AU Morning Wrap: Woolworths Shares Jump, WiseTech and Pepper Plunge

Moomoo News AU wrote a column · Aug 22, 2023 19:41

G'day, mooers! Check out the latest news on today's stock market!
• US stocks slip on worries about consumer spending
• ASX edges up, Woolworths jumps, WiseTech and Pepper plunge
• Stocks to watch: Santos, WiseTech, The Lottery Corporation
- Moomoo News AU

AU Morning Wrap: Woolworths Shares Jump, WiseTech and Pepper Plunge

Wall Street Summary

Stocks edged lower Tuesday after disappointing earnings reports from retailers cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. consumer.

The cautionary signals landed on a market focused on two events later this week: Wednesday's quarterly report from Nvidia NVDA -2.77%decrease; red down pointing triangle, which could test investors' faith in the artificial-intelligence trade, and Friday's speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, which could hold clues to the path of interest rates.

The $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ declined 0.3%, while the $Dow Jones Industrial Average(.DJI.US)$ retreated 0.5%, or 175 points. The $Nasdaq Composite Index(.IXIC.US)$ added 0.1% as tech heavyweights including Apple and Microsoft defied the downdraft.

AU Market Watch

The $S&P/ASX 200(.XJO.AU)$ opened 0.1 pe cent higher as investors digested another busy morning of corporate results. Wall Street ended the session a touch lower with investors cautious ahead of a speech by the US Federal Reserve chief on Friday.

The tech sector led losses with a 4 per cent drop. Consumer staples was the biggest outperformer, thanks to a 2.9 per cent gain in Woolworth shares. The supermarket chain posted a 4.6 per cent gain in annual profits to $1.62 billion.

$Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd(DMP.AU)$ stock rallied 1.9 per cent despite a 74 per cent tumble in net profit. The final dividend was slashed to 42.6¢ per share, from 68.1¢.

Global logistics software company WiseTech Global stock was the biggest laggard, down 14.4 per cent even as full-year profit rose 9 per cent to $212.2 million.

Shares in non-bank lender $Pepper Money Ltd(PPM.AU)$ plunged 12.5 per cent after slicing its interim dividend by a third and a big drop in profit.

Shares in Santos slipped 0.4 per cent after posting a 32 per cent slump in first-half profit due to softer production and lower oil and LNG prices.

Stocks to Watch

$Woolworths Group Ltd(WOW.AU)$ Woolworths Group has posted a 5.7 per cent climb in sales to $64.29 billion, anchored by a rise in its Australian food business where revenue was 5 per cent higher and earnings soared double digits over fiscal 2023.

The nation's biggest grocery chain said on Wednesday that sales in its Australian food business reached $48 billion in the 52 weeks to June 25 with same store sales up 4.2 per cent.

This was slightly ahead of market consensus. Sales at WooliesX (including e-commerce) rose 3.9 per cent with Direct to boot and Same Day propositions driving online growth.

$APA Group(APA.AU)$: APA Group has posted a 10.4 per cent increase in bottom-line net profit for the full year ahead of expected news of the $1.8 billion acquisition of remote power assets from Alinta Energy.

Statutory net profit rose to $287 million in the 12 months ended June 30, from $259.7 million in 2021-22. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, a figure closely watched by the market, edged up 2 per cent to $1.73 billion.

$WiseTech Global Ltd(WTC.AU)$: Global logistics software company WiseTech Global reported a 9 per cent jump in its full-year profit to $212.2 million, while revenue increased 29 per cent to $819.8 million, fuelled by growth in its core Cargowise business and new ventures in customs and landside logistics.

For the year ended 30 June, underlying net profit after tax, which excluded costs related to acquisitions, jumped 30 per cent to $247.6 million while free cash flow was also up 23 per cent to $291.4 million.

The company declared a final dividend, fully franked, of 8.4¢ payable on October 6, which is up 31 per cent compared to FY22.

$Santos Ltd(STO.AU)$: Santos has posted a 32 per cent slump in first-half profit due to softer production and lower oil and LNG prices.

Net profit dropped to $US790 million ($1.23 billion) in the six months ended June 30, from $US1.17 billion in the first half last year. Underlying profit dived 37 per cent to $US801 million.

The figures were broadly in line with consensus estimates.

Santos declared an interim dividend of US8.7¢, up 14 per cent from a year ago.

$The Lottery Corp Ltd(TLC.AU)$: The Lottery Corporation's net profit fell 23.6 per cent to $264.8 million after worse-than-expected turnover from jackpot games including Powerball and Oz Lotto.

Revenue for the 2023 financial year grew 7.2 per cent on a reported basis to $3.5 billion, and EBITDA before significant items climbed 17 per cent to $713.2 million.

The increase was driven by a 16.3 per cent increase in Keno turnover.

$Worley Ltd(WOR.AU)$: Global engineering group Worley has forecast higher revenues in the year ahead after losses on the sale of a North American business caused annual net profit to slide 78 per cent to $37 million.

Worley, which reported a $172 million net profit a year earlier, took a $240 million loss on the sale of a turnaround and maintenance business in North America that it inherited when it acquired Jacobs Engineering Group's energy, resources and chemicals division for $4.6 billion in 2019.

The company had previously disclosed the loss in its interim results.

Global group revenues rose 17 per cent to $11.3 billion while underlying earnings rose 16 per cent to $635 million.