Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights
A cluster of companies reported their final year and half year results today.
Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU) said its profit during the first half of the 2024 fiscal year had come in at $134 million, a drop of 34% from the same period last year, when it had been at $204 million.
The company’s interim fully franked dividend was 4 cps (cash per share) in the first half of 2024, compared to 3 cps during the prior comparable period – a difference of 33%.
Iluka said the lower profit figure reflected weaker movement in construction and real estate sectors, which had provided flow on effects to titanium and zircon markets.
Nevertheless, the company’s share price was trending higher after the news, reaching $5.74 by 12:30 AEST: a rise of just under one percent since the market opened.
Meanwhile, Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) told investors that a strong operation at Koolan Island had boosted its profit and revenue for the 2024 fiscal year.
Net profit for the period had risen 24% for a figure of $6.4 million, compared to $5.2 million in FY2023.
Revenues were also strong, based on 36% growth in sales of high-grade iron ore, reported at 4.1 million wet metric tonnes (at a grade of 65.3% Fe) for the 2024 fiscal year.
This brought sales revenue to $667.7 million Free on Board (FOB), compared to $450.6 million FOB for the prior fiscal year.
The company did not declare a dividend on ordinary shares for the fiscal year ending June 30.
Its share price at 12:30 AEST was 34 cents: this was up 1.52% since market open.
Logistics company Brambles Ltd (ASX:BXB) said its underlying profit for the 2024 fiscal year was US$1,262.2 million – a rise of 17% from the previous reporting period, while sales revenues had grown by 7% to US$6,545.4 million.
Brambles also said its dividend yield for the period was around 3%, for a final figure was 19 US cents per share and a total dividend of 34.00 cps.
Its shares were trading higher on the news, up 8.26% to $16.97 by 12:30 AEST.
Dominos PIZZA Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) was not having a great day, with shares falling 0.81% (to $33.14) as it conceded a fall of nearly 2% profit for the 2024 fiscal year compared to the previous period.
The fast-food company said its NPAT for FY2024 had come in at $120.4 million – a fall of 1.9% from last year’s figure of $122.6 million.
Given last month’s news of store closures in Asia and Europe, this was perhaps not surprising, and indeed earnings in Asia overall were trending downwards, with EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) being 28.7% lower compared to the FY2023.
However, the same measure showed 33.8% growth for Europe overall, driven largely by strong sales in Germany.
Overall group EBIT was up 3% compared to the 2023 fiscal year, while dividend per share had fallen 3.7% compared to last year.
Finally, top energy player Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) saw its share price fall by 4.92% (to $7.44) by 12:58 AEST, as it reported a notable profit drop in its half-year results.
Santos said its underlying profit for the half year had fallen 18% to US$654 million, with this reflecting a draw back from LNG.
Santos registered 46.4 million barrels of oil equivalent during the second half of FY2024 – a 1% fall in sales volumes compared to the same period last year, driven by lower volumes in Bayu-Undan and the Cooper Basin.
However, the company also told the market that its interim dividend was at a record level: rising 49% to a declared interim dividend of 13 US cents per share.
