The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(^AXJO) is expected to open higher today, the USA’s S&P 500 Index (.INX) went down 0.05% on Thursday.
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 71.02US cents
Dow Jones (DJI): down 0.41%
Oil (WTI): $US54.56 per barrel
Gold: $US1,313 per ounce
ASX Sharemarket News
In ASX sharemarket news, Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) shares could come under pressure today. It went down 2.2% yesterday with the telco cutting the dividend from 11 cents per share to 8 cents per share.
Total income, EBITDA and net profit all declined with the expected NBN impact. Testra said that more than half of the impact of the NBN has been absorbed with around 55% of premises connected.
The T22 strategy remains integral for Telstra’s future. CEO Andy Penn said: “T22 is about simplifying the business and reducing our cost base for the future. It is about maximising the value of our infrastructure assets.”
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Private health insurer Medibank Private Limited (ASX: MPL) has also reported its half-year result to the market this morning.
Medibank revealed its revenue increased by 2.7% to $3.56 billion, the group operating profit grew by 2.4% to $293 million and the dividend increased by 3.6% to 5.7 cents per share.
However, net profit after tax declined by 15.4% due to a $55.6 million decline in net investment income.
Medibank CEO Craig Drummond said: “While the operating environment in full year 2020 is likely to be challenging, we are confident with our plans leading into the likely lower rate rise environment and see future reform as critical to promoting industry sustainability.
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Baby Bunting Group Limited (ASX: BBN) has also reported its result for the FY19 half year this morning.
Total sales were 17.2% higher to $177.7 million with strong comparable store sales growth of 9.5%. Net profit was up 27.8% to $5.2 million.
The baby product retailer declared an interim dividend of 3.3 cents per share, which was an increase of almost 18%.
Baby Bunting CEO Matt Spencer said: “I am proud of our first half performance. We started the year in unsettled trading times with major competitor disruption and Toys R Us / Babies R Us in administration.”
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