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In late morning trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) looks set to end its winning run. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.3% to 6,861.6 points.

Four ASX shares that have not let that hold them back are listed below. Here’s why they are storming higher:

Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU)

The Douugh share price is up 13% to 17.5 cents. Investors have been buying the financial wellness app provider’s shares after it revealed a new feature to partly automate saving and bill paying. However, Douugh continues to avoid revealing just how many active users it has on its app.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

The Macquarie share price has jumped 7% to $143.95 following the release of its third quarter update. According to the release, Macquarie experienced improvements in trading across its business during the three months ended 31 December. Looking ahead, management advised that it expects to report a full year profit result slightly down on FY 2020.

Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL)

The Starpharma share price has stormed 5% higher to $2.05. Investors have been buying the dendrimer product developer’s shares following the release of an announcement relating to its AZD0466 product. According to the release, AstraZeneca has informed Starpharma of its intention to expand the clinical program for AZD0466 to include a multi-centre global Phase 1 study. The study will recruit patients with acute leukaemias.

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

The Suncorp share price is up almost 3% to $10.72. This follows the release of the banking and insurance giant’s half year results this morning. For the six months ended 31 December, Suncorp reported a 39.5% increase in half year cash profit to $509 million. And while its net profit after tax was down 23.7% to $490 million, this was driven largely by an asset sale in the prior corresponding period. In October 2019, Suncorp recorded a $293 million gain on the sale of the Capital S.M.A.R.T and ACM Parts businesses.

More reading

• Why the Starpharma (ASX:SPL) share price hit a record high today
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is charging 16% higher today
• Here’s why the Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price is surging 7% higher
• Why the Suncorp (ASX:SUN) share price is in focus
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

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 Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Starpharma Holdings 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 Douugh, Macquarie, Starpharma, & Suncorp shares are storming higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Starpharma Holdings Limited (ASX: SPL) share price has been a very positive performer on Tuesday.

At one stage today, the dendrimer product developer’s shares jumped 7.5% to hit a record high of $2.10.

The Starpharma share price has since given back some of these gains but is still up 4% to $2.03 at the time of writing.

Why is the Starpharma share price racing higher?

Investors have been buying Starpharma’s shares after it provided an update on its AZD0466 product.

AZD0466 is a highly optimised nanomedicine formulation of AstraZeneca’s novel dual Bcl2/xL inhibitor which utilises Starpharma’s DEP technology. It utilises DEP to improve the formulation characteristics and therapeutic index of the anti-cancer agent and is currently in a phase 1 trial in the United States.

According to today’s update, AstraZeneca has informed Starpharma of its intention to expand the clinical program for AZD0466 to include a multi-centre global Phase 1 study. The study will recruit patients with acute leukaemias.

The healthcare giant made the move after preclinical data highlighted the potent and broad ranging anti-cancer activity of AZD0466 which results from the dual Bcl2 and Bcl/xL activity.

It provided positive preclinical data for AZD0466 in haematological cancers, including those resistant to venetoclax. AZD0466 also demonstrated superior anti-cancer activity in preclinical models of haematological cancers, including Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Starpharma’s CEO, Dr Jackie Fairley, was very pleased with the news.

She commented: “We are excited to see the global expansion of the clinical program for AZD0466 and AstraZeneca’s commitment to bringing this important medicine to patients in need, as quickly as possible.”

“There has been great enthusiasm for the global study from investigators and we understand that the intention is to expedite development of AZD0466 with the objective of obtaining regulatory approval for specific indications of high unmet clinical need. We look forward to further progress and clinical data for this exciting oncology medicine,” Dr Fairley concluded.

More reading

• Starpharma (ASX:SPL) share price dips on quarterly update

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 Starpharma Holdings Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Starpharma Holdings 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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The Emeco Holdings Limited (ASX: EHL) share price opened 10% lower today after the company released its half-year report for the period ended 31 December 2020. 

At the time of writing, the Emeco share price is trading down 8.87% at $1.13.

Emeco provides a rental fleet of more than 1,000 machines to mining operations around Australia. The company uses big data to assess projects and provide the necessary machinery for its clients.

How did Emeco go during the first half of 2021?

Emeco reported an operating net profit before tax of $37.7 million for the first half of FY21. This is $3.8 million less than what the company delivered 1H FY20.

Rental revenue also slipped 4.8% to $199.8 million, predominantly due to weaker market conditions in the Eastern region.

The coronavirus pandemic also took a swing at the company’s earnings. 

Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was down 3.5% to $117.9 million. However, this is still at the upper end of the guidance range of $115 to $118 million.

Emeco finalised its acquisition of Pit N Portal Mining Services Pty Ltd and Pit N Portal Equipment Hire Pty Ltd at the 31 December 2020 reporting date.

The company acquired Pit N Portal for $70,802,995 settled by an upfront cash payment of $62,000,000 and Emeco shares issued to the sellers of $9,178,744, less an additional cash payment of $375,749.

Group revenue hiked up 21.2% to $298.6 million for 1H FY21, with the company crediting the Pit N Portal acquisition as being a major player in the jump.

Outlook

The company believes that the flat rental earnings achieved in the first half FY21 will improve in the second half.

Emeco expects to report growth in FY22.

Supporting this growth will be an idle fleet of equipment in the east being placed into new projects and single shift projects in the west being converted to double shift projects.

Rental flexibility also exists with the company’s ability to relocate its assets as required.

Emeco notes that the company’s workforce is more than 1,000 strong. During the 2021 calendar year, the business will upgrade its employee recruitment, onboarding and training capability. 

The company intends to sustain an FY21 capital expenditure (CAPEX) of approximately $115 million. 

Emeco further advised that the company has been awarded fully maintained projects in coal, starting in the fourth quarter of FY21. A new metals project requiring a wide range of equipment and services for a 5-year contract will also start in late FY21.

More reading

• These 3 ASX stocks are the latest “buy” ideas from top brokers

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

The post Why did the Emeco (ASX:EHL) share price take a 10% dive today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Investors are torn about the Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price following its latest dividend update today.

The Scentre Group share price is struggling to hold at breakeven this morning after management slashed its final dividend.

However, the Australian Westfield shopping centre operator said that business is rebounding from the COVID-19 shock.

Scentre restarts dividend with smaller payout

The pandemic has hit retail property hard as social restrictions have driven shoppers online. Tenants, including Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV), are pushing landlords to cut rents in the fact of this new paradigm.

It doesn’t come as a big surprise that Scentre Group announced today that it will cut its final dividend to 7 cents a share. That represents a 38% cut to the second half dividend it paid this time last year.

But supporters will point out that the payout is great news. After all, Scentre Group paid nothing in the six months before as COVID rocked markets.

Silver lining to Scentre’s update

Further, rent collection improved in the second half of 2020. Receipts in the course of operations during the period came in at $1.3 billion compared to $1.06 billion in the first half of last year.

The group’s earnings were also bolstered by cost reduction. Management reported that operating, finance and other expenses dipped to $788 million in the latest half compared to $798 million in 1HFY20.

The improved cash receipts include the continued improvement in cash rental collections. The group collected around $1.18 billion of rent in the second half of 2020 – a 35% increase over the first half.

Questions on dividends and earnings linger

Despite these positives, concerns about future earnings will not ease following the update. While Scentre Group will have the upper hand in negotiating rents with smaller retailers, the larger ones aren’t likely to give ground.

The pandemic has taught them that having a shop in a premium centre isn’t necessarily as great as what it used to be.

Not only is online shopping expected to capture a significantly larger slice of shoppers, retailers that want to offer “click and collect” know they don’t need to be in mega malls to offer this convenience.

Foolish takeaway

Retailers are probably looking at opening shops in smaller neighbourhood centres where rents are lower.

I suspect this will favour the Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP) share price, which is gaining ground today on a positive update.

Scentre Group will release its full year results on 24 February.

More reading

• SCA (ASX:SCP) share price rises on double-digit increase in dividend and profit
• Real reporting season surprise isn’t about profits but dividends
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for income
• 2 ASX 200 shares to buy for growth
• The ASX small cap with the best global expansion potential may not be tech

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Premier Investments Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

The post Scentre (ASX: SCG) dividend restart fails to quell sceptics appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The IOUpay Ltd (ASX: IOU) share price has been a very strong performer on Tuesday morning.

At the time of writing, the Malaysia-based buy now pay later (BNPL) provider’s shares are up a massive 30% to 26 cents.

This leaves the IOUpay share price trading within sight of its record high of 28 cents.

Why is the IOUpay share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been buying IOUpay shares today following the release of a positive announcement.

According to the release, the company has entered into a merchant referral agreement with EasyStore Commerce. This agreement will enable EasyStore’s merchants and end-user customers to utilise IOUpay’s BNPL payment services.

What is EasyStore?

The release explains that EasyStore was established in Malaysia in 2013 to capitalise on the fast-growing market needs for merchants and their customers to leverage smarter access to multiple ecommerce sales channels, social media, and payment platforms.

EasyStore has since expanded to service more than 7,000 merchants across the South East Asian (SEA) markets, which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

In 2020, EasyStore merchants processed over 20 million transactions with a total transaction value (TTV) of approximately A$435 million.

IOUpay’s CEO, Khong Kok Loong, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with online shopping specialist EasyStore to rollout our BNPL offering to merchants and consumers. EasyStore’s dedication to real value added merchant services and their SEA focus is an excellent fit with IOUpay’s positioning and objectives.”

This sentiment was echoed by EasyStore’s Co-Founder and Head of Business Development, Alan Kok Kim Lin.

He said: “We are looking forward to partnering with IOUpay to enable our merchants and their customers to have access to the clear benefits of their Buy Now Pay Later payment services. The BNPL service offering is a natural value add for our merchants to grow their businesses.”

More reading

• Why the IOUpay (ASX:IOU) share price jumped 11% higher today

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

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Furniture chain Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) is giving back $3.6 million it received in COVID-19 government assistance.

Last week, the company reported record numbers across the board in its half-yearly results, ending up with a 99.5% boost to its net profit.

The positive numbers resulted in a 40% increase in dividends, which saw managing director and major shareholder Anthony Scali pocket $4.4 million.

This situation triggered political outrage as the retailer had pocketed about $7.7 million in JobKeeper over the 2020 calendar year.

“Nick Scali’s corporate social responsibility policy says the firm isn’t just there for the shareholders, so if they really believe that they’d hand the money back,” federal Labor politician Andrew Leigh told Nine newspapers at the time.

“The Scali family has done extremely well… They simply didn’t need taxpayer support and they should give it back to people who need it.”

Nick Scali agrees to hand back money — but not all of it

Nick Scali on Monday night relented to public pressure, although it didn’t cave all the way.

The furniture retailer announced after ASX close of trade that it would return $3.6 million of wage subsidies.

“The company fully recognises that it has benefited from the increased consumer confidence this program has created, which has resulted in record sales and net profit after tax,” stated the company.

“The company is very appreciative of the federal government’s JobKeeper policy, which was highly successful and of great assistance at the height of the pandemic.”

Nick Scali, which has a market capitalisation of $920 million, pointed out it needed the subsidy to counter government-enforced lockdowns.

“The JobKeeper scheme enabled the company to continue to pay employees throughout the state government-mandated closures in Melbourne throughout August, September and October,” it stated.

“And continue to pay employees in full during other temporary COVID-related store closures in South Australia and Western Australia as recently as last week.”

The Nick Scali share price was up 2.21% at the time of writing on Tuesday morning.

More reading

• How does the Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) share price stack up against Nick Scali (ASX:NCK)?
• ASX stock of the day: Temple & Webster (ASX:TPW) goes from strength to strength
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• ASX 200 falls 0.9%, Nick Scali reports, Vulcan jumps
• 3 ASX dividend shares with large yields and consistent payouts

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.

The post Nick Scali (ASX:NCK) returns half the JobKeeper it received appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)‘s crusade against climate change continues. In its latest move, the e-commerce giant has struck a deal to buy 380 megawatts (MW) of wind energy from Hollandse Kust Noord, a wind farm off the coast of Netherlands that’s being developed by The Crosswind, a consortium between oil major Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS.B) and Eneco, a Netherlands-based energy company owned by Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp (OTC: MSBHF).

Amazon says this project, called the Amazon-Shell HKN Offshore Wind Project, is also its “largest single-site renewable energy project” yet.

The wind farm is expected to be operational by 2023 with an installed capacity of 759 MW. That means Amazon will buy 50% of its total power starting in 2024 to power its operations in Europe, including 250 MW from Shell and 130 MW from Eneco.

This project takes Amazon one step closer to its goal of becoming a 100% renewable energy company by 2025, five years ahead of its original target announced in late 2019 under its Climate Pledge.

Amazon has made significant investments in renewable energy since. In 2020, it became the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy, having announced 127 solar and wind energy projects with 6.5 gigawatts (GW) of capacity by Dec. 10, 2020.

With its latest offshore wind project, Amazon’s global wind and solar projects now total 187 with a capacity of 6.9 GW.

Lately, Amazon has been consistently hitting the headlines for its clean energy initiatives. The first of its three wind farms in Ireland came online earlier this month, and the company just ordered more than 1,000 natural-gas engines for its distribution fleet. These moves reflect Amazon’s commitment to becoming net-zero carbon by 2040.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon 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.

The post Amazon unveils its largest-ever renewable energy project appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The Douugh Ltd (ASX: DOU) share price is pushing higher on Tuesday morning.

In early trade, the financial wellness app company’s shares are up 16% to 18 cents.

Why is the Douugh share price charging 16% higher?

The catalyst for the strong performance by the Douugh share price today has been the release of a product announcement.

According to the release, the company has now launched its Autopilot feature within its app. Douugh refers to Autopilot as a “self-driving” money management feature.

The release explains that the first function of the feature, Salary Sweeper, has been released to all users today. This service automatically allocates a customer’s paycheck to cover their upcoming expenditure needs for the period and contribute to savings goals.

Furthermore, it uses algorithms to make real-time decisions about how to allocate money, sweeping cash between “jars” to provision for bills, meet saving goals, and speed up debt repayments.

Founder and CEO, Andy Taylor, commented: “This is a hugely exciting moment for our customers, shareholders and team as we launch the first stage of automation that aims to make Douugh indispensable in people’s daily lives – changing the way people bank and invest.”

“We believe Autopilot is what will set Douugh apart from the competition who continue to devote resources to self-service offerings. Autopilot detects, tracks and predicts income and outgoings to calculate each individual’s optimal budgeting requirements,” he added.

Once again, one thing missing from its update was the number of users it has for its app. This could be a sign that the numbers are not strong enough to announce publicly.

It is worth noting that competition in this area of the financial world is intense and has low barriers to entry.

It also has competition from companies with deep pockets such Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P). It is the company behind the hugely popular Pocketbook app, which has more than 800,000 users.

More reading

• Why Douugh, Janus Henderson, Northern Star, & Orocobre are dropping lower
• Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is crashing 18% lower
• Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price still in limbo. Here’s why
• Does Xinja’s downfall mean neobanks are dead?
• Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price remains suspended after listing rule breaches were found

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

The post Why the Douugh (ASX:DOU) share price is charging 16% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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The Shopping Cntrs Austrls Prprty Gp Re Ltd (ASX: SCP) share price will be on watch this morning after it posted an increase in profits and dividends.

You might not have guessed that COVID-19 had hit retail landlords hard. But SCA Property Group’s focus on neighbourhood centres provided it some protection.

The group reported a 14.1% increase in interim net profit to $102.9 million compared with the same period last year.

Watch the cash not profit

But profits aren’t really the focus when it comes to property groups. It’s more the Funds from Operations (FFO) and Adjusted Funds from Operations (AFFO) that I watch.

On these two metrics, the group posted a weaker result compared to 1HFY20, which was before COVID.

However, management was quick to point out that FFO in the latest half improved by 8.2% to 6.77 cents per unit (cpu) compared with 2HFY20.

The increase would have been starker at 16.1% if not for the significant capital raise it undertook during the height of the pandemic.

SCA lifts dividends on improving AAFO

AAFO also improved in 1HFY21 over the previous six months. This measure, which deducts operating costs including maintenance capex climbed 7.4% to 5.8cpu.

Fund flows are more important to investors because that’s where dividends are paid from. On that front, investors would be pleased that SCA Property Group boosted its interim distribution by 14% over 2HFY20 to 5.7cpu.

While that’s still a big drop from last year’s interim dividend of 7.5cps, management is promising to keep increasing the dividend as long as the economy continues to recover.

Dividend and earnings outlook improving

As long as nothing comes out of left field, investors can count on another dividend upgrade in the second half as management is forecasting a full year AFFO of 12.2cpu. Assuming a 98% payout ratio, this should equate to a final distribution of ~6.25cps. This compares with the 5cps it paid in 2HFY20.

SCA Property Group’s earnings are probably more resilient than many other retail landlords, including the Vicinity Centres (ASX: VCX) share price and Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price.

While some of the group’s specialty retail tenants are facing ongoing pressure from COVID, its key anchor clients are Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) and Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).

Foolish takeaway

Both the WOW share price and COL share price are trading at or close to record highs as they are “COVID winners”. Demand for their groceries and alcohol increased during the pandemic and are expected to remain strong.

As for the big profit jump reported by SCA Property Group, that is less exciting than it sounds, in my view.

This is because it was driven primarily by the higher valuations placed on it property portfolio. The main reason investors buy a property stock is for sustainable dividends and companies can’t pay dividends from property valuation increases.

More reading

• Real reporting season surprise isn’t about profits but dividends
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Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of Woolworths Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of COLESGROUP DEF SET, Shopping Centres Australasia Property Group, and 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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The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price is surging higher on Tuesday following the release of its third quarter update.

At the time of writing, the investment bank’s shares are up 7% to $143.45.

How did Macquarie perform in the third quarter?

For the three months ended 31 December, Macquarie experienced an improvement in trading conditions across the company.

According to the release, Macquarie’s annuity-style businesses’ combined third quarter net profit contribution was up on the prior corresponding period.

However, year to date, this side of the business is broadly in line with the same period last year. This is due to base and performance fees being partially offset by margin pressures, increased credit impairment charges, and higher costs to support clients as a result of COVID-19.

Macquarie’s markets-facing businesses’ combined third quarter net profit contribution was significantly higher than the prior corresponding period. This was thanks to the partial sale of its interest in Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL).

Once again, though, year to date its net profit contribution was broadly in line with the same period in FY 2020. This was due to stronger activity across the majority of its commodity and global markets businesses being partially offset by lower fee revenue and principal income in Macquarie Capital.

At the end of the period, Macquarie’s financial position comfortably exceeded APRA’s Basel III regulatory requirements. As of 31 December, it had a group capital surplus of $8.1 billion and a CET1 ratio of 12.1%. The latter was down from 13.5% at the end of September.

Outlook

Macquarie acknowledges that market conditions are likely to remain challenging, especially given the significant and unprecedented COVID-19 uncertainty.

As a result, it makes short-term forecasting extremely difficult. However, at this point, management advised that it anticipates the FY 2021 result to be slightly down on FY 2020.

Macquarie’s CEO, Ms Shemara Wikramanayake, commented: “Macquarie remains well-positioned to deliver superior performance in the medium term due to our deep expertise in major markets; strength in business and geographic diversity and ability to adapt our portfolio mix to changing market conditions; an ongoing program to identify cost saving initiatives and efficiency; our strong and conservative balance sheet; and a proven risk management framework and culture.”

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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. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Nuix Pty 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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