Despite Perth entering a ‘snap’ three-day lockdown following another hotel quarantine outbreak, the S&P/ASX 200 (ASX: XJO) closed slightly ahead on Friday, up 0.1%, and finished the week flat.
The highlights over the week were Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) and Monadelphous Group Limited (ASX: MND), which jumped 10.5% and 8.6%, respectively.
But all attention has been on a number of companies delivering quarterly earnings updates.
Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) and Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) were the biggest detractors, down 27.3% and 23.8%, respectively, after surprising investors with poor results.
Redbubble unveiled a new growth strategy that spooked investors, while Challenger released results and guided towards the lower end of guidance for normalised profit.
Kogan share price crunched
Amazon competitor Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) was the first to admit it was facing issues with higher inventories and sales growth, struggling to keep up with pandemic levels.
The Kogan share price fell 14.3% on Friday and 19.7% for the week after the company announced a third-quarter update. Earnings fell 24% despite another 65% growth in revenue over the quarter.
The company indicated that higher-than-expected inventory levels were impacting costs, whilst price inflation on key products had resulted from supply shutdowns in Asia.
ASX retailers feel the pain
ASX retailers dropped in unison, including JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) which was down 5.0% in sympathy; another reminder following Redbubble’s result that investors need to be wary of extrapolating recent events into the future.
Accent Group buys up
Sticking with the retail theme, Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1) made a splash on Friday, announcing a $13 million acquisition of youth apparel and shoe retailer Glue Store.
The company also revealed that retail veteran Brett Blundy will rejoin the Accent Group board, effective immediately.
AMP turns to spin-off
The other news was AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) announcing its decision to separately list its Private Markets division on the ASX and move on from negotiations with Ares Capital.
The listing is set to occur in 2022, with AMP shares adding just 0.9% on the news.
ASX 200 today
Looking ahead, the ASX 200 is expected to start the week higher, with the latest ASX futures pointing to a positive open.