CSL Rises with Reporting Season Underway

What made the news today?

• Once a market darling, Temple & Webster sinks

• US housing downturn hurts James Hardie

• Breville has too much stock

• Pharma giant leads the way

Markets started off strong but ended in a whimper as investors eagerly await the US inflation report set to drop overnight. The ASX200 still ended the day 13.10 pts, or 0.18%, higher to close at 7,430.90 on a busy news day with a number of companies issuing half-year earnings reports. Overnight in the US, the tech sector performed strongly which translated to our market today.

In a reversal from Monday, 8 of the 11 sectors ended the day in the green. The aforementioned Information Technology sector led the way, increasing by 1.27%. Whilst Telecommunication rose by 1.15%. Of the 3 sectors which fell, Industrials had the poorest performance, dropping by 0.39%.

Both Sims and Domain Holdings were among the best performing companies on the index, increasing in value by 7.08% and 5.46%, respectively.

Economy

In February, the Westpac Consumer Sentiment Index decreased by 6.9% to 78.5 points, bringing it back to historic lows reached in November.

In January, NAB's monthly business confidence survey dropped six points to six, which is in line with its long-term average.

Quick Singles

• Temple & Webster Group (ASX: TPW) share price fell 26.9% to $3.62 following the release of its half-year results, which showed a 12% fall in revenue and a 46.7% decline in net profit after tax.

• Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) share price rose 0.6% to $7.11 after the company reported that its proved plus probable (2P) reserves increased by 171 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) before production to 1,745 mmboe.

• James Hardie Industries PLC (ASX: JHX) share price fell 4.3% to $30.40 following housing downturns in North America and Asia-Pacific leading to "lower-than-expected" Q3 FY23 sales.

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Top Story

CSL Reports Positive Result with Record Plasma Collection

The CSL Ltd. (ASX: CSL) share price increased by 0.9% today with the release of the company's half-year results, which were generally well received by the market. CSL reported a 19% growth in revenue to $7,183.5 million and a 10% increase in net profit after tax before amortisation (NPATA) in constant currency to $1,955 million for the six months ended 31 December.

This was made possible in part by a five-month donation from Vifor Pharma, robust growth in immunoglobulin and albumin sales, and record plasma collection levels. The CSL board increased the interim dividend by 2.9% to $1.07 per share.

Outgoing CSL boss Paul Perreault told investors on Tuesday that the healthcare giant had an impressive jump in plasma volumes of 36 per cent during the first half of the 2023 financial year.

Management has reiterated its forecast for NPATA for the fiscal year 2023, which is in the range of approximately $2.7 billion to $2.8 billion at constant currency.

Movers and Shakers

✅Biggest Winners

Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM) share prie was up 7.1% to $15.72 after the release of the scrap metal company's half-year financial report. Sims reported a 10% drop in revenue and a staggering 80% drop in underlying net profit after tax. Nonetheless, investors appear to have anticipated even worse results.

Challenger (ASX: CGF) share price increased by 4.4% to $7.58 with the release of the company's half-year results. Challenger's normalised profit before taxes increased by 5% to $250 million. This allowed the company to raise its interim dividend by 4 per cent to 12 cents per share.

❌ Biggest Losers 

Breville Group (ASX: BRG) share price was down 4.7% to $20.68. Breville reported an increase in net profit after tax of 1.3% to $78.7 million for the half and a 1.1% increase in revenue to $888 million. higher then expected inventory levels look to still concern investors which may have contributed to the lower share price today.

Ansell (ASX: ANN) decreased in value 8.7% to $25.64. Ansell reported a 17.2% drop in revenue to $835.3 million and a 16.5% drop in net income after taxes to $64.8 million. This was due to the company's healthcare segment's deterioration, which negated the industrial segment's rise.

Crypto Corner

Magic Eden and MoonPay Partner to Expand Payment Options for NFT Marketplace

Magic Eden, a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace, has teamed up with Web3 payment platform MoonPay to offer new payment options for buying digital collectibles. The partnership allows Magic Eden users to purchase NFTs using a credit or debit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, making it easier for new users to onboard the platform. According to Magic Eden's Chief Operating Officer, Zhuoxun Yin, the goal of the collaboration is to make NFTs accessible to everyone, enabling individuals to own and control their digital assets.

MoonPay's recent partnership with NFT marketplace LooksRare enabled users of the platform to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through MoonPay, which also allowed them to purchase NFTs via credit card. The company raised $555 million in November 2021, and its success has enabled it to build strategic partnerships with other platforms. MoonPay also secured registration with the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority in December, signifying its compliance with local money laundering rules.

The partnership between Magic Eden and MoonPay is another step towards making NFTs more mainstream and accessible to a wider audience. As the popularity of digital collectibles continues to grow, it is likely that more companies will seek to simplify the process of buying and selling NFTs, making it easier for users to participate in this emerging market.

Economic Outlook

A busy week on the economic calendar with the US CPI read on Tuesday the big item investors will be watching with housing data the other key metrics. Australia reports employment figures on Thursday, with unemployment expected to come in at 3.5%

15th February

• US CPI YoY (est. 6.2%)

16th February

• US Retail Sales MoM (est. 1.6%)

• US Capacity Utilization (est. 79.1%)

• US Industrial Output (est. 0.5%)

• AU Employment (est. 20K)

• AU Unemployment (est. 3.5%)

17th February

• US Jobless Claims (est. 200k)

• US Housing Starts number (est. 1.36M)

• US Building Permits (est. 1.35M)

• US Producer Prices (est. 4.9%)

• US PPI Inflation (est. 5.4%)