Welcome to Friday, and some more mediocrity from the S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO), which was down 0.6% at 4,961 points as of the time of writing.
A number of shares fell significantly further however, and here's why:
3P Learning Ltd (ASX: 3PL) crashed 21% to $1.48 after the company posted a decline in underlying profit and decided not to pay an interim dividend, preferring to direct its cash towards the growth of the company. A heavily negative cash flow may also have spooked investors, although 3P did post decent revenue growth in the US and the EMEA region. 3P stated in its investor presentation that 75% of cash billings come in the latter half of the year (i.e., in the next 6 months) and investors will have to wait to see the improvements.
3P Learning shares are down 39% in the past 12 months.
Sims Metal Management Ltd (ASX: SGM) dived 12% to $6.82 after the release of its interim results to the market this morning. Revenues crashed 28% in Australian dollar terms, and the company swung back to a massive statutory loss of A$250.1m (underlying loss of $17.8m after tax). According to company figures, US east coast export ferrous prices fell 41% compared to the first half of last year, while copper, aluminium, and nickel were down 26%, 22%, and 42% respectively. Demand for secondary steel has also declined as China is now exporting excess steel production into the rest of south-east Asia.
Sims shares are down 43% in the past 12 months.
Collection House Limited (ASX: CLH) fell 9% to $1.26, continuing the rout that began after the company's interim results were released on Wednesday – today's fall takes this week's total loss to more than 20%. Collection House shares appear cheap based on their Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio and trailing dividend yield, although after management downgraded their outlook it appears that investors are wondering if the market could deteriorate further.
Collection House shares are down 48% in the past 12 months.
Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) lost 4% to $3.40 after it released its annual report to the market today. Revenues were down 20%, while the net loss ballooned 189% compared to last year. Santos could also expect further pain in the near future as oil prices today are substantially lower than its average realised price in the last half. Curiously, Santos also paid a dividend of 5 cents per share which was at odds with the CEO's talk of sustaining operations in a low price environment.
Santos shares are down 59% in the past 12 months.
