The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(^AXJO) is expected to open higher today, the USA’s S&P 500 Index (.INX) went up 0.64% on Friday.
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 71.41US cents
Dow Jones (DJI): up 0.70%
Oil (WTI): $US57.26 per barrel
Gold: $US1,336 per ounce
ASX Sharemarket News
In ASX sharemarket news, Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC) was one of the first businesses to report its December 2018 result this morning.
The world’s largest manufacturer of push to connect plumbing fittings and specialist water control valves reported net sales growth of 50% to $544.2 million, or 7% growth excluding the John Guest acquisition. Reported EBITDA grew by 52% to $120.7 million (click here to learn what EBITDA means) and reported net profit went up 58% to $65.7 million.
RWC decided to increase the dividend by 14% to 4 cents per share and the company is still guiding that FY19 EBITDA will be between $280 million to $290 million.
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Another company to report this morning is QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE), the insurance giant shared its numbers for its 2018 full year result.
The company said that its net cash profit after tax improved from a loss of $262 million in 2017 to a profit of $715 million in 2018. However, its reported net profit was lower at $390 million, but a bigger improvement from 2017’s reported loss of $1.25 billion. QBE achieved an average group-wide premium rate increase of 5%.
QBE CEO Pat Regan said: “The actions we have taken to simplify the Group, implement a rigorous performance management framework and upgrade core capabilities in pricing, risk selection and claims management delivered meaningful improvement in the underlying quality of our business”.
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BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) is another to have reported its half year result to December 2018.
The steelmaker said that its net profit after tax grew by 42% to $624.3 million. The business also confirmed its buy-back of up to $250 million will continue and a 20% increase to the dividend to 6 cents per share.
Bluescope CEO Mark Vassella said: “It’s an excellent result, our best half on record. It was driven by strong demand and steel spreads in our US and Australasian markets.”
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