The S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) finished the day trading at 7162.5, or 0.25% higher. As of the market close, the ASX 200 is priced 27.34% from its 52-week low of 5624.6
Making today’s sharemarket news headlines were Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd (ASX: CCL), WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) and Perpetual Limited (ASX: PPT).
Here’s what happened on the ASX 200 and Australian share market today.
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ASX 200 Recap
1. Coca-Cola Amatil – up 8.5%
Coca-Cola Amatil is the Australian distributor and rights holder to the famous Coca-Cola brand (which is owned by the US parent Coca-Cola Company). Coca-Cola Amatil started life in 1904 as British Tobacco Company. The ‘Amatil’ in its name came in 1977 when it was renamed as Allied Manufacturing and Trade Industries Limited (AMATIL).
Today, Coca-Cola Amatil released its 2019 financials to the market showing a 6.5% increase in revenue and a profit of $374 million, up 34% on the result posted in 2018.
In addition to that news, the company announced it would pay a final dividend of 26 cents per share, 50% franked, the same level as last year.
“This result demonstrates encouraging progress as we mark the completion of our two-year transition period,” Coca-cola Amatil CEO Alison Watkins said.
“This result supports our goal of delivering mid-single digit earnings per share growth in 2020 and over the medium term.”
2. WiseTech Global – down 12%
WiseTech Global was founded in 1994 by Richard White to provide software to the logistics sector.
WiseTech shares have been crunched this week, falling from over $29 on Tuesday to below $19 today.
As we reported earlier this week, the company achieved a half-year profit of $59.9 million, up 159% on the result from a year earlier.
However, the company painted a rather bleak outlook in the wake of the Coronavirus and trade going in-and-out of China. You can read more here.
3. Perpetual – up 11%
Perpetual Limited is an Australian funds management business. It acts as the investment manager for a number of strategies but it also provides financial advice and trustee services.
In an ASX announcement released today, Perpetual reported a half-year profit of $51.6 million, down 14% versus the same half in 2019. The company said it was impacted by net outflows, lower performance fees and, “investment in strategic growth initiatives”.
On the dividend front, the company declared a fully franked payment of $1.05, which represents 95% of its profit.
“During the first half of the year, regulatory, macro and geopolitical influences continued to disrupt the financial services industry, impacting the asset management and advice sectors,” Perpetual CEO Rob Adams said.
According to Bloomberg, analysts covering Perpetual were expecting a dividend of $1.055 per share and a profit result of $45.1 million. It appears the company surpassed analysts’ expectations.
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