The ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO)(^AXJO) is expected to open lower today, the USA’s S&P 500 Index (.INX) went down 0.29% on Wednesday.
Australian Dollar ($A) (AUDUSD): 71.19US cents
Dow Jones (DJI): down 0.55%
Oil (WTI): $US59.83 per barrel
Gold: $US1,312 per ounce
ASX Sharemarket News
In ASX sharemarket news, Brickworks Limited (ASX: BKW) has announced its result for the half year to 31 January 2019.
The property construction business said that total revenue from continuing operations increased by 17% to $442 million, underlying EBITDA rose by 44% to $227 million (click here to learn what EBITDA means), underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) increased by 37% to $160 million and statutory NPAT grew 18% to $115 million.
The Brickworks interim dividend was increased by 6% to 19 cents per share.
Brickworks Chairman Robert Millner said: “Our strong financial performance during the period again reinforced the benefit of our diversification strategy. We believe Brickworks offers investors compelling value, with the inferred asset backing of almost $27 per share, exceeding the share price by close to 50%.”
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Investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Ltd (ASX: SOL) also reported it result today.
The company’s regular profit after tax grew 12.2% to $186.7 million, statutory profit after tax increased 22.6% to $179.2 million, net regular cash from operations increased by 24.8% to $92 million and the net asset value (pre-tax) grew by 10.2% to $6 billion.
Soul Pattinson increased the interim dividend by 4.3% to 24 cents, which marks the 21st straight year of increases.
WHSP Chairman Robert Millner said: “Over the past 15 years, an investment in WHSP has multiplied in value by six times while the market has increased just two and a half times.”
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Pharmacy business Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) also reported its result to the market this morning.
Total revenue was down 2.9% to $3.98 billion, EBITDA dropped by 17.5% to $76.5 million and earnings per share (EPS) declined by 32.1% to 3.8 cents.
For FY20, the company is guiding EBITDA will be between $55 million to $60 million.
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