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The Aussie sharemarket extended its gains to a second straight day after the ASX 200 rose 0.58 per cent or 41.1 points to 7105.4. Mining stocks did most of the heavy lifting and climbed by 1.7 per cent. Gains across the Tech (+0.4 per cent) and Health Care (+1 per cent) sectors also supported the index. Energy stocks shed 1 per cent after the price of oil slipped by around 3 per cent overnight.
BHP (BHP) lifted 4.1 per cent after it released its annual results. The miner posted record free cash flow, a 26 per cent improvement in its underlying profits from continuing operations to US$21.3 billion, and a 34 per cent increase in its statutory profits to US$34.1 billion. BHP also declared a final dividend of US$1.75 per share, which is US25 cents lower than the final dividend it declared a year earlier. BHP expects its FY23 unit costs to grow by 12.5 per cent, driven partly by ‘impacts of higher inflation’ and ‘study costs’.
Temple & Webster (TPW) shares surged 29.8 per cent – their best day since March 2020. The online furniture retailer, in its full-year results, posted a 31 per cent increase in its revenues and recorded an EBITDA margin of 3.8 per cent, which it says was towards the ‘high-end’ of its ‘stated 2-4 per cent range’. TPW also upgraded its FY23 EBITDA margin to 3-5 per cent (previously 2-4 per cent).
Seek (SEK) shares had their worst day in around two months after falling 5 per cent. As outlined in its annual results, the employment marketplace raised its final dividend to 21 cents-per-share and posted a 47 per cent increase in its revenues, but recorded a 78per cent decline in its total profits to $168.8 million. SEK expects its revenues to climb by around another 14 per cent in FY23, based on the assumption of a ‘continuation of largely positive conditions’.
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In its quarterly update, James Hardie (JHX) outlined a 15 per cent increase in its quarterly adjusted net income to US$154.3 million. It however downgraded its FY23 adjusted net income guidance range by around 4 per cent, to US$730-$780 million, on the back of ‘uncertain macro-economic conditions’ & ‘inflationary pressures’. Shares of the cement manufacturer retreated 0.9 per cent.
Goodman Group (GMG) posted a 25 per cent increase in its operating profits to $1.5bn, and a similar improvement in its assets under management. GMG said that its full-year results reflected ‘strong demand for industrial space’. The real estate manager fell0.5 per cent today.
In economic news, the weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence index rose by 4.9 per cent – its biggest increase in 16 months – to 84.2 points. The index is now touching seven-week highs, but still remains well below its long run average.
4.2bn shares were traded, worth $7bn. 621 stocks rose, 749 fell & 426 finished unchanged.
CSL (CSL), Magellan Financial Group (MFG) and Super Retail Group (SUL) are some of the companies scheduled to release their earnings results tomorrow.
Published by CommSec
