. Most of that fall came from Viva’s refining business, which saw earnings drop from $117 million in 2019 to a loss of $95.1 million.

Non-refining EBITDA (as the group was happy to point out) grew 16.5% from 2019’s $527.9 million to $614.5 million in 2020. Retail earnings delivered the bulk of that growth, rising 18.9% to $670.8 million.

Overall, Viva delivered a net profit after tax (NPAT) loss of $35.9 million, down from the profit of $135.8 million that it delivered in 2019.

The company highlighted that its divestment of a 35.5% stake in Waypoint REIT Ltd (ASX: WPR) earned a “significant one-off gain” of $179.23 million.

Viva also announced that the company would not pay a dividend for the 6 months to 31 December 2020. That is consistent with Viva’s dividend policy, seeing as the company posted a net loss for the year. Even so, Viva points out that it still returned $595 million to shareholders over the year. This included the interim dividend, special dividend, capital return and share buyback program.

Looking forward

Viva CEO Scott Wyatt has this to say on the company’s results and its future plans:

While the refining business was impacted by the substantial decline in both domestic and global oil demand, the actions taken to maintain production and bring forward major maintenance helped to mitigate losses… the refining outlook remains challenging given the longer-term impact to global oil demand from the pandemic.

Overall, the group has performed well during 2020 given the difficult trading conditions. The non-refining businesses have delivered significant growth over the prior year, and while the group results have been impacted heavily by the global weakness in the refining sector, we took steps to minimise the cash impacts from this event and worked closely with Government to improve the longer-term outlook.

The group has returned the bulk of proceeds from the divestment in Viva Energy REIT to shareholders and retains a strong balance sheet and underlying fundamentals to recover from the direct impacts of COVID-19 and pursue growth as it begins to return in 2021.

Going off the Viva Energy share price performance today, investors seem to be on board.

More reading

• ASX cheats offered immunity… with one catch
• Here’s why the SeaLink (ASX:SLK) share price is shooting 17% higher
• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price down despite recording 10th consecutive net profit
• Why the AMA Group (ASX:AMA) share price has crashed 7% today
• Why is the Helloworld (ASX:HLO) share price slipping today?

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen 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 corporate watchdog will now offer immunity from prosecution for people who have manipulated the stock market.

On Wednesday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) revealed its new immunity policy.

The new rules indicate that if certain criteria are met, those who conspired with others to breach the Corporations Act can apply for both criminal and civil immunity.

Such breaches can include serious share market offences like insider trading, market manipulation and dishonest conduct.

Those offences can attract up to 15 years in jail, a fine of $1 million or a penalty of 3 times the benefit derived from the crime.

“The Immunity Policy enhances ASIC’s ability to identify and take enforcement action against complex markets and financial services contraventions,” ASIC commissioner Sean Hughes said.

Applications can only be made by people, not corporations.

What’s the catch?

The biggest condition is that the person must be the first applicant who meets all the immunity criteria and reports the misconduct to ASIC before any investigation has started.

The immunity also doesn’t shield the applicant from any administrative (such as a ban on running companies) or compensation orders.

“Individuals who do not meet the criteria for immunity are still encouraged to cooperate with ASIC and will be given due credit for any cooperation received,” stated the commission.

“Any cooperation provided by an individual will be considered in determining whether to take administrative action against the individual.”

Share market offences are hard to convict

The immunity offer has been introduced to catch more cases of share market manipulation. Crimes such as insider trading and market manipulation are notoriously difficult to detect and prove in court. 

However, ASIC has had some wins in recent months.

Just this month, The Motley Fool reported a director of the company now called Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) was sentenced to 12 months’ jail for illegally pumping up the share price.

A series of WhatsApp messages between Ananda Kathiravelu and alleged co-conspirator Ariel Malik showed the court they commissioned a third party to buy up shares immediately before a capital raising round.

In September, a former director of the company now known as Nova Minerals Ltd (ASX: NVA) and an alleged collaborator faced 10 years’ prison on charges of insider trading.

Don George Evans was accused of buying up 1.5 million shares in 2015 with non-public information about plans for a reverse-merger with a technology firm.

More reading

• ASX exec sentenced to jail for WhatsApp market manipulation

Motley Fool contributor Tony Yoo 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 market may be sinking lower but that hasn’t stopped the SeaLink Travel Group Ltd (ASX: SLK) share price from racing to a record high today.

In afternoon trade the travel and transport company’s shares are up 14% to $8.03.

At one stage, the SeaLink share price was up as much as 17% to $8.25

Why is the SeaLink share price racing higher today?

Investors have been buying SeaLink shares today following the release of an impressive half year result.

For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported record revenue of $570.8 million. This was up a massive 329.5% on prior corresponding period.

A key driver of this growth was the transformational acquisition of the Transit Systems Group. That $635 million acquisition completed in January 2020 and therefore wasn’t included in the prior corresponding period.

On the bottom line, SeaLink delivered a 231.9% increase in underlying net profit after tax and before amortisation to $48.1 million.

However, due to the dilution caused by its capital raising, the company’s earnings per share grew by a slower (but rapid) rate of 100% to 14.6 cents.

This allowed the SeaLink board to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 7 cents per share, which is up 7.7% on the prior corresponding period.

Management commentary

SeaLink’s CEO, Clint Feuerherdt, feels that this result demonstrates the strength and resilience of the business through diversification.

He commented: “We were able to successfully navigate our way through this period by working closely with our state government clients, staff and customers. It was pleasing that all Australian bus operations and services continued at full scheduled timetables in all states during the period and this is reflected in the trading results.”

Mr Feuerherdt revealed that it was a similar story in the UK market. Pleasingly, the lockdown has not impacted its services.

“In London, the six-month period has been dominated by the context created by the continuing effects of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom, which ended the half-year with another national lockdown as a new strain of the virus emerged. Despite this, services continue to operate and operational performance is being maintained.”

Outlook

While trading conditions remain challenging, management appears optimistic on the company’s prospects.

It said: “The future outlook for SeaLink is bright with our solid base of diversified businesses across Australia in the public bus, light rail and marine transport, tourism and accommodation sectors.”

It also notes that “some of the structural cost base changes and scheduling efficiencies that were pursued through the first COVID-19 impact period will remain and be an ongoing benefit to the business.”

Finally, SeaLink isn’t ruling out further acquisitions in the future.

It concluded: “We continue to review and pursue opportunities that enhance, leverage and complement our core strengths. Mergers and acquisition activity is a possibility as markets are constantly being evaluated.”

No guidance has been given for the full year but current trading results are slightly ahead of expectations.

More reading

• Why Bega, Blackmores, IDP Education, & SeaLink shares are zooming higher

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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Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX: CUV) announced its tenth consecutive half-year profit today.  Despite this news, at the time of writing, the Cinuvel share price was down 0.6% to $19.92.

We take a closer look at the announcement and what this means for the Clinuvel share price.

Clinuvel records tenth consecutive half-year profit

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals released its half-yearly report earlier today.

The company’s report highlighted Clinuvel recording its tenth consecutive half-year profit. For the 6 months ending 31 December, Clinuvel saw net profit after tax (NPAT) soar 962%. Leading to a record $6.5 million.

The company also reported improved revenue for the half-year of $15.743 million, 58% higher from the prior corresponding period.

For the first-half of FY21, Clinuvel also saw positive earnings per share of 13.3 cents per share. This marked a 956% increase from the same period last year.

In addition, the company noted a strong balance sheet with no debt and $78 million in cash. Despite the strong equity position, Clinuvel did not declare an interim dividend.

Chief financial officer, Darren Kenny, noted that “The company is in a sound financial position to continue to grow and fund its expansion. We are investing in our R&D and clinical programs and progressing our evolution into a diversified pharmaceutical company”.

What fuelled the record profit?

Despite global economic uncertainty under the COVID-19 pandemic, Clinuvel recorded strong commercial sales for the first half of FY21.

On a constant currency basis, Clinuvel recorded an 87% increase in revenue from the distribution of its flagship SCENESSE product. The company attributed the lift to commercial sales in the US, earlier ordering, and new patients.

Clinuvel’s management also cited the company’s efficient business model for the strong half-year result.

The company also highlighted additional clinical development plans for SCENESSE, with 2 new clinical programs. The expansion follows the company’s recent announcement earlier this month, which saw SCENESSE added to the Israeli ‘National Health Basket’ (NHB).

How has the Clinuvel share price responded?

Clinuvel is a global biopharmaceuticals company that develops drugs designed for the treatment of severe genetic and developmental skin disorders. The company’s flagship Scenesse drug is designed to prevent phototoxicity in patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). 

The Clinuvel share price was trading around 4% higher today, hitting an intra-day high of $20.88.

More reading

• Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price pinches down after Israeli breakthrough
• The Clinuvel (ASX:CUV) share price is dipping today

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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AMA Group Ltd (ASX: AMA) shares have plunged today following the release of the smash repairer’s half-yearly results for FY21.

At the time of writing, the AMA share price is trading at 65 cents, down 7.14% on yesterday’s close.

What’s weighing on the AMA share price today?

The autobody repairer announced a net profit of $4.6 million for the half-year ending 31 December. This compares to a $12.1 million loss for the prior corresponding period (pcp).

While the results look promising, they come off the back of $14.2 million net profit from the one-off sale of the ACAD and Fully Equipped businesses. The company also received $28.4 million from the Australian and New Zealand governments’ wage subsidy programs.

Employee expenses for the company were down only $2.4 million on the pcp. Without the wage subsidies, employee expenses would have been up $26 million.

At the same time revenue from continuing operations was up $71 million on the pcp for a total of $435 million.

COVID-19’s impact on AMA

The company attributed its result to the “challenging market conditions” of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“[Government] restrictions affected one of the key external drivers of our business, kilometres travelled.” AMA Group highlighted the Victorian lockdown in particular as a financial hindrance.

Post-lockdowns, however, the company said it believed it had benefitted from the restrictions, stating:

“The Group benefited from the preference to use private transport over public transport and the shift to domestic driving holidays as opposed to international travel.”

In a presentation to investors, AMA did warn that the prospect of state-border closures and higher working from home rates could adversely impact the business.  At the same time, the presentation outlined its belief that the vaccine rollout could “hasten the return to normal”.

AMA’s feud with former CEO

Andrew Hopkins resigned as CEO of AMA Group on 31 January 2021, effective immediately. The resignation followed the company’s board of directors receiving a report in relation to allegations made by an employee of the company. It is unclear if Hopkins was the subject of the report.

The company is pursuing Hopkins for a total of $2.4 million of reimbursement – comprised of a $1 million bonus and $1.4 million employee loan. The company claims it has not received a single cent back from Hopkins as of the release of the report.

Carl Bizon was appointed as the new CEO on 1 February.

Future outlook

On 5 February AMA Group acquired truck repairer National Central. The company stated the purchase aligned with its “strategic direction of expanding into the heavy vehicle collision repair industry.”

According to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), total car sales were down 13.7% in calendar year 2020 compared to 2019. FCAI attributed the decline to the economic downturn caused by the COVID pandemic. However, vehicle industry analytics platform Datium Insights expects an uptick in car sales this calendar year, which could bode well for shares like AMA Group.

The company is also forecasting an increase in turnover due to the La Niña weather phenomena, as wetter driving conditions increases the likelihood of accidents on the road.

The AMA share price is down more than 20% in 2021. On current prices, the company has a market capitalisation of $519 million.

More reading

• These ASX shares are helping this fund manager smash the market
• AMA (ASX:AMA) share price rises as former CEO chased for $1 million
• Here’s why the AMA (ASX:AMA) share price is crashing lower 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.

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The Helloworld Travel Ltd (ASX: HLO) share price is slipping today, down 2.6% in afternoon trade. At the time of writing, the Helloworld share price seems to have recovered slightly, sitting at $2.30, down 2.13%.

We take a look at the ASX travel share’s financial results for the half-year ending 31 October (H1 FY21).

What financial results did Helloworld report for H1 FY21?

The Helloworld share price is slipping today after the company reported an 85.2% decline in revenue year-on-year, with revenue of $29.6 million down from $200 million.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at a loss of $6.5 million. This is significant compared to a positive EBITDA of $48.6 million in H1 FY20.

The company reported a loss after tax of $21.5 million. This was well down from the profit after tax of $32.9 million in the prior corresponding period (PCP). Earnings per share (EPS) were negative 9.8 cents, down 154% year-on-year.

Historically a reliable dividend payer, Helloworld will not pay an interim dividend on the half-year.

Indeed, it is a difficult situation facing the travel industry. Helloworld sold, downsized, or temporarily shuttered a number of its businesses during the half-year. That includes operations in Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, Shanghai and other centres.

The company reported that it is continuing to invest in technologies in its key business divisions.

Continuing uncertainty around national and international border restrictions and travel bans due to the COVID pandemic prevented Helloworld from providing guidance for the full 2021 financial year.

The company did reveal it expects to continue to incur cash losses of around $1.0–1.5 million per month for the next 6 months. It forecasts moving to a “modest profit” in the first half of the 2022 financial year. This comes as the company reports that it has enough liquidity to remain operational beyond the end of 2022. A prediction based on its current liquidity levels and cash burn rate.

Share price snapshot

Like all ASX travel-related shares, Helloworld’s share price was savaged during the COVID-fuelled market selloff last year, plummeting more than 83%. While shares have rebounded strongly from late March 2020, the share price remains down 43% over the past 12 months. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.2% for that same time.

Year-to-date the Helloworld share price is down 10%.

More reading

• Share prices of travel shares soar, Corporate Travel (ASX:CTD) and Webjet (ASX:WEB) report

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 Helloworld Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Helloworld 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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Carbon Revolution Ltd (ASX: CBR) shares are falling today after the wheel manufacturer released its FY21 first-half (1H21) results this morning. In mid-afternoon trade, the Carbon Revolution share price has slumped 4.18% to $2.29.

Here’s a wrap of how the company has been performing.

Carbon Revolution results brief

The Carbon Revolution share price is trending lower after the company reported a 14% reduction in revenue for 1H21. Revenue for the period totalled $17.2 million.

Wheel sales dropped from $18.4 million in 1H20 to $16.6 million in 1H21.

As a result of poor sales activities, Carbon Revolution incurred a net loss of $14.8 million for 1H21, which was an improvement on the $98.6 million loss posted for 1H20.

Earnings per share (EPS) were negative 10 cents for 1H21, an improvement compared to the negative $1.55 EPS of the prior corresponding half.

The company’s total assets dropped from $141.7 million in 1H20 to $121.6 million in 1H21. Cash and cash equivalents took a nasty hit, falling from $33.9 million in 1H20 to $15.4 million in 1H21.

In further news driving the Carbon Revolution share price lower, the company did not declare an interim dividend.

Carbon Revolution advised that it is in the process of finalising a new $7.5 million working capital facility.

CEO comments

Carbon Revolution CEO Jake Dingle said that, despite enduring the impacts of coronavirus during the period, he believes the business still reached significant milestones.

Talking about current projects underway, Dingle commented:

The newly developed fascia technology has been commercialised which has dramatically simplified wheel production, driving a reduction in labour cost per wheel and increasing product quality.

The industrialisation program has seen the addition of high-pressure moulding capacity, automated face lay-up conveyor line, multi head fibre placement machine and a second thermal barrier coating cell. These automated manufacturing processes combine advanced physical and digital technologies and are the key building blocks of the Mega-line program.

In conclusion, the business stated that although there are still uncertainties stemming from COVID-19, it expects strong sales growth during the remainder of FY21.

Carbon Revolution share price snapshot

Carbon Revolution designs, manufactures and markets single-piece carbon fibre wheels.

Over the past year, the Carbon Revolution share price has fallen by more than 40%.

Based on the current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $339 million with 136 million shares outstanding.

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Gretchen Kennedy owns shares of Carbon Revolution Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Carbon Revolution Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Carbon Revolution Limited. 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 Carbon Revolution (ASX:CBR) share price is sliding appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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