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The market may be tumbling lower today but that hasn’t stopped the Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price from charging higher.

In morning trade the diversified food company’s shares are up almost 4% to a 52-week high of $6.01.

This latest gain means the Bega Cheese share price is up over 15% since the start of the year.

Why is the Bega Cheese share price at a 52-week high?

Investors have been buying Bega Cheese shares today following the release of a strong half year profit result.

For the six months ended 31 December, the company reported a 5% decline in revenue but a 98% increase in normalised profit after tax to $29.7 million.

In respect to its revenue, management advised that the decline relates to a number of factors. This includes the conclusion of the milk supply guarantee arrangements at Koroit, ongoing competition for milk resulting in decreased volumes, a reduction in global commodity prices, currency headwinds, and the exiting of lower value contract manufacturing agreements for cheese.

Positively, Bega Cheese continues to grow its Australian and international branded business, high value nutritional powders, and lactoferrin sales. This has led to a more profitable sales mix and an increase in its margins compared to the prior corresponding period.

However, despite the profit growth, the Bega Cheese Board opted to only maintain its interim fully franked dividend at 5 cents per share. It advised that this reflects prudent cash management as it integrates the Lion Dairy and Drinks acquisition, which completed on 25 January.

Outlook

No guidance has been provided for the full year but the company’s performance is expected to be boosted by the aforementioned Lion Dairy and Drinks business.

Executive Chairman Barry Irvin commented: “The acquisition delivers important industry consolidation and value creation with synergies across the entire supply chain. The expanded product range, manufacturing and distribution infrastructure and brand portfolio realises our ambition of creating a truly great Australian food company.”

“Bega Cheese has continued to invest in the development of new products across the spreads, snacking and dairy portfolio, and the acquisition of market leading iconic Australian brands in LD&D provides further opportunities to extend the product range. The international branded food business has continued to grow, despite the impact of COVID-19 on the foodservice channel in some key export markets. The LD&D acquisition provides a platform for further growth in international markets and provides a market presence to support innovation and a closer connection to customers and consumers.”

One slight disappointment is the Bulk segment, which has been impacted by COVID-19, particularly in the infant formula category. The company notes that customers have been impacted by trading conditions in key markets and the effects of COVID-19 on international travel and the Daigou channel.

The outlook for this category remains challenging and Bega Cheese continues to respond through diversification in its revenue streams, through product innovation, and new customer and channel development.

But judging by the Bega Cheese share price performance today, investors are happy to look beyond this short term weakness and focus on the long term.

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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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Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) shares are sinking in early morning trade following the release of the company’s full-year results for the period ending 31 December 2020. At the time of writing, the Appen share price is down 6.77% to $18.88.

Let’s take a look and see how the artificial intelligence company performed for the period.

What’s impacting the Appen share price?

The Appen share price is being hit hard today despite the company delivering revenue of $599.9 million, up 12% on the prior corresponding period. Most of the earnings came from its ‘Relevance’ segment, which contributed $538.2 million – a lift of 15% over FY19. ‘Speech and Image’ followed with $61.2 million in earnings for the 2020 full year, down 10% from the comparative period. The fall was blamed upon cyclical timings and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The group saw its customer base expand over the period with the addition of 136 new clients. Many of the customers represented a variety of sectors such as payments tech, autonomous trucking, financial banking, and more. Appen noted that while many of these wins were small, they provide a foundation for growth in the coming years.

Notably, the company’s top five customers increased their number of projects by 34%, supporting new product development.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) lifted to $108.6 million, an increase of 8% on the same time the year prior. However, in other results impacting the Appen share price, the company reported that the underlying EBITDA margin stood at 18.1% for the period compared to 18.8% in FY19. Appen stated that the lower EBITDA margin was a result of $12.7 million invested in sales and marketing in China.

Underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) also eased to $64.4 million, down 1% on FY19’s result. This was mostly affected by growth investment (net of tax) and increased amortisation.

Appen closed the year with a strong balance sheet of $78 million in cash and no debt.

The board declared a 50% franked dividend of 5.5 cents per share to be paid on 19 March 2021.

Management commentary

Appen CEO Mark Brayan briefly touched on company’s result, saying:

2020 was a breakout year for new sales, new projects, committed revenue and our entry into China, but it was not without its challenges. I am extremely proud of our team’s efforts to support our customers and growth strategy, and deliver for our shareholders, in such a difficult year.

Outlook

Appen’s performance for the full year was hit hard by COVID-19 which led to fewer B2B sales and reduced online advertising spend. However, the company saw a bounce back in the fourth quarter. It believes that most of the projects that have been deferred will recommence this year.

The company’s year-to-date revenues including the orders on hand for delivery amount to $240 million in February so far.

As a result, underlying EBITA for the year ending FY21 is expected to be in the range of $120 million to $130 million. 

Appen share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Appen share price is down more than 20%. Appen shares hit a low of $15.70 last March, before accelerating up until August, reaching a high of $43.66. Since then, the company’s shares have tumbled back towards their COVID-19 lows. 

Based on the current Appen share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $2.5 billion.

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Aaron Teboneras owns shares of Appen Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Appen 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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The IOOF Holdings Ltd (ASX: IFL) share price is up 7% after the diversified financial advice business released its FY21 half-year result.

What did IOOF report in HY21?

It reported that its closing funds under management, administration and advice (FUMA) grew by 39% to $202.4 billion, whilst average FUMA rose 43% to $204.3 billion.

IOOF announced that its gross margin rose by 41% to $349.3 million, with a six-month Pensions and Investments (P&I) gross margin contribution of $125.3 million.

It reported that statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) from continuing operations increased by 96% to $54.4 million. Underlying profit from continuing operations increased by 17% to $65.9 million despite the impacts from early access to superannuation withdrawals and the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and client sentiment.

During the period, IOOF restructured its proprietary Evolve platforms, ceased its relationship with BT and launched new arrangements with Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) and simplified its investment management through outsourcing the cash management trust administration.

The transformation initiatives were the primary contributors to the $4.1 billion in net outflows.

IOOF special dividend and ordinary dividend

The IOOF board decided to declare a fully franked interim dividend of 11.5 cents per share, with an ordinary dividend of 8 cents per share, which is within the dividend payout ratio target range of 60% to 90%.

IOOF has also decided to declare a 3.5 cents per share special dividend.

‘Advice 2.0’

IOOF explained it’s implementing a new strategy to change the quality and affordability of advice and construct a sustainable long-term advice model for the business.

It said that it’s on track to deliver its synergy targets and key milestones.

In the second half of FY21, it’s expecting to deliver annualised savings of $10 million. It has projected that self-employed advice will be breakeven by FY23.

Acquisition integrations

A big part of IOOF’s new strategy includes the acquisitions of the businesses called P&I and MLC. IOOF said that it has significantly progressed its integration activities delivering an additional $5.9 million in synergies, which is $20 million on an annualised basis. This brings the total annualised synergies to date to $38 million. It’s on track to achieve its goal of an annualised $43 million of costs by 30 June 2021.

The MLC acquisition is expected to complete before 30 June 2021.

IOOF CEO Renato Mota said:

We are confident the combination of IOOF and MLC will contribute to the creation of a bigger and better IOOF that brings scale, diversity and growth opportunities through the wide-ranging capabilities and technical expertise that offer unmatched choice, accessibility, affordability and improved client outcomes.

IOOF share price

The IOOF share price is still 42% compared to where it was a year ago before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and all of the associated impacts hit the Australian economy. 

FY21 outlook

IOOF is expecting a robust business outlook for the wealth management sector off the back of returning economic growth and fiscally-induced economic resilience. 

It’s looking to commence work on achieving $65 million to $80 million of synergies from the MLC acquisition in the first 12 months after the deal is completed.

Mr Mota said:

Longer-term, we continue to see significant changes in the market as the ageing population increasingly looks for wealth management advice, and retirement and post retirement solutions to address their complex needs.

This combined with increasing per capita wealth and ongoing disruption in the industry to meet emerging societal and technological needs, offers good opportunities for IOOF.

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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 Hub24 Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Hub24 Ltd. 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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It has been a disappointing day of trade for the Nitro Software Ltd (ASX: NTO) share price on Wednesday.

In early trade the global document productivity software company’s shares are down 2.5% to $2.62.

Why is the Nitro Software share price trading lower?

Investors have been selling Nitro Software shares today despite the release of a strong full year result this morning.

While much of this result was pre-released with its fourth quarter update last month, there was still plenty for investors to take note of.

According to the release, at the end of December Nitro Software’s annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached $27.7 million. This was up 64% year on year and ahead of its upgraded guidance range of $26 million to $27 million.

This underpinned a 13% increase in total revenue to $40.2 million for FY 2020, which was in line with its prospectus forecast.

At the end of the financial year, subscription revenue had increased to $21.2 million. This was up 61% year on year and means it now accounts for 53% of total revenue. This was driven by a sizeable increase in licensed users to 2.6 million. It now has approximately 11,700 business customers and deployments in 68% of the Fortune 500.

In respect to its earnings, Nitro Software reported an operating loss of $2.4 million for the year. Once again, this outperformed its prospectus forecast. The company was forecasting an operating loss of $4 million.

Management notes that operating expenditure savings during the year were largely attributable to delays in hiring and COVID-related savings. These were partially offset by other incremental investments.

At the end of the period, the company had a cash balance of $43.7 million. Management feels this provides it with the flexibility to pursue organic and inorganic growth opportunities.

Outlook

The company is positive on the year ahead and is expecting to deliver further strong growth in ARR.

It expects FY 2021 ARR to be between $39 million and $42 million. This represents a 41% to 51.6% year on year increase.

It is, however, also forecasting a sizeable operating loss. It expects this to be in the range of $11 million to $13 million, which compares to its operating loss of $2.4 million in FY 2020. This forecast could be weighing on the Nitro Software share price today.

Looking further ahead, management notes that it has a significant market opportunity to grow into.

It commented: “Nitro will continue to focus on delivering its platform product strategy, driving increased adoption of the Company’s PDF productivity, eSigning and analytics solutions across new and existing customers in its enterprise, mid-market and SMB segments.”

“Nitro’s total addressable market in document productivity and eSigning is large and growing, supported by strong structural tailwinds and changing work practices accelerated by COVID-19, and estimated at $28 billion.”

Despite today’s weakness, the Nitro Software share price is up over 50% since this time last year.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nitro Software 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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Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares are on the rise today after the supermarket giant released its half-year results for the period ended 3 January 2021 (HY21) this morning. At the time of writing, the Woolworths share price has jumped 1.15% to $39.54.

Let’s take a look at how Woolworths has been performing.

What’s driving the Woolworths share price?

The Woolworths share price is on the move after the company reported total revenue from continuing operations of $35.8 billion for the period. This compares to $32.4 billion for the half-year ended 5 January 2020.

Woolworths also posted a gain in gross profit which jumped from $9.6 billion in HY20 to $10.5 billion in HY21.

Earnings before interest and tax were $2.1 billion, which is up from HY20’s $1.8 billion.

Basic earnings per share (EPS) came in at 90.5 cents, a 28.1% leap from the 70.6 cents posted for HY20.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 8.7% at $3.4 billion for HY21.

At the end of the period, the business held $2.1 billion in cash and cash equivalents. The prior corresponding period (pcp) posted $1 billion.

Woolworths advised that coronavirus has had a material impact on results. 

While the company reported strong group sales growth of 10.6% for HY21, this was offset by $277 million spent on incremental COVID-19 costs.

The board declared an interim dividend for the period of 53 cents per share, fully franked.

CEO commentary

Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci commented on the HY21 results and said:

H1 sales growth was strong across all Group businesses, with the exception of Hotels, with record Christmas trading. Group sales increased by 10.6% in H1 (Q2: +9.0%) with Australian Food, BIG W and Endeavour Drinks all reporting sales growth well above trend. Sales growth in New Zealand Food slowed in Q2 with lower market growth rates impacted by a reduction in international tourism. In Hotels, sales trends improved over the half but growth was below the prior year due to continued COVID-related operating restrictions.

Despite incremental COVID costs of $277 million and the Hotels EBIT being well below the prior year, H1 Group EBIT1 grew by 10.5% to $2,092 million, with NPAT1 up 15.9%. BIG W’s profit improvement was a particular highlight with EBIT of $133 million, up 166% on the prior year.

Woolworths share price snapshot

Over the past year, the Woolworths share price has fallen by 7.3%. Whilst having mostly recovered from their May 2020 lows of around $32, Woolworths shares are yet to reach their pre-COVID highs of around $43.

Based on the current Woolworths share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $50 billion with 1.3 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 owns shares of Woolworths 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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Investors will be keeping an eye on the Michael Hill International Limited (ASX: MHJ) share price today. The keen interest follows the company releasing its half-year financial results for FY21.

Let’s take a closer look at the report and what this might mean for the Michael Hill share price. 

Michael Hill reports strong sales and growth

Earlier today Michael Hill released its financial results for the half-year ending 27 December 2020.

The company’s results were highlighted by an 82.1% surge in first-half net profit after tax (NPAT). For the first-half, Michael Hill recorded an NPAT of $38.9 million, compared to $21.4 million in the prior corresponding period (pcp).

In addition, the jewellery chain reported a 66.9% increase in earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $58.9 million. For the first-half, Michael Hill also saw a 6.3% increase in group same-store sales of $312.1 million.

Despite the strong performance, the company was not immune to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In its report, Michael Hill sighted that the company had lost 3,709 store trading days due to the pandemic.

As a result, the jewellery chain estimated lost sales of approximately $23 million. Michael Hill cited these store closures for the 2.9% decline in revenue for the first half of $319.9 million.

The company also boasted a strong balance sheet for the first half, with a cash position of $90.3 million. As a result, Michael Hill declared an interim dividend of 1.5 cents per share.

What is the outlook for Michael Hill and its share price?

Michael Hill is a global jewellery chain with 289 stores operating in Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

For the remainder of FY21, the company remains focussed on maximising growth opportunities.

Michael Hill identified its digital business as a key focus. For the first half of FY21, the company reported a 102% increase in digital sales of $18.5 million. Overall, digital sales contributed nearly 6% to total sales compared to 2.8% in the prior corresponding period.

As a result, Michael Hill noted digital priorities for FY21 include traffic driving initiatives, new payment platforms, and conversion rate optimisation.

The company’s highlighted that the business had entered the second-half with clear strategic initiatives. Michael Hill’s management noted a strong start to the second-half, with same store sales up 11% for the first 8 weeks.

At the time of writing, the Michael Hill share price is poised to open slightly higher after closing yesterday’s trading session at 70 cents.

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

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The InvoCare Limited (ASX: IVC) share price is trading lower following the release of its full year results.

At the time of writing, the funerals company’s shares are down slightly to $11.17.

How did InvoCare perform in FY 2020?

It was a very difficult 12 months for InvoCare because of COVID-19 and this was reflected in its financial results.

For the 12 months ended 31 December, the company reported a 4.7% decline in operating revenue to $476.2 million. Management believes this reflects the resilience of its core business and the benefits of diversification in challenging trading conditions.

Unfortunately, the company’s earnings didn’t hold up as well. InvoCare reported a 29% decline in operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $102.6 million.

The company explained that employee costs (with no JobKeeper support), the fixed cost nature of its facilities, and the previously announced $7 million impact of significant operating items weighed on its operating profit result.

On the bottom line, the company reported a loss after tax of $9.2 million. This partly reflects the impact of non-cash movements in the Prepaid Funeral business’ funds under management (FUM).

Despite this loss, the company declared a fully franked final dividend of 7 cents per share. This brought its full year dividend to 12.5 cents per share, which is down 70% from 41 cents per share in FY 2019.

Management commentary

InvoCare’s new CEO, Mr Olivier Chretien, said: “While the Group’s financial results have been put under pressure in 2020, it is pleasing to see how resilient the business and our people have been.”

“I want to thank our dedicated employees who have continued to provide exemplary service despite multiple disruptions. They have provided safe environments and leveraged technology to ensure our client families were able to continue to celebrate and farewell their loved ones in whatever form that took.”

Outlook

InvoCare advised that it remains cautious in its outlook. It notes that short term market conditions are still being impacted by COVID restrictions and the timing and extent of the unwind of related impacts remains hard to predict.

Nevertheless, it feels confident about the long-term potential of the business,. It expects its future growth to be supported by population and ageing trends in its markets. Management has also initiated an operating model and cost efficiency review to further strengthen the business’ foundations.

Mr Chretien commented: “I am energised by the potential of our businesses. We have an experienced team, strong national and local brands, a modernised asset base and leading market positions. I see many opportunities to leverage and optimise our foundations to meet the evolving needs of our client families and communities with an expanding, omni-channel, value proposition.”

“We can also extend our industry leadership through increased focus on talent, safety, sustainability, digital, innovation and proactive stakeholder management. I look forward to setting out our strategic plan for the next 5 years at our inaugural Investor Day to be held in May,” he concluded.

Following today’s decline, the InvoCare share price is down 23% over the last 12 months.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended InvoCare 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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In morning trade the WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) share price is pushing higher after the release of a solid half year result.

At the time of writing, the logistics solutions company’s shares are up 9% to $32.40.

How did WiseTech perform in the first half?

For the six months ended 31 December, WiseTech reported a 16% increase in revenue to $238.7 million.

This was driven by a 12% increase in acquisition revenue to $88.7 million and a 19% lift in CargoWise revenue to $150 million. Management notes that the latter reflects increasing customer usage of the CargoWise platform.

Another positive is that organisation-wide efficiency initiatives, including synergies from acquisitions, delivered $6.1 million in cost reductions during the half.

This and operating leverage supported a 43% increase in half year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $89.2 million. And on the bottom line, this ultimately led to WiseTech reporting a 61% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $43.6 million.

Also potential giving the WiseTech share price a lift today was its strong free cash flow. It came in 74% higher than the prior corresponding period at $48.7 million.

In light of this and its strong balance sheet (cash of $251.4 million), the WiseTech Board declared a fully franked interim dividend of 2.7 cents per share.

What is driving WiseTech’s growth?

Management advised that its strategic investment (via in-house research and development and acquisitions) is driving CargoWise’s revenue growth and market penetration.

It notes that this is delivering geographic expansion, the addition of new functionalities and products, and increasing momentum in the number of global customer roll-outs of CargoWise.

Since 1 January 2020, there have been eight new sign ups. These include Aramex, Hellmann, Deugro, CEVA Logistics, A. Hartrodt, Cargo-partner, Seafrigo Group, and Hankyu Hanshin Express.

WiseTech’s Founder and CEO, Richard White, commented: “Notwithstanding the subsequent waves of COVID-19 in major markets, our business has continued to deliver solid revenue and EBITDA growth in 1H21.”

“Our strategic focus on ‘Product, Penetration and Profitability’ has enabled us to continue to expand the CargoWise ecosystem, increase our market penetration, with eight new global customer roll-outs signed since 1 January 2020 and deliver 61% growth in Underlying NPAT, demonstrating the step change in operating leverage that we are achieving by extracting acquisition synergies and implementing organisation-wide efficiencies.”

Outlook

Also giving the WiseTech share price a lift today was news that management is upgrading its earnings guidance for the full year.

It advised that this upgrade reflects the benefits expected to be generated from operational leverage as the company continues to implement its organisation-wide efficiency initiatives and extracts acquisition synergies.

It has reaffirmed its revenue guidance of $470 million to $510 million, which represents annual growth of 9% to 19%.

Whereas its EBITDA is now expected to be in the range of $165 million to $190 million. This represents year on year growth of 30% to 50%. Previous guidance was for growth of 22% to 42%.

Mr White commented: “The pandemic has provided the impetus for an acceleration in the longer-term structural shift towards consolidation, integration and digitisation of global logistics and supply chains. The recently announced proposed takeover of Kerry Logistics by SF Holdings and DSV’s public comments about its increased appetite for M&A following its successful UTi and Panalpina acquisitions are evidence of this trend.”

“We are seeing increasing demand amongst large global logistics service providers for our CargoWise offering with the momentum in sign-ups for CargoWise global roll-outs accelerating.”

“Looking ahead, we will continue to innovate through our ongoing product development program with the aim of delivering a seamless, global logistics technology solution that improves productivity, functional depth, data integration and cross-border regulatory compliance for customers, with a specific focus on targeting the Top 25 Global Freight Forwarders and the Top 200 Global Logistics Providers,” he concluded.

The WiseTech share price is now up a massive 72% over the last 12 months.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of WiseTech Global. 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 Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL) share price is charging higher following the release of its half year results.

At the time of writing, the health supplements company’s shares are up 4% to $77.17.

How did Blackmores fare in the first half?

For the six months ended 31 December, Blackmores reported revenue of $302.6 million. This represents a 3% increase on the prior corresponding period or 4% in constant currency.

This was driven by a 13% increase in International revenue and a 25% lift in China revenue, which offset a 10% decline in ANZ revenue to $148 million.

During the half, Blackmores received $10.4 million in government assistance through the JobKeeper program. However, since the end of the period, it has decided that it received more than necessary. As such, it will return $2.4 million of pre-tax Australian JobKeeper funds during the second half.

In respect to its earnings, Blackmores reported an 8% increase in underlying net profit after tax to $19.4 million.

This improved profitability has allowed the Blackmores Board to reinstate its dividend after a one-year hiatus. It has declared a fully franked interim dividend of 29 cents per share.

Management commentary

Blackmores’ Chief Executive Officer, Alastair Symington, appeared to be pleased with the half.

He said: “This time last year we outlined our three-year strategy to set us on the path for sustainable, profitable growth. Since then, we have taken the necessary steps to hit important turnaround milestones and made positive strides toward simplifying our operating model in line with our new strategic direction.”

“The strengthening of our balance sheet, ability to pay down debt and move to a positive net cash position enabled us to step up investments in Asia. This has resulted in accelerated growth in our key markets in Asia in the first half of FY21.”

Mr Symington was particularly pleased given the tough trading conditions it was facing due to COVID-19. He remains confident there will be more of the same in the second half.

He explained: “Our transformation program and first half result have been achieved despite the disruptions and uncertainty brought on by COVID-19 which affected traditional retail channels and shopper behaviour in Australia.”

“We remain focused in the second half on continuing to deliver against our strategic priorities. I am confident we will delight our consumers by giving a more distinctive brand experience with Blackmores, BioCeuticals and PAW by Blackmores while maintaining cost discipline and operational excellence to support future growth and shareholder value creation,” he added.

Outlook

While no real guidance has been provided for the second half, management has warned investors that it could be a tough period.

Although it expects growth in the Asia market, the core ANZ market remains challenging. It explained:

“As we look to the second half, revenue growth in Asia will continue with positive signs of health and economic recovery underway. The Australian vitamin and supplement market will continue to face structural challenges as international borders remain closed and the focus on vaccine rollout will disrupt consumer behaviour for at least the rest of the 2021 calendar year.”

“Despite a full half of realisation from our 1 October price increases, revenue for the second half will be slightly lower than the first half which was impacted by seasonal and key customer events.”

“In the second half, we will maintain our focus on cost management. For the remainder of the year we will respond to changing retail demands and restore much needed brand investments to levels before the onset of the pandemic. Blackmores remains mindful of the ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19.”

Following today’s gain, the Blackmores share price is up 10.5% over the last 12 months.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Wednesday
• What to expect from the Blackmores (ASX:BKL) half year result
• ASX 200 rises, Worley dumped, Mesoblast rises
• Why Blackmores, Creso Pharma, Pilbara Minerals, & Zip shares are pushing higher
• ASX 200 down 0.2%: Zip Chair steps down, Worley crashes, Blackmores & InvoCare jump

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Blackmores Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Blackmores (ASX:BKL) share price charges higher after profit growth returns appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) has more than doubled its profit for the half-year ending 30 December.

The media company reported on Wednesday morning it raked in $181.9 million of consolidated net profit after tax, compared to $87.3 million the year before.

The positive result in a half-year affected by COVID-19 meant Nine has decided to give out an interim dividend of 5 cents per share fully franked.

This restores the dividend payout back to pre-pandemic levels.

Dividend ex-date	Type	Amount	Franking
4.3.2021	Interim	5 cents	100%
9.9.2020	Final	2 cents	100%
5.3.2020	Interim	5 cents	100%
26.9.2019	Final	5 cents	100%
5.3.2019	Interim	5 cents	100%
Table created by the author

The share price for the publishing giant will be keenly watched as the ASX opens trade on Wednesday morning. The stock closed Tuesday down 0.37% to trade at $2.67.

Just last week Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) analysts upgraded their share price target for Nine to $3.80. That’s a healthy 42% return from the current level.

Nine was one of the best-performing media stocks on the ASX last year, gaining 29% for the calendar year.

Despite the profit upgrade, Nine’s revenue from continuing operations actually fell 3% from the previous year.

However, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for continuing operations rose 42% and its cash flow also improved more than 91%.

The company performed well during a volatile time and has “come out the other side in a very strong position”, according to Chief Executive Hugh Marks. 

“The advertising market clearly turned in late September — earlier and more sharply than we had anticipated,” he said.

“Nine’s consistently strong audience performance, across all of our platforms, means we are well-positioned to benefit from this improvement in the ad cycle.”

A busy half-year for Nine 

Big events during the half-year included the relocation of its headquarters from the historic Willoughby site in northern Sydney to a brand new skyscraper in North Sydney.

The company also signed a revenue-sharing agreement with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL)’s Google for new content provided to the digital platform.

Nine’s own newspapers also reported Wednesday that negotiations had been re-opened with Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) following the social media giant’s reversal of its Australia news ban.

There is also a Chief Executive transition in place. Current boss, Marks resigned from the position in November after revealing a relationship with the former Managing Director of Commercial, Alexi Baker. He is staying on until a replacement is found.

“I’ve had a great 5 years at Nine, and am confident that I am handing over the reins at the perfect time,” Marks said Wednesday. 

The company’s streaming service, Stan, also secured the rights to broadcast rugby union, with new brand Stan Sport launching last month.

With a big profit boost to show off, Nine will return JobKeeper payments received for all wholly-owned subsidiaries. This amounts to about $2 million.

In total, it has received about $8.4 million of the government subsidy, with the vast majority ($6.5 million) going to its real estate classified business Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG).

More reading

• Facebook strikes first deal with Seven West (ASX:SWM) as media bargaining code looms large
• Facebook ban on Australian news ends
• Vocus (ASX:VOC) share price rises after takeover update
• Microsoft’s partnership with European news publishers threatens Facebook and Alphabet
• ASX 200 drops 0.2%, Costa soars, BOQ is buying ME Bank

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Tony Yoo owns shares of Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (C shares) and Facebook. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Alphabet (C shares) and Facebook. 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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