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Aussie gold miner Evolution Mining Ltd‘s (ASX: EVN) share price could be on the move today after a strong full-year result.

What did Evolution Mining announce?

It was a bumper FY20 result for the Aussie gold miner headlined by a record underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) result of $405.4 million.

Statutory NPAT jumped 38% to $301.6 million while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) surged 41% to $1,029.4 million.

Evolution Mining’s EBITDA margin jumped 10% higher from FY19 while group cash flow rocketed 86% to $541.8 million.

Those strong earnings numbers were underpinned by an increase in revenues and royalties. FY20 gold production totalled 746,463 ounces, up from 753,001 ounces in FY19.

The group’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC) came in at A$1,043 (US$700) per ounce – among the lowest gold producers in the world.

Soaring commodities prices and increased volumes were also evident in the company’s bottom line.

Evolution Mining delivered strong margins from many of its major producing mines. That saw the gold miner report record new mine cash flow up 48% to $736 million for the year.

Margins were also strong on a per ounce basis, with group cash flow climbing 88% compared to a 29% increase in gold prices.

What about the company’s dividend?

The Evolution Mining share price is worth watching today after also reporting a 50% jump in its final dividend. The Aussie gold miner will pay a final distribution of 9.0 cents per share, fully franked.

Earnings per share rocketed 84% higher to 23.8 cents per share. Evolution Mining shares closed at $5.54 on Wednesday afternoon.

That implies a price to earnings (P/E) ratio of 23.3 and a dividend yield of 1.6% per annum.

FY21 guidance

Many ASX companies have been unable or unwilling to provide FY21 guidance in the current market.

Group production is anticipated to be 670,000 to 730,000 in FY21 with an AISC of 1,240 to 1,300 per ounce.

However, Evolution has forecast a declining cost profile over the next 3 years. The gold miner sees AISC falling to $1,125 to $1,185 per ounce by FY23.

On the production side, Evolution is forecasting a steady increase to 790,000 to 850,000 ounces by FY23.

This is all part of the miner’s strategy to have a portfolio of 6 to 8 assets “generating superior returns with an average mine life of at least 10 years”.

One of those is the Red Lake Mineral Resource in Ontario, Canada. Evolution Mining today said it estimated 48.08 million tonnes, grading at 7.10 grams per tonne from the site.

That would provide an estimated 11.0 million ounces of gold which is significantly higher than what was estimated and used as justification for the acquisition.

That’s another reason why I’d be watching the Evolution Mining share price in early trade today.

Foolish takeaway

Evolution Mining shares could be on the move in early trade. Today’s record result, targeted guidance and Red Lake update is sure to pique investors’ interest.

More reading

• ASX gold miners on watch after gold price crashes lower
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday
• Gold price tops US$2,000: What’s driving it higher and how can you benefit?
• ASX 200 Weekly Wrap: Surging commodity prices snap ASX 200’s losing streak
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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 Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price recovery just got a little trickier even as it takes the dubious honour of being a rare capital raising loser.

It appears that Regional Express Holdings Ltd’s (ASX: REX) ambition to be a thorn in the side of Qantas took a big step forward.

The Australian Financial Review reported that the tiny regional shuttle is buying around 10 Boeing 737s from Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (ASX: VAH).

I’ll explain why this is something Qantas shareholders will want to keep a close eye on later.

Placement under water

While around 75% of S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) companies that raised emergency funds during the COVID-19 crisis are trading well ahead of their placement price, the same can’t be said for Qantas.

Some examples in the 75% group include the Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price and National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) share price.

Near monopolistic power eroded

But the cap raise is water under the bridge. The challenge that investors weren’t counting on facing as we flew into the COVID-19 pandemic was increasing competition.

In fact, Qantas supporters rejoiced when archrival Virgin became an early casualty of coronavirus and plunged into administration.

This should leave the Flying Kangaroo with near monopolistic power, even if the wounded Virgin were to be revived. As it turns out, Virgin is rising from the ashes, albeit as a shadow of its former self.

One competitor becomes two

But Qantas now has to fend off a new challenger in Rex, which is going after some of Qantas’ most profitable domestic routes.

Rex only used to fly to regional towns in small propeller aircraft. The COVID-19 crisis presented it with an opportunity to expand its business as the heavily restructured Virgin looked to sell its passenger jets.

The new fleet will allow Rex to offer flights connecting Australia’s major cities, including the highly profitable Melbourne-Sydney connection.

I suspect Rex may prove to be a formidable competitor to Qantas too given Rex’s track record in running a tight ship through good cost control.

Capital raising on the cards?

The other key question is whether Rex may also contemplate plying short-haul international routes that the Boeing 737s are well suited for.

There’s no word on how Rex plans to fund the aircraft purchase, although it’s reported that the small cap is looking at striking an aircraft leasing agreement. A cap raise is certainly not out of the question either.

More reading

• Northern Star share price falls 1.6% on trading update
• Breville share price on watch as dividends climb 10.8% higher
• Flight Centre share price on watch after achieving cash flow target
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 drifts 0.1% lower, CBA reports solid FY20 result

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

The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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 Class Ltd (ASX: CL1) share price could be on the move following announcement of the company’s FY20 results. The Class share price has climbed 9.6% so far this month. Class creates software to assist customers automate and simplify complex administration in the financial services and related professional services sectors. Customers include accountants, self-manage super fund (SMSF) administrators, investment advisors, financial planners and lawyers.

FY20 highlights

Class’ operating revenue and other income was 15% higher to $44.1 million in FY20, up from $38.3 million in the prior corresponding period. The 15% increase exceeded Class’ guidance of a 14% increase. However, the FY19 result was not restated for the impact of the new accounting leasing standard AASB16.

In addition, statutory net profit was down 24% to $6.8 million in FY20 from $9 million in FY19.

Earnings per share (EPS) was 5.8 cents in FY20 down from 7.7 cents in the prior corresponding period. However, this exceeded analyst expectations of 5.5 cents per share.

A dividend of 2.5 cents was declared bringing the annual dividend to 5 cents per share. This was inline with FY19 and is payable on 18 September 2020.

Annualised recurring revenue (ARR) was up 22% to $46.8 million.

Class was also able to significantly grow its total customer numbers to 2,866 in FY20 from 1,545 in FY19.

Operating cash flow of $17.4 million was up from $12.9 million in FY19.

Class to acquire Smartcorp

Class has announced the execution of an agreement to buy 100% of shares in Smartcorp for $4.2 million. The transaction comprises an upfront cash payment of $2.73 million on completion plus $1.47 million in Class shares escrowed for 18 months. It is expected the transaction will be completed in August and earnings accretive in FY21.

Smartcorp is Australia’s first online company ordering and Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) compliance system.

The acquisition will help grow Class’ footprint in the document and corporate compliance market.

Class CEO comments

Class CEO, Andrew Russell, was pleased with the acquisition commenting:

“Acquiring Smartcorp accelerates the role Class will play in the documentation and corporate compliance space.”

“…we will continue to build our capabilities and compelling value proposition to ensure we help all our customers manage their clients’ businesses more effectively through a comprehensive suit of services. This acquisition will also offer Smartcorp clients a broader range of products and services” he added.

What’s next for the Class share price?

Class’ revenue is expected to lift 20% higher in FY21 to $53 million compared to FY20. Underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin target is expected to be 40% and above.

Additionally, Class has made good progress with its technology development and will launch Class Trust ahead of schedule in October 2020.

The Class share price is currently $1.48 as of yesterday’s market close and has increased 14.23% in the past year. The Class share price is down 27.8% in year-to-date trading.

More reading

• Openpay share price on watch after July update
• Breville share price on watch as dividends climb 10.8% higher
• Flight Centre share price on watch after achieving cash flow target
• Telstra hits guidance and declares 16 cents per share FY 2020 dividend
• Earnings season: 3 ASX shares you may have missed in August

Motley Fool contributor Matthew Donald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Class 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 Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY) share price will be one to watch this morning after the buy now pay later provider released a trading update.

What did Openpay announce?

This morning the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) challenger revealed that its growth has continued during the early stages of FY 2021.

According to the release, in July Openpay reported a 235% increase in active plans compared with the prior corresponding period to 906,000. This was driven largely by a 145% year on year increase in active customers to 340,000.

On a month to month basis, which the company didn’t provide but I believe is a more important way to look at Openpay’s growth, active plans grew 10% and active customers rose 6.6%. While this is still very positive, it does appear to indicate that its rapid growth could soon start to plateau.

Total transaction value (TTV) for July was $24 million. This was a 114% increase on the prior corresponding period, but a 6.7% on its TTV in June. From this, the company recorded revenue of $2.1 million.

What were the drivers of its growth?

Management advised that the main growth drivers for July’s result were the accelerated growth in e-commerce in Australia and the continued strong increase in UK trading volumes.

It notes that trading volumes in the Automotive and Healthcare verticals (where businesses are mostly in-store) have increased. The Australian online channel contributed 27% of TTV ($4.7 million) in July, compared to in-store TTV at 73% ($12.5 million).

Bad debts improve.

While I felt its growth was underwhelming in July, I was pleased to see good progress with its bad debts.

Openpay reported net bad debts as a percentage of TTV of 1.54%. This compares to 2.89% in the fourth quarter of FY 2020 and 4.7% in the third quarter.

Management advised that this outcome follows improvements it made to its automated risk management (ARM) system in March, which continue to show a material positive impact.

Openpay will release its full year results on 31 August 2020, together with an update on its growth strategy for FY 2021.

More reading

• Is the Afterpay share price a buy?
• Why these ASX tech shares are skyrocketing
• Openpay share price up 16% on partnership with MSL Solutions
• 3 quality ASX tech shares to buy in August
• Afterpay and Immuron were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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The Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) share price is one to watch this morning after reporting a 10.8% increase in total dividends.

The Aussie home appliance manufacturer reported its earnings for the full year ended 30 June 2020 (FY20).

That result was headlined by a 25.3% increase in revenue to $952.2 million while gross profit jumped 18.2% higher to $320.6 million.

What did Breville announce?

That revenue growth was underpinned by strong performance across Breville’s various geographic segments and a strong US dollar.

Europe was the biggest growth segment in percentage terms, with segment revenues climbing 54.8% to $143.3 million. Rest of World (ROW), Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) and North America climbed 25.6%, 18.3% and 11.3%, respectively.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 11.0% to $126.5 million, however, net profit after tax edged 1.8% lower to $66.2 million.

There was strong EBIT growth in both Breville’s Global Product and Distribution segments, climbing 14.5% and 23.8%, respectively.

The Breville share price will be worth watching today as the company reported a total dividend of 41.0 cents per share, franked to 60.0%.

Based on yesterday’s closing price of $27.29, that represents a 1.50% dividend yield for the ASX 200 share.

Breville’s net assets stayed largely stable at $297.9 million, down from $300.5 million in FY19.

Normalised return on equity edged 60 basis points (bps) lower to 22.1% for the year. Similarly, Breville’s full-year return on assets fell 110 bps to 13.0%.

The Breville share price will be an interesting one to watch this morning given the context of the result. Management was reasonably upbeat, citing strong topline growth and a “healthy” current business trajectory.

The company was wary of forecasting specifics into FY21 and FY22 given the “turbulence” caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Breville continues to explore geographic expansion, with the Sage brand across Europe yielding strong net sales results. That brand is also now expanding to the Middle East, transitioning away from Breville in the region.

Foolish takeaway

Breville reported some strong headline numbers in this morning’s results. However, a “noisy” expense list with a number of impairments clearly ate into the company’s bottom line.

It will be interesting to see how the Breville share price trades early this morning following the full-year result.

Shares in the home appliance manufacturer have rocketed 54.5% higher this year while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 8.4%.

More reading

• Flight Centre share price on watch after achieving cash flow target
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 drifts 0.1% lower, CBA reports solid FY20 result
• These ASX stocks could be the next reporting season heroes
• How the Santos share price could gain from COVID-19 stimulus

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall 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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I think Aussie travel company Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is one to watch in early trade. The Flight Centre share price could be on the move today after the company issued a trading update highlighting strong cash flow and providing FY20 guidance.

What could move the Flight Centre share price?

The Aussie travel group reported a cash balance of $1.9 billion as at 30 June 2020 with ~$1.15 billion in liquidity.

That comes as Flight Centre looks to build a longer liquidity runway to manage the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

The company reported slowing COVID-19 cash burn with revenue above initial projections and costs at targeted levels.

That appears to be reflected in the company’s cash flows. Flight Centre recorded a $53 million net outflow in July in a good result for the company.

Notably, that is well below its $65 million monthly target as the group booked $17 million in monthly revenue.

Flight Centre’s outflow inclusive of the JobKeeper subsidy totalled $43 million for the month.

Flight Centre reported its corporate business was profitable in FY20 on an underlying basis. That included winning a record amount of new accounts with annual spends in the order of US$1.3 billion.

The Aussie travel group noted signs of corporate recovery in most countries while leisure travel continues to lag due to restrictions.

The Flight Centre share price is also worth keeping an eye on after the company’s latest guidance update.

The travel group expects to report an underlying FY20 loss of $475 million to $525 million. Taking into account one-off costs and writedowns, the statutory loss is anticipated to be $825 million to $875 million.

Much of these losses were incurred after March as governments imposed heavy travel restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Foolish takeaway

I think the Flight Centre share price is worth watching in early trade. Clearly, this isn’t all good news with the heavy expected losses being announced.

However, a longer liquidity runway and outperformance against cash flow targets is good news. The Flight Centre share price has fallen 70.4% lower this year to $11.69 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 8.4%.

More reading

• Breville share price on watch as dividends climb 10.8% higher
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• ASX 200 drifts 0.1% lower, CBA reports solid FY20 result
• These ASX stocks could be the next reporting season heroes
• Warren Buffett would applaud the share price gains of these undervalued ASX shares

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Flight Centre Travel 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 Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price will be in focus on Thursday after the release of its full year results for FY 2020.

How did Telstra perform in FY 2020?

For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, Telstra reported a 5.9% decline in total income to $26.161 billion. This means the telco giant achieved its guidance of $25.3 billion to $27.3 billion.

The main drag on its performance during FY 2020 was the Consumer and Small Business segment. Telstra’s largest segment reported a 6.7% decline in income to $13.326 billion during the 12 months. It was impacted by an 8.4% decline across fixed products and a 5.2% decline in mobile service revenues. The latter was due to a reduction in its average revenue per user (ARPU), which offset customer additions.

The company’s Enterprise segment also posted a decline for the year. It recorded income of $7.97 billion, down 3.3% on the prior corresponding period. This was largely due to declines in legacy calling and fixed products.

Offsetting some of these declines was a solid reduction in operating expenses during the year. Telstra’s operating expenses fell 14.5% to $16.951 billion in FY 2020 thanks to strong progress with its T22 strategy.

This ultimately led to Telstra posting reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $8.9 billion and underlying EBITDA of $7.4 billion. The latter was within its guidance range and represents a 9.7% decline on the prior year. However, if you exclude the NBN headwind, Telstra’s underlying EBITDA would have increased by $40 million in FY 2020.

It is worth noting that the underlying result includes an estimated net negative impact from COVID-19 of approximately $200 million. This relates to lower international roaming, financial support for customers, delays in NAS professional services contracts, and additional bad debt provisions.

On the bottom line, Telstra’s net profit after tax fell 14.4% to $1.8 billion and its earnings per share dropped 15.5% to 15.3 cents.

Telstra maintains its dividend.

Telstra also delivered on its guidance for free cash flow in FY 2020. It reported free cash flow of $3.4 billion, compared to its guidance of $3.3 billion to $3.8 billion.

In light of this, it was able to maintain its full year dividend of 16 cents per share fully franked. This will see $1.9 billion returned to shareholders for the year. Its final dividend of 8 cents per share will be paid on 24 September.

Outlook.

While the company acknowledges that it will not be immune from further disruption and difficulty during the pandemic, it is confident enough in its outlook to provide guidance for FY 2021.

It expects total income to be in the range of $23.2 billion to $25.1 billion, underlying EBITDA in the range of $6.5 billion to $7 billion, and free cashflow after operating lease payments of $2.8 billion to $3.3 billion.

Management also expects the in-year NBN headwind for FY 2021 to have a negative impact on underlying EBITDA of approximately $700 million. As a result, to achieve growth in FY 2021 (excluding the in-year NBN headwind), underlying EBITDA will need to be around the mid-point of its guidance range.

It is also worth noting that this underlying EBITDA guidance assumes an estimated negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic in FY 2021 of approximately $400 million.

While it did not mention its dividend, based on this guidance, Telstra appears well-placed to maintain its 16 cents per share payout next year.

More reading

• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday
• 2 safe and strong ASX dividend shares to buy during the COVID-19 crisis
• Is BetaShares Australia 200 ETF the best ASX ETF?
• 2 ASX dividend shares to buy with $5,000 today
• Top ASX dividend shares to buy in August 2020

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Telstra 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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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.

It’s been a while since e-commerce and cloud-computing giant Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) split its stock. We’re talking about the late 1990s when Amazon was a relatively small company with huge dreams.

Things are different now. A single Amazon share costs more than $3,150 today, and the market cap stands at an enormous $1.58 trillion.

Other high-priced market darlings have been announcing stock splits recently. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has scheduled a 4-for-1 split at the end of August. That move will drop Apple’s share price from roughly $450 to approximately $113 per stub, assuming that the stock doesn’t make any sudden moves over the next three weeks. Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) will run a 5-for-1 split of its own on August 31, dropping the single-stock price tag from $1,550 to approximately $310.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a stock split from Amazon, too. Here’s why.

Amazon’s split history

Amazon closed its first day on the public market at a split-adjusted $23.50 per share. Just 13 months later, share prices had grown 270% higher, and Amazon ran its first 2-for-1 split. The next move followed in January of 1999 after an enormous 755% gain in seven months. This time, Amazon issued two new shares for every original stub in an investor’s possession, which made it a 3-for-1 split.

Finally, the last 2-for-1 increase followed in September of 1999. There was no crazy price gain to explain this particular accounting move, since the stock had actually dropped 4% lower this time. At this point, each original Amazon share had been transformed into 12 lower-priced tickets.

AMZN data by YCharts

Amazon’s split-adjusted price was roughly $86 per share before the first split, $355 per share on the second occasion, and $119 per share the third time. If the company isn’t thinking about another split right now, I don’t know if it ever will.

What’s the big idea?

Stock splits are a purely mathematical exercise that divides up ownership of the company into a larger number of lower-priced shares. It’s like cutting your pizza into 12 slices instead of six. Nobody gained or lost anything here, but you can distribute the slices with more granular precision.

A $3,000 stock can be difficult to afford for an ordinary investor with a limited investment budget. The price tag alone can keep many investors away from high-quality stocks. This is becoming less of an issue these days because some stockbrokers allow you to buy fractional shares of high-priced stocks, and exchange-traded funds (EFT) offer another method for dodging a high single-stub purchase price. Still, you can’t match the simplicity of directly buying full shares of the company you actually want to own. Some people may not even be aware of the more complicated options.

From Amazon’s point of view, the high stock price might keep the company out of price-weighted indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average . Apple is currently the highest-priced ticker in that closely watched index, and the lofty price gives Cupertino exaggerated power over the Dow’s value. A 10% change in Apple’s stock would move the Dow 1.1% higher or lower, assuming that the other 29 members don’t change at all. After Apple’s split, the same 10% move would nudge the Dow in the same direction by just 0.4%.

For this reason, the Dow rarely invites stocks with very high share prices. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has publicly floated the idea of adding the electric car maker to the Dow now that its share prices won’t stand in the way. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would have to perform a fairly extreme stock split before presenting a similar case. Amazon would still carry land among the five highest share prices on the Dow after a 15-for-1 split.

If Bezos has any interest in joining the Dow, I would expect an ostentatious stock split very soon. A less dramatic 3-for-1 or 5-for-1 split would also be helpful to small investors. Tesla’s and Apple’s very recent announcements could be the last straw, because Jeff Bezos certainly has a flair for the dramatic.

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

More reading

• Warren Buffett would applaud the share price gains of these undervalued ASX shares
• ASX investors have been buying these international shares
• Tesla plans five-for-one stock split
• MoneyMe share price surges, but is it sustainable?
• Here’s what a stock split means for investors

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Anders Bylund owns shares of Amazon and Tesla. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Apple, and Tesla and recommends the following options: short January 2022 $1940 calls on Amazon and long January 2022 $1920 calls on Amazon. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Amazon and Apple. 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 was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

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The August earnings season is upon us and there are already some ASX shares that are surprising investors.

Here are a few of my favourites that I’ve been watching in the last week and a half.

Aurizon and 2 more ASX shares surprising investors

Right at the top of my list is rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ).

Aurizon is responsible for moving coal, iron ore, agricultural freight and more across the country.

The ASX 200 share surged 3.8% higher on Monday after lifting annual profits. In fact, Aurizon’s underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) climbed 12% higher to $531 million.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rocketed 102% while statutory NPAT jumped 28% to $605 million.

On top of that, the Aussie rail freight group is returning funds to shareholders with a $300 million buyback program in FY21.

Aurizon isn’t the only ASX share that has surprised this month.

The Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) share price surged 4.7% on Tuesday as full-year earnings per unit remained steady.

The real estate investment trust’s (REIT) weighted average lease expiry (WALE) increased 28.3% to 12.7 years while gross asset values jumped 4.4% to $1.3 billion.

Positively, gearing was low at 16.4% with a property portfolio yield of 6.2%.

That was a good result given the coronavirus pandemic is looming over the real estate sector. Investors were quick to buy into the Aussie REIT in early trade following the FY20 result.

Finally, James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) was one that you may have missed.

The James Hardie share price jumped 6.8% higher on Tuesday after the release of its first-quarter earnings.

James Hardie is a global building materials company and the largest global manufacturer of fibre cement products.

The ASX share was in high demand yesterday as EBITDA remained flat on Q1 2019 numbers.

Operating cash flow surged 35% higher to US$89.3 million despite net profit plummeting 89% lower.

Investors were clearly impressed by the result with the ASX industrials share leading the ASX 200 winners list on Tuesday.

More reading

• These ASX stocks could be the next reporting season heroes
• Why Aurizon, Cochlear, Magellan, & Westpac shares are pushing higher
• The latest ASX stocks leading brokers are urging you to buy today
• ASX 200 up 1%: Challenger disappoints, Sydney Airport to raise $2bn, a2 Milk names new CEO
• Why Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, CIMIC, James Hardie, & Webjet are storming higher

Motley Fool contributor Ken Hall has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Aurizon Holdings 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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Not yet halfway through August and oil and gas company Helios Energy Ltd‘s (ASX: HE8) share price has already posted a 15.4% gain for the month. That compares to the 3.0% gain for the All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO).

Like many ASX shares, particularly energy related shares, Helios’ share price was more than cut in half during the COVID-19 induced bear market. The share price fell 53% from 21 February through to 18 March.

It wasn’t until July that the Helios share price truly began to recover, closing at 15 cents per share on Wednesday, up 88% from 18 March. That gives Helios a market capitalisation of $232 million.

Year to date, Helios’ share price is down 21%.

What does Helios Energy do?

Helios Energy is an oil and gas company with both of its major projects in Texas in the United States. Its predominant focus is the Presidio Oil Project located in Presidio County. To date, Helios has drilled two vertical wells into the Presidio Oil Project.

Its other project, the Trinity Oil Project, is located along the borders of Trinity, Houston and Walker. Trinity is comprised of 3,128 acres of oil and gas leases.

Why is Helios Energy’s share price running higher in August?

With both of its oil projects in Texas, one of the states that’s been hit hardest by the raging pandemic, you might expect Helios’ share price to fall, not gain 15.4% to date in August.

I see three apparent reasons for Helios’ share price leap.

First, the price of oil has trended higher this month. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil has gained 4.4% in August, currently trading for US$42.07 (AU$59.25) per barrel.

Second, investors are likely betting on higher crude oil prices to come when the world emerges from the coronavirus driven slowdowns. This should see a large increase in the demand for petrol and other products derived from oil.

Third is Helios’ quarterly report which was released to the ASX on 3 August. While noting the company’s compliance with Texas COVID-19 ordinances, Helios also stated its 2D seismic results had increased its Ojinaga Shale Formation play area by 50% to approximately 300,000 acres.

The Helios share price gained 7.7% on 4 August, following the release of its quarterly report.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. 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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