Ahead of the Jackson Hole economic symposium on Thursday, the Aussie sharemarket finished at session lows and fell for a second straight day, with the ASX 200 closing 85 points or 1.2 per cent lower, to 6961. Nine of 11 sectors posted declines, with the Consumer Staples sector down the most (-3.8 per cent – its largest daily loss since December 2021). The Big 4 banks all fell for a third straight day, dragging the broader Financials sector 2 per cent lower – its largest fall in over 1½ months. Investors paid close attention to movements in the bond market, with the US 10-year Treasury yield climbing above 3 per cent for the first time since the 20th of July.
In its annual results today, Pilbara Minerals (PLS) posted a 28 per cent increase in its shipments of spodumene concentrate to 361,035 dmt. PLS also raised its revenues by 577 per cent to $1.2 billion, and booked its very first profit of $561.8 million, helped by stronger demand and higher prices. Shares of the raw material miner rose by 3.2 per cent.
Endeavour Group (EDV) fell 12.3 per cent – biggest loss on record. This comes after its annual results showed a moderation in its 2H sales and gross margins. It however increased its profits by 11 per cent and raised its final dividend to 7.7 cents per share.
Kogan (KGN) shares fell 6.6 per cent after it posted declines across its revenues and gross profits. KGN also delivered a $35.5 million loss after tax, versus a $3.5 million profit in the year prior. The online marketplace says that its operations were impacted by ‘excess inventory, ‘Covid-19 interruptions’ and ‘increased logistics’ costs. KGN did not declare a final dividend.
Altium (ALU) was amongst the strongest performers today and this comes after it released its annual report yesterday after market close. The software company improved its underlying EBITDA margin to 36.7 per cent, and raised its final dividend by 23.8 per cent to 21 cents-per-share. ALU expects its underlying EBITDA margin next year to be between 35 – 37 per cent. Shares of the software company rose 19.8 per cent.
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ARB Corporation (ARB) rose 1 per cent after it improved its profits to $122 million, and declared a final dividend of 32 cents-per-share, as noted in its annual results. ARB however posted an 18 per cent decline in its cash flows from operations.
Breville (BRG) shed 0.1 per cent after releasing its annual report. The coffee machine maker posted declines across its profit margins, with its performance being partly affected by ‘inflationary
pressures’. BRG however raised its final dividend by 11 per cent to 15 cents-per-share.
4.6bn shares were traded, worth $7.9bn. 451 stocks rose, 955 fell & 376 finished unchanged.
In the US tonight, new home sales data is issued with the PMIs and the Richmond Federal Reserve manufacturing index
Originally published by Divik Nigam – (Author), CommSec
