The ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) was eventful again this week. Here are four big stories you may have missed that affected businesses in the ASX 200 index:
Share market takes another tumble
The ASX 200's volatility is picking up again as we get into the latter stages of the 2019 calendar year.
Concerns around the ongoing trade war between the US and China are causing some investors to think that the US may enter a recession. Time will tell if they're right!
That's why the ASX 200 index fell by around 3% over the week, which is a sizeable decrease for a whole index in one week. Global share markets also fell during this week too.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) cuts dividend again
Telstra's FY19 result was one of the main headlines from this week.
The telco reported that total income dropped 3.6%, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 21.7% to $8 billion and net profit after tax (NPAT) declined 39.6% to $2.1 billion.
This result was largely expected, as was the final dividend being cut to 8 cents per share, with the total dividend for the year being 16 cents per share. Even so, I don't think it shows Telstra in a great position due to the ongoing NBN troubles.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) can't be stopped?
The ASX healthcare giant was another company to report this week.
Its continuous focus on researching and developing new products led to another solid result in FY19. CSL reported that its revenue increased by 11% in constant currency terms, which helped profit grow by 11% to US$1.92 billion – up 17% on a constant currency basis.
Despite the change to the distribution model in China, CSL is predicting profit growth of another 7% to 10% in FY20.
Aussie consumer doing better than expected
Many market commentators, including myself, were expecting to see a subdued FY19 performance from retailers like JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH).
Yet, impressively, the electronics retailer grew sales by 3.5% with comparable sales growth across the board and increased net profit by 7.1% to $249.8 million.
In FY20 the retail business is predicting a further 2.1% increase of sales. Growth may be slowing but I think it is impressive that it continues to grow despite the tough conditions.
