Positive offshore leads and a bounce in the oil price have helped the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX:XJO) rebound today, gaining 0.26% to 5,522 points.
Investors have been presented with a stack of earnings results to digest, although there have been some notable disappointments.
Four shares that have been hammered today on the back of weak results, include:
Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL)
Shares of Australia's largest private health insurer have fallen nearly 6% today after the company provided a fairly bleak growth outlook. Despite increasing FY16 net profit after tax (NPAT) by 46%, Medibank warned of challenging trading conditions for FY17 including the potential for further market share losses. This is expected to further crimp revenue growth which has already been under pressure thanks to slowing market growth and lower premium rate increases. The company declared a final dividend of 6 cents per share.
Mantra Group Ltd (ASX: MTR)
Shares of Mantra have plunged more than 5% today after the hotel operator released its full year results. It appears investors have been left disappointed with the results, despite profits coming in ahead of management's guidance. Aided by the addition of 11 new properties, revenues climbed 21.5% to $606 million and NPAT increased by 21% to $43.8 million. The CBD hotel segment was one area of weakness for Mantra, however, and I suspect this has been the focus of investors today. Nevertheless, Mantra expects FY17 NPAT to increase to between $48.5 million and $52.5 million.
Cover-More Group Ltd (ASX: CVO)
Shares of Cover-More have fallen by as much as 7.4% today following the release of weaker-than-expected full year results. Although the travel insurer continues to deliver strong sales growth, margins have been hit hard thanks to an increase in travel claims resulting in higher underwriting fees. The end result has been a 27.5% decline in NPAT and a share price that has fallen by more than 35% since the start of 2016. Cover-More expects continued sales growth in FY17, but has not provided any specific profit guidance.
IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH)
Shares of IPH have plunged more than 5% today, despite releasing its full year results yesterday. The shares were little changed for most of yesterday, but it appears investors have been sparked into action after Deutsche Bank lowered its price target from $8.95 to $7. Interestingly, the broker maintains a buy rating on IPH and considers the business well positioned for further growth organically and through acquisition. The intellectual property services firm reported a 50% increase in NPAT yesterday and also declared a final dividend of 10 cents per share.
