The ASX200 finished off the trading week on a good note, up about half a per cent.
The materials sector performed best and was the biggest gainer, up 1.4 per cent, followed by energy, up nearly a per cent.
In this bulletin, we’ll look at news from Mineral Resources, Black Mountain Energy, Buxton Resources, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises, and Sayona Mining.
In the green
Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) was up 7 per cent on the release of its December quarterly report.
The company saw a 9 per cent increase quarter on quarter in production volumes to 72 million tonnes (Mt).
Iron ore shipments also rose 23 per cent from the previous quarter to reach a total of 4.8 million wet metric tonnes.
MIN closed at $59.39.
Black Mountain Energy (ASX:BME) gained as much as 33 per cent in early trade after posting its December quarterly, which included the settled sale of the Half Moon Permian Basin position for US$6.57 million before tax.
BME has voluntarily lodged a formal request with ASX to be delisted.
Shareholders will vote on that at an upcoming general meeting.
BME closed at 1 cent.
And Buxton Resources (ASX:BUX) was up nearly seven per cent after electrochemical work showed material from its Graphite Bull Project in the Gascoyne Region of WA will be suitable for lithium-ion battery anode manufacture.
The company claims it’s a green light to continue project development.
BUX closed at 16 cents.
In the red
Domino’s Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) topped the headlines… after shedding more than 30 per cent on its trading update released after Market Close yesterday.
It’s now predicting first-half net profit before tax will be at least $14.8 million lower than the same period a year ago.
While the company delivered the best sales results in Australia and New Zealand in six years, results were in the negative for Japan and Asia.
Domino’s closing price yesterday was $57.30,
and today DMP closed at 39.51.
Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) was down more than 9 per cent as it begins an operational review of its North American Lithium operation. It comes as lithium prices continue to fall.
The company announced plans to downsize its Canadian operations and will assess just how costs can be cut. Multiple redundancies have also been made.
SYA closed at 4 cents.
And Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) fell more than 5 per cent on the release of an exploration update.
The company has wrapped up a three-phase program at its acreage in the Finniss region of Australia’s Northern Territory.
Core CEO Gareth Manderson says 2023 exploration has increased its confidence and understanding of the BP33 and Calrton ore bodies, whilst also establishing a number of new drill targets in the Region.
CXO closed at 18.5 cents.