Australian shares are generally higher today thanks to a string of positive earnings reports which have lifted the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) just over 0.2% for the day. The market hit a high of 5930 points, but has retreated marginally in late afternoon trade.
Here are four companies doing the heavy lifting…
BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) shares jumped 2.9% today despite the mining heavyweight reporting a 47.4% fall in its half-year net profit. It's likely that the market responded positively as a result of a 5% lift in the miner's interim dividend, which took it to US62 cents per share, fully franked. You can read a detailed review of the report here.
QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) opened significantly lower, falling almost 6% early in the session. However, investors eventually warmed to the insurer's full-year report card, sending the stock 7.1% higher for the day to $12.54 per unit. QBE Insurance Group reported a full-year profit of US$742 million, which compares to the US$254 million loss a year earlier.
Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) continued to impress the market with a 23% lift in its half-year net profit on the back of an increase in revenues, cost reductions and efficiency improvements. While the stock is up 7.9% late in the session, it had risen as much as 10.4% this morning.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) is the market's top performing stock today with its shares up 12.4% late in the afternoon. Although the travel agent reported a 9.5% decrease in net profit for the six-month period, it confirmed it was still on track to meet its full-year profit guidance (between $360-390 million), whilst it also said there were "some early signs of a recovery in Australia". The company's core Australian market has acted as a weight on overall earnings recently.
