ASX News LIVE | ASX Opens Down, Big Earnings Day; JB Hi-Fi, Appen, Beach Energy, CSL Feature

Lithium producer Liontown Resources [ASX:LTR] is down nearly -8% today as the company see’s further selling pressure after a four-month clause that blocked billionaire Gina Rinehart from purchasing more of the company and initiating takeover efforts.

The company has seen its shares suffer after the failed takeover by chemicals giant Albermale was scuppered, citing ‘complications‘ as Mrs Rinehart proceeded to purchase nearly 20% of the company during negotiations.

The share price has now fallen nearly 30% in the past 12 months.

Another day, another crooked casino.

New Zealand casino operator SkyCity Entertainment [ASX:SKC] has been dragged to court by the nation’s financial watchdog over accusations of money laundering breaches.

This legal action sent the company’s shares plummeting by 2.8% today, leaving them at $1.91.

This is the third major Australasian Casino accused of money laundering within the past five years.

The company says its potential maximum liability for the case will be around NZ$8 million.

The ASX 200 is down -0.20% after midday as the index gained back some ground from this morning’s losses.

It wasn’t enough as healthcare giant CSL dragged down the market with a nearly -5% fall after one of its trials is abandoned at phase-three trials after heart attacks.

This made Health Care the biggest loser today, down -3.21%. The best-performing sector around midday is Tech +1.28%, with gains seen in all top 6 market cap companies. The biggest gains were seen by Altium up 2.87%.

In other corporate news, Synlait Milk has fallen nearly 14% after signalling poor performance in its upcoming half-year report. Saying losses are likely to come in between $17-21 million.

Beach Energy saw its production fall and has reduced its full-year production guidance but managed to post higher profits for the first half of FY24. Shares are currently up 3% at $1.70 per share.

Shares in Audinate [ASX:AD8] are the top performers on the ASX this morning as the company released strong 1H24 earnings.

The company hit a record-high revenue, increasing 47.7% to US$30.4 million.

Gross profits were also up 50.1%, and gross margins were at 71.8%.

That came in with an EBITDA of A$10.1 million up 137% on the first half of 2023.

Audinate Co-founder and CEO Aidan Williams commented:

“We are pleased that Audinate continues to create new revenue, EBITDA and operating cash flow milestones. The operating leverage inherent in the business model is again evident in another positive set of financial results.”

The product that was primarily responsible for the great earnings was their Brooklyn modules ( up 50%), and Ultimo chips (up over 200%).

Previously, their Ultimo chip production was supply-constrained, but those pressures have now eased.

The company is expecting profits to begin to normalise as the backlog lowers.

Australian electronics giant JB Hi-Fi [ASX:JBH] posted fairly positive earnings for the first half of 2024, considering the low expectations for retailers on soft consumer demand.

While overall sales dipped 2.2% to $5.16 billion, net profit surprisingly topped expectations, falling only 18.6% to $264.3 million.

CEO Terry Smart warned in October of softening sales, and the numbers certainly reflect that.

Source: JB-Hi-Fi

Australian electronics stores saw a flat performance, while white goods retailer The Good Guys suffered a 9.9% sales decline.

However, JB Hi-Fi managed to eke out a 0.7% sales gain in Australia, thanks to Black Friday and Boxing Day promotions.

The board declared an interim dividend of $1.58, down from $1.97 a year ago.

Shares are up 5.35% in this morning’s trading at $59.57 per share.

Troubled data services company Appen [ASX:APX] has seen its shares bounce today, rising 10.71% this morning.

The company has seen intense selling pressure after losing its key contract with Google on the 22nd of January.

In FY23, Appen’s revenue from Google was $82.8 million, a significant chunk of its revenue stream.

Today, the company announced plans to implement $13.5 million in annualised cost savings, 80% of which will be completed in March this year.

The first full-year benefits are expected to begin in FY25.

Appen’s FY23 full results will be released on 27 February 2004.

Good morning. Charlie here

The ASX 200 opened down -0.33% to 7,619.8 as the ASX earnings season kicks off in full today with big earnings from Audinate, Beach Energy and Car Group.

On Wall Street, tech pushes the S&P 500 past the symbolic 5,000 point on Friday, marking a historic high for the index.

Strong jobs numbers in the US also propelled optimism in a soft landing for the economy. US job openings are now at a two-year low.

Oil prices jumped over 3% over the weekend as Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the ceasefire deal, vowing to continue the war until ‘absolute victory’.

Wall Street: Dow -0.14%, Nasdaq +1.25%, S&P 500 +0.57%.

Overseas: FTSE -0.30%, STOXX +0.11%, Nikkei -flat, SSE +1.28%

The Aussie dollar rose +0.02% to US 65.21 cents.

US 10-year bond yields rose +2bps to 4.18%.

Australian 10-year bond yields rose +5bps to 4.15%.

Gold is flat at US$2,025.54. Silver is also flat at US$22.63.

Bitcoin rose +0.40% to US$48,106, while Ethereum is flat at US$2,502.

Oil Brent rose +03% to US$81.86, while WTI Crude rose +3.47% to US$76.61.

Iron ore fell -1.2% to US$127.00 a tonne.