ASX 200 rises 0.75%, Fortescue impresses and Macquarie remains robust

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) went up 0.65% today. Updates from Fortescue (ASX:FMG) and Macquarie (ASX:MQG) impressed the market.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 0.74% today to 6,051 points. The overseas share markets rallied after the US Federal Reserve indicated that it would continue to support the economy through these COVID-19 times and keep interest rates low for some time.

Victoria reported 723 new confirmed COVID-19 cases whilst both Queensland and NSW reported a few more cases.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price rises 4%

Fortescue is now bigger than both Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) and Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES). It has been an incredible 12 months for the ASX 200 miner.

The iron ore miner announced its June 2020 production update today.

It saw a record 178.2 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore shipments in FY20. Iron ore shipments were 47.3mt for the quarter. This beat the top end of Fortescue's FY20 guidance of 177mt. FY20 shipments were 6% higher than FY19.

Fortescue said that its average revenue was US$81 per dry metric tonne (dmt) in the fourth quarter. This brought the average revenue for FY20 to US$79 per dmt.

C1 costs for the fourth quarter were around US$13 per wet metric tonne (wmt). C1 costs for FY20 were just under US$13 per wmt including US$0.22 per wmt of COVID-19 related costs.

The ASX 200 miner has cash on hand of US$4.9 billion at 30 June 2020 and net debt of US$0.3 billion.

In FY20 it had capital expenditure of US$2 billion in FY20 and in FY21 it expects capital expenditure of between US$3 billion and US$3.4 billion including investment in growth projects and energy infrastructure.

In FY21 guidance for shipments is between 175mt to 180mt and C1 costs of US$13 per wmt to US$13.50 per wmt.

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) FY21 first quarter

Macquarie announced its FY21 first quarter to investors today as it held its annual general meeting (AGM) today.

The ASX 200 investment bank said that its operating groups have been impacted by mixed trading conditions. Operating net profit was down slightly compared to the first quarter of FY20.

In terms of the regulatory minimum requirements, the group capital surplus was $8.1 billion at 30 June 2020. The bank CET1 ratio was 13.2%.

Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake said: "Macquarie's annuity-style businesses were up on 1Q20 with Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) up primarily due to the sale of its rail operating lease business, partially offset by lower income in banking and financial services which included higher provisions. Macquarie's market-facing businesses were down on 1Q20 primarily due to significantly lower investment-related income in Macquarie Capital, partially offset by stronger contributions from certain divisions in commodities and global markets."

The Macquarie share price went up 0.8%. 

Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT) rises on FY20 second quarter

Splitit announced record quarter growth of merchant sales volume to US$65.4 million. This was up 260% year on year.

Quarterly gross revenue was US$2.4 million, up 460% year on year – this was higher than the entire revenue from FY19.

Splitit said that it has seen continued strong demand from merchants in key verticals, with new brands accepting Splitit including Puffy, Waves, Braun, OCM and Ecosa.

Management said it is well funded. It had US$18.3 million of net cash and US$32 million of unused borrowing capacity to fund further growth.

Splitit CEO Brad Paterson said: "Accelerating merchant demand, strong foundations and a great shopper experience have set Splitit on a rapid growth trajectory, with record MSV and revenue during the quarter. We are seeing the benefits of tightening our product-market fit, attracting world class talent, partnering with Stripe, Visa and Mastercard and supporting our scalable solution with the right merchant funding model. This is an exciting time and we are only just getting started. We expect this growth to continue as we focus on delivering significant benefit and value to our customers."

The Splitit share price rose almost 3% today. 

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Wesfarmers Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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