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Brickworks shares are popular for dividends. This article will outline three reasons that supports Brickworks as an income option.

Reason 1: Attractive dividend characteristics

The Brickworks dividend yield is materially higher than the official interest rate which the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) maintained at just 0.10% this month.

At the current Brickworks share price of $19.66 it has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 4.3%. That’s based on FY20’s annual dividend of $0.59 per share. If the Brickworks board decide to increase each half-year payment by 1 cent per share over FY21, it would result in an annual dividend of $0.61 per share which would equate to a grossed-up dividend yield of 4.4%.

Brickworks hasn’t cut its dividend in over 40 years, which is one of the longest records on the ASX. However, it hasn’t increased its dividend every time since then – there were some years where the dividend was maintained.

Reason 2: Defensive and growing assets

Brickworks has two segments represented by defensive and growing assets. One part is represented by ‘investments’.

The segment that’s grabbing more of the headlines at the moment is its industrial property trust that it shares 50% of in a joint venture along with Goodman Group (ASX: GMG).

The Sydney site at Oakdale West is where the property trust is building a huge distribution facility for Amazon which is scheduled for completion in September 2021. Brickworks has also indicated that works are going as planned for the other large distribution warehouse that it is building for Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) with construction likely to commence in early 2021.

The ASX dividend share said that once these two distribution warehouses are fully done, the net rental distributions will grow by more than 25%. The gross value of the assets owned by the property trust are projected to be more than $3 billion. After that, Brickworks thinks there’s still enough land for at least another five years of development.

Brickworks managing director Lindsay Partridge said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated industry trends towards online shopping, and this is fuelling demand for the company’s prime industrial property. Interest from potential new tenants is strong, with discussions well underway with several parties in relation to additional leasing opportunities within the property trust.”

Reason 3: Recovering property market

Whilst Brickworks non-construction assets make up most of the underlying asset value of the business, its building products segments also influence the Brickworks share price and profit.

In a recent update to the market, management said that its Australian building products division has made a strong start to FY21. The first quarter earnings are actually well ahead of the prior corresponding period.

Its home builder customers have a good pipeline of work for the remainder of the financial year, which is being helped by the various government stimulus measures currently in place across the country. However, Western Australian trading conditions are still hard for the company.

Brickworks is investing a large sum of money into building a new brick plant. At Horsley Park, Brickworks has demolished the old brick kiln and associated equipment at the second plant, which will allow the construction of a new $125 million face brick plant. Brickworks believes this will be the most advanced brick plant ever built when completed.

However, in the North American market things aren’t going to management expectations because of COVID-19 impacts. The deferral of many projects by state authorities due to financing concerns and the uncertainty relating to the US election have caused a slowdown in non-residential construction activity.

Despite that, Brickworks said that it was pleased with the underlying performance of the US business and the progress it has achieved over the past two years.

More reading

• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy in December
• What is a holding company?
• 3 ASX dividend shares rated as buys
• 3 ASX shares with large dividend yields
• Is the Brickworks (ASX:BKW) share price a buy?

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Brickworks. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a small gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.2% to 6,603.5 points.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here’s why they are racing higher:

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price has climbed 2% to $17.61. This may have been driven by news that the UK is going to start rolling out the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week. There is also speculation that the vaccine could be released sooner than expected in Australia. This could be a big boost to global travel markets.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG)

The Fortescue share price has jumped 11.5% higher to $20.33. Investors have been buying Fortescue and other iron ore producers after the spot price of the steel making ingredient climbed to a six-year high. The catalyst for this was news that mining giant Vale is expecting to produce less iron ore than previously expected in the near term. This could keep prices higher for longer.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price is up over 7% to $17.29. This strong gain has been driven by news that Kogan has acquired 100% of the issued capital of leading New Zealand-based online retailer Mighty Ape for A$122.4 million. Mighty Ape operates online stores in New Zealand and Australia and has a focus on gaming, toys, and other entertainment categories. It has more than 690,000 unique customers and is expecting to generate revenue of A$137.7 million in FY 2021.

Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX)

The Telix share price is up almost 3% to $4.11 after the release of yet another announcement this morning. It revealed details from the pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in relation to its prostate cancer therapy product TLX591. Telix Chief Medical Officer, Dr Colin Hayward noted: “The valuable feedback Telix has received from our November meeting with the FDA has helped Telix to finalize the clinical development roadmap for TLX591.”

More reading

• ASX 200 up 0.3%: Fortescue rockets, Afterpay sales explode, Westpac APRA update
• Why has the Telix (ASX:TXL) share price shot up 5% today?
• Kogan (ASX:KGN) share price storms higher on $122m Mighty Ape acquisition
• After a record November, what’s next for ASX 200 shares?
• Why Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and 2 other ASX iron ore mining shares sit at record highs

James Mickleboro owns shares of TELIXPHARM DEF SET. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel Group Limited and Kogan.com ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Insurance broker AUB Group Ltd (ASX: AUB) and accounting company Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) announced a new partnership today.

In the deal, Austbrokers (owned by AUB Group) will offer insurance products to Kelly Partners’ clients, while Kelly Partners will provide accounting services to Austbrokers’ clients.

In early trade, the Kelly Partners share price surged up 8% to $1.76 before retreating to $1.70, up 4.29%, at the time of writing. The AUB Group share price rose slightly at open but is now trading flat at $17.02.

Details of the deal

The companies announced that a new operation, called ‘Austbrokers Kelly and Partners’, will market and deliver insurance broking services to Kelly Partners’ 8,000 members and clients.

This new operation will be owned 50% by AUB, and 50% by a Kelly Partners controlled entity. 

In the reciprocal agreement, Kelly Partners will provide accounting and tax services to Austbrokers’ 700,000 clients and members. 

Given the much larger size of the AUB Group, the deal seems to have provided more benefits to Kelly Partners.

Kelly Group’s chief executive welcomed the joint venture, saying that the “partnership will significantly grow the company’s client base and revenue streams”.

What’s happening at AUB Group?

AUB chief executive Mike Emmet said the partnership was a “natural next step in the relationship between two organisations with similar DNA”.

AUB Group will reinvest 50% of the partnership profits back into the combined operations. However, it does not anticipate the new partnership to result in a material uplift in its underlying net profit after tax for FY21. 

Today’s announcement follows the company’s recent active expansion of its revenue base. Just two days ago, AUB Group announced its acquisition of 360 Underwriting Solutions for $127 million. AUB said that the deal would allow the company to strengthen and expand the scale of its agencies business.

Share price movements in 2020

The AUB Group share price has increased by 85% since its low of $9.20 back in March. The share price is 40% higher on a year-to-date basis, and has a 52-week high of $18.10.

Meanwhile, the Kelly Partners share price has risen by 76% this year, and is currently closing on its 52-week high of $1.79.

Based on the current share prices,  AUB Group commands a market capitalisation of around $1.2 billion, while Kelly Partners has a market value of $74 million.

More reading

• AUB Group (ASX:AUB) share price falls on acquisition deal
• AUB Group (ASX:AUB) share price higher after upgrade for FY21

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decent gain. The benchmark index is currently up 0.3% to 6,610.3 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

Iron ore producers storm higher.

The resources sector is playing a key role in driving the ASX 200 higher on Thursday. A solid rise in the spot iron ore price overnight has led to the likes of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) storming higher today. The latter is up a massive 11.5% at the time of writing. According to CommSec, the benchmark iron ore price is trading at a six-year high of US$136.75 a tonne.

Afterpay update.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price is dropping lower today despite the release of a positive trading update. That update revealed that global underlying sales in November reached $2.1 billion. This represents a 112% increase on the same period last year. This was driven by a very successful Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional period. Afterpay’s growth was particularly strong in the United States. This side of the business delivered the highest level of monthly underlying sales ever across all the regions. US consumers made $1 billion of purchases through its platform during the month.

Westpac’s enforceable undertaking.

The Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is edging lower after advising that it has entered into an enforceable undertaking with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in relation to risk governance remediation. Westpac’s CEO, Peter King, has acknowledged that significant work is required to address the bank’s shortcomings and is determined to deliver on its risk remediation activities.

Best and worst ASX 200 performers.

The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday has been the Fortescue share price with its 11.5% gain. This follows a solid rise in the iron ore price overnight. The worst performer has been the Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) share price with a 3% decline. This is despite there being no news out of the retailer.

More reading

• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price lags on $2.3bn takeover
• Will the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price hit new highs?
• 2 high yield ASX dividend shares to buy
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 flat on Wednesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Super Retail Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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This article is about two ASX shares that are seeing a turnaround after the lockdowns and restrictions caused by COVID-19.

For some industries there was a sharp increase in activity earlier in 2020. Companies like JB-Hi Limited (ASX: JBH), Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES) saw strong revenue growth start earlier in the year.

There are also some businesses that saw initial weakness earlier in the year but are now recovering.

Here are two examples:

Serko Limited (ASX: SKO)

Serko describes itself as a leader of online travel booking and expense management business.

Today, the company announced it intends to provide periodic updates to assist the market to assess changes to the environment it operates in.

Serko said it has seen a gradual improvement in transaction booking volumes after the easing of domestic travel restrictions within Australia over the past couple of weeks.

Transaction volumes increased to 44% of prior year volumes for the month of November. This was an improvement from 35% of prior year volumes for the month of October. Serko revealed that the past week has seen some daily transaction rates around 50% of prior year volumes.

New Zealand domestic travel increased to 85% of prior year volumes for the month of November, which was an increase from 76% of prior year volumes for the month of October. Australian domestic travel increased to 33% of prior year volumes for the month of November, up from 26% of prior year volumes for October.

The ASX share said it was pleased to see Australian travel bookings start to recover with the current easing of domestic travel restrictions.

The travel company also confirmed that new customers in select global (predominately English-speaking) markets are now being directed to the new Booking.com for business platform powered by Zeno.

Fund manager Wilson Asset Management recently outlined that Serko was a position in one of its funds called WAM Microcap Limited (ASX: WMI).

Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)

Bapcor is the biggest Australasian auto parts business with major networks in Australia and New Zealand. It also has a small, but growing network in Thailand.

A significant part of the normal demand for Bapcor products is to replace parts that broke due to wear and tear. The lockdowns earlier in the year saw traffic significantly reduce. Bapcor decided to launch a capital raising to ensure its balance sheet remained strong enough.

In recent months the ASX share has seen growth rebound strongly. This was confirmed recently when Bapcor announced a trading update.

Burson Trade revenue was up 10%, with same store sales growth of 7.7% – it was up 17% excluding Victoria. New Zealand revenue grew by 6% on same store sales growth of 4%. Retail revenue soared 47% higher, with Autobarn same stores sales going up 36%. Finally, specialist wholesale revenue went up 45%, though excluding acquisitions revenue went up 18%. Overall, group revenue went up by 27%.

In that update the Bapcor CEO Darryl Abotomey spoke of the company’s defensive qualities: “The automotive market is a resilient industry and historically has performed strongly in difficult economic circumstances. Recent trading is another example of its resilience assisted by the increase in sales on second hand cars, reduction in use of public and shared transport modes as well as government stimulus.”

At the current Bapcor share price it’s trading at under 18x FY23’s estimated earnings with a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 3.5%.

More reading

• Serko (ASX:SKO) share price on watch after trading update
• 2 turnaround ASX shares rated as buys by leading fundie
• 3 ASX dividend shares to buy in December
• 4 ASX growth shares to buy in December
• Is the Bapcor (ASX:BAP) share price a buy?

Tristan Harrison owns shares of WAM MICRO FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd and Serko Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Bapcor. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Serko Ltd. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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MyDeal.com.au Pty Ltd (ASX: MYD) updated the market with record November sales and an expanding private label business on Thursday. The MyDeal share price opened 3% higher on the news, but has been unable to hold onto its gains. At the time of writing, MyDeal shares are down 1.53% to $1.29. 

What is MyDeal?

MyDeal is a pure-play e-commerce business with an online retail marketplace specialising in household goods. According to the company, it offers consumers a vast product range from independent sellers at competitive prices. MyDeal recently raised $40 million from its initial public offering (IPO) at an offer price of $1.00 per share. 

The MyDeal share price went as high as $2.20 on its first day of listing. However, its shares have drifted lower in recent weeks to their current $1.29 level. 

Trading update with record performance 

November was a record trading period for MyDeal with gross sales of $30 million, up 192% year on year and 63% month on month. The company’s active customers grew to a record 778,867, up 236% YoY. Furthermore, 52.9% of all transactions were from returning customers, up from 49.7% in the first quarter of FY21.

The business delivered gross sales of $105 million for the first five months of FY21, which exceeds gross sales for the entirety of FY20 ($103 million). 

Private label business to drive margin expansion 

MyDeal’s private label business, Duke Living, also achieved significant sales growth of 71% month on month, or $1.2 million, in November. The company’s private label business sources products from manufacturers and/or wholesalers and sells them directly on the MyDeal marketplace as well as other marketplaces. 

MyDeal founder and managing director, Sean Senvirtne, believes that the higher margin private label is in its infancy with under 200 products as at today’s date. He expects Duke Living to grow as it rapidly expands its product range. Expanding its private label product offering and sales is expected to deliver higher margins for the greater business while offering competitive prices for customers. 

Australia enters ‘COVID-normal’ 

The announcement highlighted Australia entering a period of ‘COVID-normal’, with easing of social distancing and lockdown restrictions. Despite these changes, MyDeal is continuing to see strong website traffic from all states and territories. The company’s website visits from Victoria and the rest of Australia were up 174% and 168% respectively in November 2020 compared to March 2020. 

More reading

• 2 rapidly-growing small cap ASX shares to buy
• MyDeal (ASX:MYD) share price jumps 7% but tipped to go even higher
• 2 ASX small cap shares tipped for big things
• 3 exciting small cap ASX tech shares to watch
• MyDeal.com.au (ASX:MYD) share price up 7% on trading update

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) share price is racing higher after the company announced a new phase in its drug trials. The company confirmed it will proceed with the Phase III of ProstACT study for its TLX591 drug, a prostate cancer treatment.

The company also advised this morning that it has entered into a commercialisation and partnership agreement with DuChemBio, a leading South Korean radiopharmaceutical company.

At the time of writing, the Telix share price has surged up 5% to $4.20.

About the Phase III testing

Telix recently met with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the company’s planned Phase III ProstACT trial for TLX591. Today’s announcement is the result of that meeting.

The company advised the Phase III clinical testing will involve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), and who have disease progression following prior treatment with a novel androgen axis drug (NAAD).  Based on the statistical plan presented to the FDA, this study will enroll approximately 390 patients and will start in Australia.

Telix is the process of submitting a clinical trial notification to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The company says Australian and European sites will be added progressively during the first quarter of 2021 and, and it will also evaluate the feasibility of enrolling Chinese patients, subject to regulator consultations and requisite approval.

Telix chief medical officer, Dr Colin Hayward noted:

The valuable feedback Telix has received from our November meeting with the FDA has helped Telix to finalise the clinical development roadmap for TLX591 with respect to inclusion of US patients in ProstACT.

We appreciate the FDA’s clear guidance and feedback on our proposed study, particularly the opportunity to deploy a far more compact study design.

We expect the study will require a significantly reduced recruitment time, due to both the reduced sample size and the patient-centric randomisation scheme. We look forward to working with the agency to bring TLX591 to American patients living with metastatic prostate cancer.

Partnership with Korean company

Telix and DuChemBio also announced today the founding of the Korean Partnership for Advanced Prostate Cancer Imaging in Melbourne and Seoul.

In this partnership, Telix has granted exclusive rights to DuChemBio to commercialise TLX591-CDx for prostate cancer imaging in South Korea.

The parties will cooperate to attain a marketing authorisation for the product from the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

Commenting on the deal, Telix CEO Christian Behrenbruch stated:

Telix’s mission is to be a leading global oncology company and South Korea is a key Asian market for our products.

We are pleased to have entered this commercialisation and partnership agreement with DuChemBio to bring this highly anticipated product to Korean men with prostate cancer.

DuChemBio has a well-deserved reputation as the number one radiopharmaceutical company in Korea and we look forward to exploring future commercial and clinical opportunities through the experience of this initial partnership.

How did the Telix share price perform in 2020

The Telix share price has gained almost 170% this year, as new developments in its various medical drugs took place. At the current share price, the company commands a market value of $1.1 billion.

More reading

• Why Laybuy, Mesoblast, Sandfire, & Telix shares are charging higher
• Why the Telix (ASX:TLX) share price is up 9% to a new record high today
• Why Afterpay, Bega Cheese, Humm, & Telix shares are storming higher
• Telix (ASX:TLX) share price storms 8% higher to record high on acquisition news
• Why these All Ords shares have almost doubled in value this month

Motley Fool contributor Eddy Sunarto has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) share price has been left behind in today’s rally after it announced a US$1.7 billion ($2.3 billion) acquisition.

Shares in the investment bank slipped 0.6% in morning trade to $137.58 when the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) jumped 0.4%.

It isn’t a great day for financials with many in the sector also nursing losses. But many are faring better than the MQG share price.

The National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price gained 0.2% to $23.05 and even the crisis-ladened AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) managed to rise 0.1% to $1.77.

Macquarie share price under M&A spotlight

Investors don’t seem too taken with news that Macquarie will purchase Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc. (NYSE: WDR).

Waddell & Reed is one of the oldest asset and wealth management companies in the US with two divisions. The first is an asset management business that manages around US$68 billion. The other is a wealth management division with US$63 billion in assets under administration.

If Macquarie is successful in the takeover, it will flog the wealth management business to LPL Financial Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: LPLA) for US$300 million plus excess net assets.

New partnership and US$68bn AUM boost

LPL is described as a leading retail investment advisory firm in the US and Macquarie will enter into agreement that will position the Australian bank as LPL’s “top-tier strategic asset management partners”.

Waddell & Reed’s asset management business will boost Macquarie’s assets under management (AUM) to US$465 billion.

“The combined business becoming a top 25 actively managed, long-term, open-ended US mutual fund manager by assets under management, with the scale and diversification to competitively position the business to maintain and extend its high standards of service to clients and partners,” said Macquarie in its ASX statement.

Is the MQG share price a buy?

The deal is likely to be consummated by mid-2021 as it has the backing of the target’s board, although it’s still subject to regulatory approval.

The Waddell & Reed share price surged 48% to over US$25 in afterhours trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

It’s not surprising to see the share price of the bidder fall and the target surge. This is typically because mergers and acquisitions (M&A) tend to leave the target’s shareholders better off than those of the bidder.

However, Macquarie has a good track record and any weakness on the news may not persist – especially when things are looking up for this year’s Santa Rally.

More reading

• $1.7 billion Aussie tech company finally lists on ASX
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 flat on Wednesday
• Why this fund manager believes Qantas (ASX:QAN) could emerge “larger and more valuable”
• Why the Oz Minerals (ASX:OZL) share price, up 61% this year, could run higher

Motley Fool contributor Brendon Lau owns shares of AMP Limited, Macquarie Group Limited, and National Australia Bank Limited. Connect with me on Twitter @brenlau.

The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Amaero International Ltd (ASX: 3DA) share price will be one to watch when it resumes trading after the company announced it received a purchase order from the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer, Boeing Co (NYSE: BA). The order is for the manufacture of metal evaluation parts.

The company provided an update on the order this morning after which the Amaero share price was placed in a trading halt. The trading halt was requested in relation to a potential capital raising. 

About Amaero 

Amaero made its ASX debut on 6 December 2019 at an initial public offering (IPO) offer price of 20 cents per share. The company uses additive manufacturing processes, otherwise known as 3D printing, to produce components out of various metal alloys. Its clients are predominantly in the defence and aerospace industries.

Amaero is Australia’s largest metal 3D printing company by volume of 3D printers. Currently, six out of the top ten defence companies in the world are Amaero clients. 

The company’s growth strategy is to focus on immediately addressable commercial opportunities whilst still providing growth optionality. It aims to assist defence and aerospace clients in preparing for future military and aviation platforms utilising Amaero’s proprietary metal 3D printing processes and alloys. The company says its products provide improved performance and decreased weight whilst delivering mechanical enhancements not achievable via traditional manufacturing methods.

Amaero share price performance 

The Amaero share price has rocketed more than 300% since its IPO to a closing price of 65 cents on Wednesday. The company has made a series of significant achievements since listing including: 

• Tooling agreement with Fletcher Insulation, Australia’s leading insulation company, for the development of an additive manufacturing application, to provide a superior tooling solution to Fletcher and its global manufacturing network. 
• Development agreement with top 10 global automotive manufacturer for metal 3D printing of tooling. 
• Commencement of qualification statement of work for the world’s largest aerospace manufacturer. 
• International patent application in final stage for its high performance titanium alloy. 

The company had $4 million in cash and cash equivalents as at 30 June and believes it can become cash flow positive by 2023.

Boeing purchase order for evaluation parts 

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners. It also produces defence, space and security systems which support airlines and government customers in more than 150 countries. Its products and tailored services include commercial and military aircraft, satellites, weapons, electronic and defence systems, launch systems, advanced information and communication systems, and performance-based logistics and training. 

The evaluation parts for Boeing will be developed and manufactured at Amaero’s facilities in California and Melbourne. 

More reading

• 10 most searched shares in Australia
• Here are the US shares that CommSec customers are buying
• This cheap ASX share is supplying US giants: fundie
• The PPK (ASX:PPK) share price and 1 other surge on joint venture news

Motley Fool contributor Lina Lim has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL) share price is pushing higher this morning following the release of a trading update.

At the time of writing, the buy now pay later provider’s shares are up 1.5% to $6.38.

How is Sezzle performing?

Just like we have seen with Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) this week, the month of November was a strong one for Sezzle.

According to the release, November represented the highest monthly underlying merchant sales (UMS) performance since the company’s inception.

Sezzle reported UMS of US$113 million for the month, which represents an increase of 188.5% compared to the prior corresponding period.

This means that the company is now operating with annualised UMS of US$1.36 billion, which is well ahead of its target of achieving annualised UMS of US$1 billion in FY 2020.

What were the drivers of its record-breaking month?

Key drivers of this growth were another large increase in active customers, strong merchant growth, and a very positive performance during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Management advised that active customers surpassed the 2 million mark for the first time in November. This means it has added over 1 million active customers since February.

Its launch into Canada has given this metric a boost. Management notes that the business is performing strongly in the country and producing faster UMS growth rates than the United States.

It was a similar story for merchants, with active merchants reaching 24,846 at the end of the month. This is a 164.5% increase year on year.

In respect to its Black Friday and Cyber Monday performance, management advised that it recorded UMS of US$28.5 million for the four-day period. This was a 146.4% increase on the same period last year.

It also revealed that Black Friday 2020 represented the single largest day of underlying merchant sales and transactions from active customers in the company’s history.

Sezzle’s CEO and Executive Chairman, Charlie Youakim, was very pleased with the month.

He commented: “We set new records over the month of November and the BFCM weekend, with UMS reaching a run-rate of US$1.36 billion (188.5% YoY growth), Active Consumers growing to over 2 million (151.5% YoY growth, and Active Merchants now exceeding over 24,800 (164.5% YoY growth). Our November UMS run-rate of US$1.36 billion is well ahead of our previous guidance of exceeding a UMS run-rate of US$1.0 billion by the end of 2020.”

“In addition to our record setting performance in November and over the BFCM weekend, we are extremely excited about the direction of our business, as we recently partnered with GameStop and eCommerce platform Wix. Sezzle is now offered at GameStop’s network of more than 3,300 U.S. retail stores, its online store, and in the GameStop mobile app. Our integration on Wix is available to all Wix merchants in the United States, Canada, India and in the future will be available in other regions as Sezzle expands internationally,” he concluded.

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• Is the Sezzle (ASX:SZL) share price a buy?
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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 ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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