Author: Shawn Hickman
NEA +24.83%: the advanced mapping company revealed a takeover bid was in play from tech private equity fund Thoma Bravo. The US based $US100b fund put forward a $2.10/sh offer in early July, which was an 83% premium to the share price at the time. Shares have since rebounded, but the bid still represented a 39% premium to Friday’s close. Thoma Bravo will get first rights in the deal, currently working on exclusive due diligence to firm up the price and any funding needs, though other potential bidders are rumoured to be circling.
National Australia Bank (NAB) reports higher costs and weaker margins, what’s next for stock prices?
NAB -2.93%: The business focused bank reported 3Q results today that signalled higher costs and weaker margins while unaudited cash profit came in at $1.8bn, pretty much in line with the run rate required to meet full year expectations. The bank said that FY22 will see costs up about 3-4% above their previously guided range of 2-3%, although that did include an uptick in remediation, while they guided net interest margin (NIM) lower.
NWH +10.94%: The Perth-based mining & construction contractor was out with upgraded guidance today, with EBITDA now tipped to be $157m versus the prior guided range of $150-$155m. Revenue guidance remained at $2.4bn implying they’ve done better in terms of margins. More details to be provided when they report FY22 results on the 18th of August, however, suffice to say, this inexpensive contractor is priced on sub 10x earnings and is performing better than the market had feared.
PNI +12.21%: Released FY22 earnings today were a whisker below consensus expectations at the profit line, printing $76.4m versus $77.4m expected while the 17.5c dividend was a touch above. They talked to a strong 1H in terms of flows and a weak 2H which is understandable, with Funds Under Management (FUM) down overall for the year, the first time since FY12
APX -27.32%: The Artificial Intelligence (AI) company was whacked on the back of another major earnings downgrade with the company booking underlying EBITDA for the half of just $US8.9 million as revenue fell ~7% to $US182.9m as their core customers (Big US Tech) pull back spending on advertising-related AI projects.
UMG -17.17%: fell sharply today hitting a new all-time low in the process following a big earnings downgrade. They now see $100 million to $108 million on underlying EBITDA versus the previously guided range of $115 million to $140 million.
KGN +50.16%: shares in eCommerce business Kogan.com surged to 3-month highs today on the back of better-than-expected performance in the business. Sales for FY22 are expected to come in marginally above the prior year, beating out expectations of a fall from the COVID-supported growth of FY21.
SBM +3.33%: The gold producer was out with 4th quarter production numbers, and although they were largely pre-released there were still positives to take out of the update. Production guidance for the full year was met with 281koz of gold produced, as was cost guidance across all assets despite market fears of blowouts due to energy or labour which has weighed on the sector in recent months.
MP1 +23.03%: the network connectivity business was out with their 4th quarter update today with the company’s performance bouncing back after a slow start to the year. Revenue in the final 3 months was up 10% on the third quarter, adding 533 new ports and posting a positive EBITDA in the quarter for the first time.
The bank in the spotlight is clearly ANZ which recommences trading on Thursday and while we’re confident it will have no issues raising the $3.5bn under $19 the big question is where will the stock re-open, anything under $20 looks attractive and especially sub $19.50. MM likes this strategic move by ANZ and the price paid for SUN’s banking division looks fair to us, a 1.3x multiple to book value is pretty much in line with ANZ’s 1.2x.
