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  • Novatti (ASX: NOV) share price hits new record high. Here’s why

    share market high, all time high, percentages increasing with red arrow, asx 200

    The Novatti Group Ltd (ASX: NOV) share price is on the rise again today. Novatti shares closed at 44 cents each yesterday. However, they opened at 48 cents this morning and rose all the way to a high of 53 cents. That’s a new record for the company. It was a rise of more than 10% at the time. At the time of writing, Novatti shares are trading for 48 cents each, a rise of 6.59%.

    Novatti has been in the news recently. Incredibly, the Novatti share price is now up 94% in less than a month. In fact, Novatti was a recipient of an ASX speeding ticket last week when its share price rocketed 38% in one day. At the time, the company claimed it had no idea why its shares were on fire.

    But in terms of today’s moves, the picture is far clearer.

    Novatti announced this morning that a new product is launching that contains Novatti’s technology.

    Lifepay to launch in March

    This morning before market open, Novatti announced that Lifepay, a “new, innovative fintech platform”, would be launching. Lifepay’s platform will be run by Lifepay Pty Ltd. Lifepay Pty Ltd is a private company that Novatti has a 25% stake in. According to Novatti, a recent funding round, which Novatti participated in, values Lifepay Pty Ltd at $5.125 million.

    Lifepay is a platform that enables its users to manage personal finances and transactions. Customers of Lifepay can do this “simply and effectively” from their mobile device. The platform’s services include digital banking (with access to a pre-paid debit card). Additionally, the platform offers payments using services like BPay or tap and go. It also offers a social dimension, enabling easy funds transfers between friends and family.

    According to Novatti, the Lifepay launch is initially being restricted to a ‘soft launch’, with around 200 customers. The full launch is expected to take place “for early March 2021”.

    How will Lifepay benefit Novatti?

    Novatti is set to benefit from this Lifepay platform in a number of ways. Aside from its stake in Lifepay itself, the company tells us that Novatti will, “earn fees from activity on the Lifepay platform, including compliance services, cross border payments, payment acquiring, and the issuing of Visa Prepaid cards, depending on take-up of the service”.

    Novatti’s Managing Director, Peter Cook, had the following to say on the deal:

    Novatti’s strategy has been to develop a digital banking and payments ecosystem that enables innovative products to leverage Novatti’s existing platforms to get to market quickly. This strategy also enables Novatti’s platform to scale quickly, providing customer acquisition and value-add channels for our existing businesses, extending our reach into the B2C market, while generating high-margin revenues. The launch of Lifepay is an example of Novatti’s ecosystem at play and highlights Novatti’s broader shift from a development to a monetisation phase for its digital banking and payments platform.

    Judging by the moves in the Novatti share price today, it seems investors have given this deal their blessing.

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    Sebastian Bowen owns shares of Visa. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Visa. 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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  • Why the Scentre (ASX:SCG) share price is on a rollercoaster today

    asx share price rollercoaster represented by rollercoaster on share chart

    Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) shares are all over the show today following the company’s release of its full-year results. The Scentre share price opened lower this morning at $2.83 before popping up to $2.92. This was followed by another stint in the red before rising to its current level (at the time of writing) of $2.88, up 0.17% for the day so far.

    Here’s how the Westfield operator performed for the 12 month period ended 31 December 2020 (FY20).

    Summary of Scentre’s 2020 results

    Scentre reported a statutory loss for FY20 totalling $3.7 billion compared to an FY19 statutory profit of $1.8 billion.

    The company noted that its property valuation for FY20 dropped by $4.3 billion.

    Revenue for FY20 was $2.2 billion which represented a 17.4% fall compared to FY19.

    Scentre posted an operating profit of $763.4 million for the period. The business advised that, for the six months ended 31 December 2020, operating profit was 11.6% higher than that of the six months ended 30 June 2020. However, this still fell below the $1.3 billion in operating profit reported for FY19.

    The group reported a gross cash inflow of $2.4 billion and collected $2.1 billion in gross rent collections. 

    In further results impacting the Scentre share price, earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) was $1.4 billion for FY20 compared to $1.9 billion in FY19.

    As of 31 December 2020, the company’s liquidity was $6.9 billion.

    Sentre’s FY20 dividend is 7 cents per share.

    CEO comments 

    Reflecting on the annual results, Sentre Group CEO Peter Allen said: 

    We operate a business and brand that are important to our customers and essential to the community. Our business fundamentals remain strong and our strategy, focused on the customer, positions the Group for long-term growth…

    Whilst uncertainty remains in 2021, subject to no material change in conditions, the Group expects to distribute at least 14.00 cents per security for 2021. The distribution is expected to continue to grow in future years. The Group plans to retain earnings to cover operating and leasing capital expenditure, fund strategic initiatives and reduce net debt.

    Scentre share price snapshot 

    Scentre Group owns and operates 42 Westfield Living Centres. Of these, 37 are located in Australia and five are in New Zealand. Over the past year, the Scentre share price has fallen by nearly 22%. 

    Based on the current Scentre share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $14 billion with 5.2 billion shares outstanding.

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    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.

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  • Raiz (ASX:RZI) share price sinks after half-year result

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    Fintech RAIZ Invest Ltd (ASX: RZI) has grown its active customer base by 54% in the half-year ending 31 December.

    The mobile financial services provider reported $5.2 million in revenue. This was a 17% boost compared to the same period in 2019. 

    It also reduced its net loss by 33%, to be $655,000 down for the half-year.

    The company also grew its Australian funds under management (FUM) to $605.6 million, which was a 33.5% increase.

    Raiz allows its users to round up everyday purchases and put the cents towards an investment portfolio. The micro-investing platform now has 343,573 active users.

    Comments from Raiz management

    Raiz chief executive George Lucas said the boost in FUM gave him confidence about hitting the target of $1 billion by the end of this year.

    “Growth [is] being driven by an increase in both active customers and revenue per customer, strong customer loyalty, the low cost of acquiring customers, and the successful rollout of new products and services.”

    Raiz’s share price already saw a 16% boost in a single day earlier this month after the market approved of its January growth numbers.

    This may explain why the stock was down 1.32% in early trade on Tuesday morning, going for $1.88. It was just 90 cents one year ago.

    Geographic and product expansion 

    Lucas said the business’ growth in Indonesia and Malaysia continued to exceed expectations.

    “We remain confident that we will be able to repeat the success of the Australian business model by introducing new products to our expanding customer base and increasing revenue per customer in these geographies.”

    Last May it introduced an aggressive investment portfolio called Sapphire, which even had 5% exposure to Bitcoin.

    Lucas said the company has “a pipeline of new products”.

    “And we are working on new target geographies for expansion. These initiatives will add to our current growth momentum over the coming 6 months.”

    The company was founded in 2016 as the Australian version of the US brand Acorns. Two years later, it changed its name to Raiz after it broke away from the international relationship.

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    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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  • Medibank Private (ASX:MPL) share price dips despite 27% profit boost

    Doctor pressing digitised screen with array of icons including one entitled health insurance

    Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) shares are under pressure today following the release of the insurer’s half-yearly results for FY21.

    At the time of writing, the Medibank share price has dipped to $2.83, down 2.08%.

    What did Medibank announce today?

    The private health insurance provider announced a net profit after tax of $226.4 million for the 6 months ending 31 December 2020 – a 27.3% increase compared to the prior corresponding period (pcp).

    The company attributed the increased profit primarily to a net gain of 49,000 policy holders over the period. 17,600 of these new customers signed up for Medibank-branded insurance itself.

    “This is the first time we have grown the Medibank brand in any 6-month period since 2013 and this trend has continued into February,” the company said in a media release today.

    Medibank’s results stand in stark contrast to the private health insurance industry at large. According to the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, industry profitability was down by 2 percentage points on the pcp — driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    The pandemic led many private health insurance providers, including Medibank, to postpone premium increases for 6 months. Medibank stated the postponement cost the company $109 million in revenue. Despite this, revenue from premiums did rise 0.3% to $3.3 billion.

    In further good news for shareholders, net claims expenses also decreased by 0.8% compared to the pcp, or $24.1 million. Gross claims fell by 1.8%, including a $99 million COVID-related reduction in claims and risk equalisation payable for the period. Underlying claims, adjusted for COVID impacts and provision movements, rose by 2.6%.

    The company announced a dividend of 5.8 cents per share fully franked.

    Medibank CEO to retire

    Along with today’s financial announcements, Medibank Private CEO Craig Drummond announced he is retiring from the position come 30 June.

    Mr Drummond made the following comments about the results release and his impending retirement.

    “Pleasingly Medibank is on a clear strategic path to grow the private health insurance business at a faster rate and continue its transformation into a broader healthcare company.”

    “Leading Medibank through this transition has been incredibly rewarding.”

    The Medibank share price during Mr Drummond’s tenure saw a modest decline – starting around $3 when he first started while opening this morning at $2.89. During his time, Medibank shares hit a high of $3.65 and a low of $2.33.

    Future outlook

    Medibank is continuing its investment in healthcare. The company also announcing an expansion of its no gap joint replacement pilot into 6 regions. The pilot is a part of the company’s investment into a ‘short-stay model of care’ program – a long-term venture aiming to reduce hospital-related expenses for both customer and company.

    As of 15 February, Medibank Private is still the leading private health insurance company in Australia with a 26.9% market share and 3.7 million customers, according to comparison site ComparingExpert.

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    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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  • Monash IVF (ASX:MVF) share price jumps on profit growth and dividend restart

    Monash IVF share price profit result

    The Monash IVF Group Ltd (ASX: MVF) share price is bucking the market downtrend after it posted its profit results and restarted its dividend payouts.

    The Monash IVF share price jumped 2% to 79 cents when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) fell 0.3%.

    The pleasing profit result may also be lifting sentiment towards its rival. The Virtus Health Ltd (ASX: VRT) share price increased by a similar amount to $6.25 at the time of writing.

    The Healius Ltd (ASX: HLS) share price gained 0.9% to $3.94 too. Healius offers In vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatments, although its results announcement this morning may be driving the gains.

    Monash IVF share price profit growth injection

    Coming back to Monash IVF, the group posted a first half adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 24.4% to $24.7 million. It’s adjusted interim net profit jumped by 32% to $12 million while revenue advanced 17.8% to $90.8 million.

    The strong recovery from the COVID-19 impact prompted management to declare a 2.1 cents a share interim dividend. The group did not pay a final dividend in 2020 as the disruption from the pandemic forced clinics to shut.

    That created pent-up demand for IVF services. The group reporting stimulated cycle growth of 27.4% in the six months to end December 2020.

    Winning market share

    The bounce in cycles (treatments) accelerated in the second quarter of FY21 for Monash IVF. Cycle growth in the December quarter came in at 33.1% compared with the national average of 20.6%.

    Management said it won market share in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Northern Territory in that quarter.

    Monash IVF share price on the right cycle

    Further, Monash IVF’s ultrasound business, which remained opened during the pandemic, recorded growth of 11.7%.

    Given its operating leverage, the group’s bottom line should continue to expand more quickly than its top-line as the recovery unfolds.

    Management’s upbeat outlook gives investors a reason to think the good times will continue.

    Feelin’ clucky about 2021

    “The desire for patients to seek assistance when trying to conceive has increased despite the ongoing pandemic,” said the group.

    “The Company’s reported NPAT for the year ending 30 June 2021 is expected to be approximately $23.7m to $25.7m, as compared to $11.8m in the prior comparative period.

    “The Company’s NPAT before certain non-regular items for the year ending 30 June 2021 is expected to be approximately $21m to $23m, as compared to $14.4m in the prior comparative period.”

    But it isn’t all good news. Its Malaysian operations are recovering more slowly due to ongoing COVID social restrictions. The group’s Tasmanian business is also slipping backwards.

    However, the negatives won’t take the glow off the Monash IVF share price. If the interim dividend is replicated in August, the stock is sitting on a yield of over 7% if franking is included.

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    Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Virtus Health 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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  • Why the IDP Education (ASX:IEL) share price is rocketing 17% higher

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    The IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price has been an exceptionally strong performer on Wednesday.

    In morning trade the student placement and language testing company’s shares are up over 17% to a record high of $29.22.

    Today’s impressive gain means the IDP Education share price is now up a remarkable 42% since the start of 2021.

    Why is the IDP Education share price rocketing higher today?

    Investors have been fighting to get hold of IDP Education shares today despite it posting a sizeable decline in first half revenue and earnings.

    For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported total revenue of $269 million and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $47.3 million. This represents a 29% and 46% decline on the prior corresponding period.

    This was driven by declines across all segments due to COVID impacts. The key English Language Testing segment reported a 36% decline in revenue to $158.3 million, whereas the Student Placement segment posted a 36% decline to $78.3 million.

    Elsewhere, the English Language Teach segment experienced a 39% decline in revenue and the Digital Marketing segment recorded a 7% decline.

    This ultimately led to IDP Education posting a 49% reduction in half year net profit after tax to $29.7 million. Earnings per share fell 53% to 10.9 cents.

    In light of this profit decline, the IDP Education Board has cut its unfranked interim dividend by over 50% to 8 cents per share.

    At the end of the period, the company reported a cash balance of $293 million. Management notes that this reflects its strong cash flow, aided by disciplined cost management.

    Outlook

    IDP Education hasn’t provided any guidance for the second half and full year.

    However, it has noted that IELTS volumes rebounded to pre-pandemic levels during the half.

    And CEO, Andrew Barkla, advised that its global teams are at full strength and it has successfully accelerated its digital transformation program.

    So why is the IDP Education share price rising?

    Given its poor financial result compared to the prior period, investors may be wondering why the IDP Education share price has hit a record high today.

    Well, as poor as it might look on paper, it was actually well ahead of expectations.

    According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, IDP Education’s revenue was 15% ahead of its expectations and its earnings per share of 10.9 cents was a whopping 156% ahead of its estimates.

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    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 Idp Education Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • Why the DroneShield (ASX:DRO) share price is lifting 6%

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    DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO) shares are taking off today after the company announced a new agreement with the United States Government. In morning trade, the DroneShield share price has lifted 6.06% to 17.5 cents. 

    Let’s take a look at what the company reported. 

    What did DroneShield announce?

    The DroneShield share price is on the rise today following the company’s announcement it has entered into a new cooperative research and development agreement with the US Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

    The company said its multi-sensor unmanned aerial system (or drone, to the uninitiated) detection and mitigation capabilities will be at the centre of the research. Its DroneSentry and DroneSentry-C2 solutions for fixed and semi-fixed site applications will be the primary focus.

    The DroneSentry system uses a range of sensors to identify and track drones, including radiofrequency, radar, EO/IR camera, and acoustics. The system uses DroneShield’s AI-based “RF detection, long-range sensing, and expanded multi-sensor data fusion capabilities”.

    DroneSentry-C2 enables operators to deploy a complete drone detection and threat assessment capability to protect their fixed bases and critical infrastructure.

    Commenting on the new agreement, DroneShield CEO Oleg Vornik said:

    We are excited to work closely with DHS S&T [Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate] under this cooperative agreement to support end users throughout their agency and sub-agency partners. Our DroneSentry solution is at the forefront of fixed-site counter-UAS and partnerships like this one allow us to make further advancements that are most relevant to the end users and mission we serve.

    DroneShield said it could not make revenue projections until the total value of the rolling agreement is known. Stay tuned for updates.

    DroneShield share price snapshot

    There have been plenty of ups and downs for shareholders over the past 12 months, with today’s lift in the DroneShield share price bringing the one-year losses down to 7.9%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.4% over that same period.

    Year to date, the DroneShield share price is down 2.8%.

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    Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price is down 6%, despite strong growth

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    The Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH) share price has plunged this morning despite the company posting growth in its half-year results.

    In morning trade, the sales enablement automation platform providers’ shares are down 6.12% at 92 cents a share.

    Metrics point to continued growth

    Bigtincan’s first-half results for FY21 showed top-line revenue growth of 33% compared to 1H FY20. This equated to $18.4 million in revenue for the half. Notably, 95% of the company’s revenue is now subscription-based. Additionally, annualised recurring revenue (ARR) hit $48.4 million at the end of December. This indicates a 50% increase over the prior half-year’s result.

    Furthermore, the lifetime value of the company’s subscriptions expanded by 44% to $363 million. Bigtincan indicated that the company’s customers continue to be diverse by vertical, with life sciences customers contributing the most towards ARR at 20%.

    Operating expenses grew by 38% to $22.37 million for the half, as the company continues to invest heavily in its expansion through multiple acquisitions. During the first half, the company acquired Agnitio and Clearslide.

    The land-and-expand strategy abroad has demonstrated progress, with 21% of Bigtincan’s total active customer base increasing their use of the platform during the first half. This is in contrast to 16% in the prior corresponding period.

    Outlook and guidance

    Bigtincan outlined its expectation to be towards the top end of FY21 ARR guidance of $49 million to $53 million; and revenue of $41 million to $43 million. This forecast is on the basis of a stable exchange rate, given the company operates internationally.

    The company also noted it foresees continued market tailwinds that will help grow the total addressable market. This larger market comes with larger opportunities, and Bigtincan expects potential for further accretive mergers and acquisitions to accelerate.

    At the end of the period, Bigtincan remained well capitalised with $65 million in cash on the balance sheet to facilitate any further acquisitions.

    Bigtincan CEO and co-founder David Keane commented:

    1H FY21 again demonstrated the success of the Bigtincan growth strategy, with strong organic growth, smart acquisitions and growing industry recognition. The Bigtincan teams around the world continued to show their ability to build our technology innovation pipeline, and help some of the world’s leading companies to solve their challenges for their customer facing teams in an increasingly digital and remote economy.

    Bigtincan share price snapshot

    The Bigtincan share price has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) over the past 12 months, with a return of 10.7%. The index on the other hand has lost 0.7% during the same period.

    Bigtincan’s market capitalisation is now roughly $405 million.

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    Mitchell Lawler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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  • Sydney Airport (ASX:SYD) share price receives a boost on full-year results

    Travel bags sit by an airport lounge window overlooking a grounded plane on the tarmac

    The Sydney Airport (ASX: SYD) share price is on the rise today, up 3.37% in morning trade. At the time of writing, the Sydney Airport share price is at $6.13. 

    We take a look at Sydney Airport’s full-year results below.

    What full-year financial results did Sydney Airport report?

    ASX investors have driven up the Sydney Airport share price in early morning trading.

    This comes after the company reported a huge drop in traffic, with 11.2 million passengers in 2020.  Altogether, this figure represents a 74.7% decline year-on-year.

    Passenger numbers closely tracked the onset of the global pandemic, with total passengers in the first quarter of 2020 down only 18% on the prior corresponding quarter (pcp). Then, as international and domestic travel locked down during the rest of the year, Sydney’s total passenger numbers plummeted. Overall, down 93.4% in the second quarter to the fourth quarter, compared to the same 9 months of 2019.

    International passenger numbers fell slightly more than domestic traffic, down 77.5% and 72.9% respectively.

    Sydney Airport reported a $107.5 million full-year loss after income tax expense. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 45% year-on-year to $627.8 million.

    With revenues down, the company pursued cost savings, cutting operating costs 32.3% compared to the prior corresponding period and reducing capital investment. It had $3.5 billion of liquidity as at 31 December 2020.

    Sydney airport will not pay a dividend for 2020.

    “A crisis of unprecedented magnitude “

    Commenting on the year gone by, Sydney Airport CEO, Geoff Culbert said:

    The COVID-19 pandemic delivered a crisis of unprecedented magnitude to the global aviation industry, and Sydney Airport has been right on the frontline, both operationally and financially…

    We moved quickly to control the things that were in our control and put ourselves in a position to manage the unpredictability and volatility that became our ‘new normal’. The actions we took, combined with the COVID-19 vaccines rolling out, mean we have laid the foundation for our recovery through 2021 and beyond.

    Looking ahead, Culbert added, “The recovery won’t be linear, but our experience shows that when restrictions are eased and borders come down, people are keen to travel. With the vaccine rolling out, we are cautiously optimistic that 2021 will see the industry begin to recover.”

    Sydney Airport share price snapshot

    The Sydney Airport share price has fallen and risen alongside the spread of the pandemic and subsequent announcements of effective vaccines.

    Shares plunged more than 43% from late February 2020 into late March as travel restrictions took hold. When multiple promising vaccines were announced, shares surged 27% from 30 October through to 17 November.

    Year-to-date the Sydney Airport share price is down 5%. That compares to a 2% gain on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).

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    Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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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  • Nanosonics (ASX:NAN) share price nosedives 12% on weak earnings

    downward red arrow with business man sliding down it signifying falling asx share price

    It wasn’t long ago that Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) was being called the next CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

    But as far as February reporting season goes, CSL is still the consistent stock we all know and love. While the Nanosonics share price is not only 12% lower at the time of writing but down more than 35% for the year. 

    The infection prevention company, known for its industry-leading trophon EPR disinfection system for ultrasound probes, released its financial results today for the first half of FY21.

    Nanosonics share price lower on weak revenues

    In today’s release, Nanosonics reported that its global installed base increased 12% in the last 12 months and was up 6% in the last 6 months to 25,100 units. More importantly, the number of new units installed in Q2 FY21 was up 38% compared to Q1 FY21, signalling that a recovery is taking place. 

    However, due to mid-teens growth in the installed base, the company’s half-year revenue was down 11% to $43.1 million. This was driven by a foreshadowed reduction in purchases by GE Healthcare as a result of the impacts of COVID-19 and the stronger Australian dollar. 

    Operating profit before tax took a hit after delivering just $0.2 million in the half, compared to $6.7 million in the prior corresponding period. This reflects the impacts of COVID-19, particularly on first-quarter revenue and the ongoing investment in the company’s growth strategy. 

    Revenue breakdown 

    Nanosonics revenue can be divided into capital revenue, or the sale of trophon units, and consumable and service revenue. 

    Capital revenue was down 35% to $9.4 million due to reduced trophon unit sales to GE Healthcare and limited access to hospitals. As GE resumed capital purchases in the second quarter, coupled with increasing capital sales by Nanosonics’ direct operations and other distributor partners, capital revenue grew by 148% compared with Q1. 

    Half-year consumables and service revenues for its installed base were down 1% to $33.7 million. Revenues for this segment were resilient due to a 29% increase in Q2 Fy21 compared with Q1 FY21. The growth reflects a recovery in ultrasound procedure volumes experienced in the half. 

    Outlook

    Looking ahead, the company anticipates ongoing growth in total revenue and profitability into the second half, driven by increasing installed base growth and increased usage of consumables across all regions.

    The company is optimistic about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination and eager for improved overall market conditions and access to hospitals. 

    However, it appears that the market so far today has put aside the company’s forward-looking statements about recovery and improving Q2 revenues.

    The Nanosonics share price opened at $5.50 but has continued to face selling pressure falling to an intraday low of $5.13. At the time of writing, its shares are trading down 12.4% at $5.30.

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    Kerry Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of 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.

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