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Good afternoon and welcome to the Thursday edition of Market Close, I’m Jonathon Davidson. It was a somewhat happier day as Australian icon Qantas paid its first dividend in years and household name Coles proved to be consistently growing.
Nonetheless, it’s an unfortunate reality the XJO is significantly down from the 8,500 points range it hit in mid-Feb. Perhaps the Valentines Day honeymoon just wore off.
Looking at sectors, Coles lifted staples up over 1.5% and materials had a better day up just shy of a percent. Health care led the laggards down just over 1%; IT followed down -1%.
Looking at companies in the green,
Karoon Energy had a good day after it made the move to purchase the Brazilian floating production vessel it uses at its Bauna project offshore the Latin American country. Last year two anchor ties on the FPSO broke which led to a 12 day shutdown, which is probably why Karoon’s paying a bargain price of US$115M. Believe it or not, that’s cheap in the offshore drilling game. Investors will likely now want to see how Karoon deals with its purchase of an aging vessel. Shares ended up nearly 5% at $1.45 each.
Meanwhile, Neuren Pharmaceuticals continues to shake off a short seller report it was hit by last year reporting the alleged dangers of its flagship drug Daybue, which treats a life-disabling condition called Retts syndrome in children. The drug’s sales are strong and the company continues to justify its lofty capitalisation. Shares last traded at $14.15.
Finally, Qantas made shareholders happy as it paid out its first dividend in six years. The Red Kangaroo soared nearly 6% to $9.41 per share.
Looking at the reds,
Telix Pharmaceuticals fell around 2.5% as rumours emerged the company’s CEO has called in outside help to find a buyer for $120M worth of shares. Telix was going to list on the NASDAQ last year but abandoned those plans; some $160M worth of shares traded hands on Thursday. Shares last closed at $30.25.
Elsewhere, IDP Education fell over -10% as it revealed an earnings loss of -40% for the second half of 2024 as international student numbers contracted in response to recent initiatives from Canberra. Shares closed at $10.64 a pop.
Finally, fintech Perpetual Limited dropped -9% as an impairment over $20M saw its first half profits clocked at $12M versus $34M in the prior period. Shares closed at $21.22 per share.
That’s HotCopper’s Market Close for Thursday, I’m Jonathon Davidson, have a great night and we’ll see you tomorrow.
