The S&P/ASX 200 index returned to form last week thanks to easing trade war tensions and recorded a gain of 1.3% to finish it at 6,604.2 points.
Whilst a large portion of the index pushed higher, a number of shares performed significantly better than most last week.
Here's why these shares were the best performers on the ASX 200 index last week:
The Nanosonics Ltd (ASX: NAN) share price was the best performer on the ASX 200 index last week with a massive 35.6% gain. Investors were fighting to get hold of the infection control specialist's shares after the release of an impressive full year result. In FY 2019 Nanosonics reported record full year sales of $84.3 million and operating profit before tax of $16.8 million. This was a 39% and 201% increase, respectively, on the prior corresponding period. Pleasingly, management appears confident that there will be more market share gains and strong sales growth in FY 2020.
The Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) share price was on form again last week with a gain of 26.2%. The release of a stronger than expected full year result was the catalyst for this hefty rise. In FY 2019 the buy now pay later platform provider reported a 140% lift in underlying sales to $5.2 billion, an 86% increase in total income to $264.1 million, and a 93% jump in a net transaction margin to $136.5 million. One big positive was the company's strong start to life in the UK. Afterpay has on-boarded over 200,000 UK customers in the first 15 weeks. This is an even more successful launch than in the United States. Finally, news that it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with payments giant VISA also went down well with investors.
The Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) share price zoomed 22.3% higher last week. This was the second week in a row that the health imaging company's shares have been amongst the best performers and has been driven by its impressive increase in profits in FY 2019. A week earlier the company announced a full year profit of $19.1 million, which was 91.9% higher than the prior corresponding period. This led to analysts at Morgans upgrading its shares to an add rating with a $32.79 price target.
The Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) share price rose a sizeable 15% last week. Investors were buying the mining services company's shares after it released its full year results and revealed a 14.2% increase in revenue to $1,970 million and a 15.4% lift in underlying EBIT to $217 million. Ausdrill's strong performance was given a boost by the successful acquisition and integration of leading underground mining contractor, Barminco.
