Christmas has come early for the bank’s shareholders with the decision to slightly increase the 2024 dividend – despite a single-digit decline in the net profit and cash earnings.
Beating the market benchmark is never easy, with 72 per cent of Australian actively managed global equity general funds trailing the S&P World Index in the six months to June 30, 2024. Domestic equity funds performed slightly better, albeit against a significantly lower bar set by the S&P/ASX 200 Index.
Market rallies despite energy weakness, Harvey Norman sales improve, toll road recovers
The S&P/ASX200 almost turned around a sharply weaker start to trading on the final day of August, falling just 0.2 per cent on Wednesday.
In a reverse of recent days, the energy sector was the biggest detractor after the European Union warned of a potential intervention in energy markets and China faces another COVID-19 outbreak.
The sector fell 2.9 per cent for the day, with materials also dragging the market lower as both BHP (ASX: BHP) and Woodside (ASX: WDS) fell by 2.8 and 4.5 per cent respectively.
Reporting season is nearing a close and not unlike the US, it has been remarkably strong or at least consistent.
Retailer Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) reported a 3.6 per cent fall in profit to $811 million for the year, a strong result but well below the pre-pandemic levels.
Gerry Harvey has pointed to a low unemployment rate and high household savings as confidence in the outlook with the beginning of the new financial year tracking 10 per cent above 2021 levels.
Shares in Adobe competitor Nitro Software (ASX: NTO) gained close to 40 per cent after a consortium of private equity investors lobbed a $1.58 offer for the company.
Atlas outperforms, Pointbet losses continue, technology rallies
European and US toll road owner, which counts Australian industry fund-backed IFM Investors as a major shareholder managed to surprise investors to the upside, reporting a 24 per cent increase in interim revenue to $53 million.
Given the scale of the business, and excess capacity, this converted into a near 200 per cent increase in interim profit to $117 million and a 30 per cent boost to the dividend which hit 20 cents per share.
After not lobbing a formal offer, it remains to be seen what IFM will do with their shareholding.
Popular with retail investors and fronted by NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, Pointsbet (ASX: PBH) laid bare the challenge facing high growth technology companies as they seek to gain market share in a booming but ultra-competitive US gaming market.
The group losses ballooned to $268 million from $188 million as marketing spending continues to ramp up. Shares fell by 12 per cent.
Another popular retail stock, Mesoblast (ASX: MSB) gained more than 8 per cent despite reporting another US$91 million in losses taking the total losses accumulated over a decade in the pursuit of biotech research to US$738 million.
Overall it was another positive month with reporting season boosting the market to a 0.6 per cent gain in august.
Oil drops for third month, US markets fall, good news is bad news, bad news is bad news
The month of August ended markedly lower, with a final day fall in the Dow Jones of 0.9, the S&P500, 0.8 and the Nasdaq, 0.6 per cent, resulting in an across-the-board fall.
In a seemingly quieter month due to the summer holidays, the S&P500 finished close to 5 per cent lower, the Nasdaq 6.7 and the Dow 4.
Oil was a key contributor with the oil price slumping to a third straight monthly drop after being among the most popular trades in 2022 as investors grow concerned about slower economic growth around the world.
Private sector employment jumped by 132,000 in August with pay increasing 7.6 per cent in what many are saying is further evidence that the Fed will remain as hawkish as ever.
Unemployment is expected to remain near record lows of 3.5 per cent.
Storage technology company Seagate (NYSE: STX) warned of weaker profits in the first quarter, predicting revenue of US$2.1 million, down close to 20 per cent due to inventory and supply chain disruptions.
