The Week that Was – February 14-18, 2022

By Staff Writers | More Articles by Staff Writers

We at ShareCafe understand you are busy and may not have been left with enough time to keep up with the quality content we’ve been bringing you throughout the week. To make it easier to do so, here it is in one handy location. Just click on the headline and you’ll be taken straight to the story.

 

Monday 14 February, 2022

Crown Agrees to Blackstone Bid

Crown Resorts has agreed to be bought by funds associated with and controlled by US private equity giant Blackstone for around $8.9 billion.

 

Tuesday 15 February, 2022

JB Hi-Fi Buyback News Well Received

Investors loved the news that shareholders in consumer electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi will get a $250 million ‘gift’ via a buyback to help make up for a lower interim dividend.

Bourse Discourse: BPT, BLD, AZJ, CAR

A busy old Monday session on the ASX with a bunch of news out from various companies and sectors. Here’s the latest from Beach Energy, Boral, Aurizon and Carsales.com.

TerraCom’s Debt Repayment Well Ahead of Expectations

Our research house Corporate Connect has today released a report on thermal coal producer TerraCom Limited, which has recently provided a number of positive updates to the market.

Market Focuses on Positives for Bendigo & Adelaide

Investors ignored a sharp slide in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank’s net interest margin and a slightly reduced dividend to send the shares up more than 4% in Monday’s ASX trading.

Oil Markets – Sorry, I Forgot to Drill

While geo-political and supply chain issues have stoked some commodity price rises, Corporate Connect analyst Lawrence Grech believes something more fundamental is at play.

Steady as She Goes, GPT Looks to the Future

The year to December 2021 was a case of marking time for GPT, with no real growth in revenue, earnings or distribution – but management has high hopes for 2022 and beyond.

 

Wednesday 16 February, 2022

Seven West Smacked Despite Solid Interim

For reasons unclear, the market didn’t like what seemed a solid interim result from Kerry Stokes’ Seven West Media, sending shares down more than 6% in Tuesday trade.

Profit Surge Puts Sims on Top of the Heap

Scrap metal merchant Sims has beaten market expectations with soaring results that included a 74% surge in December half revenue and a near quadrupling in net profit.

Upbeat BHP Delivers Strong Result, Record Dividend

Nothing like having a better-than-expected result and a tasty reward for shareholders under the belt and so it was with BHP, with a big rise in profit and a record interim dividend.

Tuesday Trade Talk: ANN, DXS

Tuesday saw personal protective group Ansell confirm weaker guidance given a couple of weeks ago, while the news from property trust Dexus mixed the good with the bad.

The Competitive Advantage of Big Data

Harnessing the power of data is critical for companies to maintain a competitive edge in a technological age. GAM Investments’ David Goodman looks at some companies doing so.

House Prices – What’s in Store for 2022 and Beyond

According to CoreLogic, Australian house prices increased +22.1% in 2021, led by Australia’s largest city of Sydney (+25.3%). Quay Global Investors take a closer look.

 

Thursday 17 February, 2022

CSL Shares Rally Strongly Despite Earnings Dip

As many analysts had forecast, constraints on plasma collection (especially in the US) led to a small dip in December half-year earnings for blood products colossus CSL.

Cheerier Times for Treasury Wines

The Chinese dramas a couple of years ago must seem like a distant memory now for Treasury Wines, as their latest result shows the new diversification strategy is clearly working. 

Things Looking Pretty Toasty for Breville

Breville has overcome supply chain and logistics disruptions to report strong earnings growth for the six months to December, with shareholders being duly rewarded.

Santos Triples Profit on Back of Oil Price Run

Oil and gas producer / exporter Santos more than tripled full-year profit in the 2021 financial year as it rode the crisis-driven 50%-plus surge in global energy commodity prices.

Earnings Downtrend Continues for Fortescue

Shares in Fortescue Metals eased yesterday as the company’s earnings took a hit from softer prices, higher costs and the weaker demand for lower-grade iron ore.

Trans-Tasman Tidings: FBU, EBO

The market liked the solid interim results and higher rewards for shareholders from two of the biggest ASX-listed Trans-Tasman companies – EBOS and Fletcher Building.

The Pandemic Has Changed the Future of Work

Remote work is ensconced. A ‘Great Resignation’ is underway in the US. As Magellan Investment Specialist Michael Collins explains in this article, neither might last.

Clean Energy Still Has Spark

Share investors have been experiencing a market selloff and clean energy is one sector that has been impacted more than others. VanEck’s Russel Chesler looks at why this might be.

Origin Moves Toward Earlier Eraring Closure

Origin Energy has shocked with a decision on Thursday that could see it close its huge Eraring coal fired power station in the Hunter Valley of NSW seven years earlier in mid to late 2025.

 

Friday 18 February, 2022

Megatrends Continue Supporting Semiconductors

Threatened with higher discount rates as inflation rises, investors are wondering if they should reposition their portfolios this year. ETF Securities looks at semiconductors in this context.

Global Matters: 2022 Outlook

2022 is set to be another challenging year, with governments and central banks facing tough decisions. Sarah Shaw and Greg Goodsell from 4D Infrastructure look at what this might mean for markets.

Challenger Sidles Toward Banking

Annuities specialist and fund manager Challenger is heading deeper into banking after posting a half-year profit of $282 million and lifting interim dividend 21% to 11.5 cents a share.

Tomorrow Arrives Early for Origin

Origin Energy’s news about the closure of its huge Eraring power station in the Hunter Valley overshadowed the mixed bag of a half year result for the energy group on Thursday.

Whitehaven Hit by Profit-Taking after Record Result

Whitehaven produced a set of record results for the December half on Thursday and returned to dividend payouts for the first time in two years, and yet the shares slid 6% at one stage.

Stock Snippets: WPL, WES, TLS, S32

Another busy day on the Australian bourse. Here’s the latest from some of the companies at the bigger end of town – Woodside Petroleum, Wesfarmers, Telstra and South32.

QBE Renaissance Continues

Global insurer QBE has boosted full dividends for its December, 2021 financial year to more than seven times the small 4 cents paid for Covid-hit 2020.