The ASX is flat today, up just 3.40 points today to 7,118.90. The index has lost 2.55% for the last five days, but has gained 1.14% over the last year to date.
The top-performing stocks in this index are Altium Ltd and Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1), up 25.60% and 16.94% respectively.
Altium will pay a higher final dividend following strong growth in the US and will ‘vigorously defend’ a multi-million-dollar legal dispute with the Australian Taxation Office.
The electronic design software company’s numbers were strong, with a drop in operating expenses lifting profit after tax to $US66.3 million up 19.6% from the previous year.
Altium grew its global subscriber base 7.5% to 61,159 up from 56,912 the previous year, which lifted revenue up by more than $US42 million compared to the past financial year, bringing in $US263.3 million.
Megaport expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation in FY24 to be up to 182% higher at around $57 million. The company revised its April guidance and booked a $9.7 million loss for the full year ended June 30, down from the $48.5 million loss in FY22.
Guidance for FY24 EBITDA is to range between $51 million and $57 million, an increase of 152% to 182%, compared with its first-ever positive normalised EBITDA of $20.2 million for FY23. Revenue for the next financial year will likely range between $190 million and $195 million – higher than FY23’s $153.1 million.
On the downside, Coles Group Ltd was a drag on the local market suffering its worst day since 2020 after disappointing FY23 results.
The company lost 6.62% and finished at $16.09 –the biggest one-day fall since a 9.87% drop on March 31 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns caused panic selling.
According to UBS, 2H23 Supermarkets EBIT was 9% below consensus.
Coles has been affected by lower gross general merchandise earnings due to theft, a rising cost of doing business due to labour costs, and Witron and Ocado (LON:OCDO) operating expenses.
Kogan was another whose shares fell sharply, down 11.91% today.
While its shares are up 50% over the last 12 months, Kogan has now reported its second consecutive loss – a full-year loss of $25.85 million for fiscal 2023.
Adjusted earnings are positive for the month of July.
Looking at the sectors, Information Technology had a great day jumping 5.06%, followed by Communication Services up 2.00%. Consumer Staples fell 2.54%.
Qantas class action
Surprisingly Qantas was higher, up 0.32% despite the threat of a class action over ‘hard to use’ travel credits.
Echo Law filed the action in the Federal Court, alleging Qantas acted in breach of the law by issuing travel credits with strict conditions in the place of refunds when flights were cancelled.
The firm alleges Qantas was “not entitled to hold onto its customers’ money and push out travel credits”.
“As customers sat at home and did it tough through the COVID pandemic, Qantas enjoyed significant financial benefits of holding on to billions of dollars in customer payments including interest and reduced borrowing costs,” solicitor Andrew Paull said.
“It is unfair and we allege unlawful, that Qantas profited from holding onto its customers money for flights that couldn’t proceed.”
It is also alleged that customers were “often required to pay the airline more than their original booking to use their credits on new fares”.
“(They) have been pressured by the airline to do that or lose the value of their flight credits,” Paull said.
The expiration of flight credits is also an issue.
“That money ought to have been automatically returned to customers, in most cases more than three years ago, and we are seeking both refunds of all remaining credits as well as compensation for the time customers have been out of pocket,” he said.
Qantas refuted the claims saying it processed more than $1 billion in refunds from COVID credits.
“The majority of customers with COVID credits can get a refund and we’ve been running full-page ads and sending emails to encourage customers who want a refund to contact us directly,” a Qantas spokesperson said.
“Qantas has one of the most flexible COVID credit policies of any airline, including among our global peers, and we’ve extended the expiry dates three times.”
Five at five
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries finished 0.61% higher, with several companies putting out positive news.
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International Graphite caps 2022-23 drilling campaign with strong graphite intersections paving way for new resource estimate
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Incannex Healthcare receives US FDA approval for sleep apnoea clinical trial
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On your six
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The one to watch
Azure Minerals says Andover one of best lithium exploration plays globally
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