The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by more than 1% today to 6,196 points.
Big banks on the rise
The share prices of the big ASX banks all rose today.
The National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price went up 2%, the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) share price grew 3.2% and the Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price climbed 2.5%.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) saw its share price go up 1.7% today after holding its annual general meeting (AGM). The major ASX 200 bank highlighted that it's in a strong position and continues to be a good option for dividends.
Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) commits to its dividend
The telco giant also held its AGM today. It gave out some commitments and also shared some interesting information.
It said that it aspires that all calls from its consumer and small business customers will be answered in Australia by the time the T22 strategy is completed. Telstra also said that its 5G network now covers 40% of the Australian population.
Telstra said that with the establishment of Telstra InfraCo, it is positioned to be able to make a play for involvement in the privatisation of the NBN, if that happens.
The board of Telstra said it was acutely aware of the importance of dividends to shareholders. It said that it's prepared to temporarily exceed its capital management to continue paying a $0.16 annual dividend per share, though that's not guaranteed.
Telstra's dividend will depend on whether the free cash flow would support the dividend and whether underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $7.5 billion to $8.5 billion is achievable after the rollout of the NBN.
However, Telstra said that it won't be able to meet a target of earning a return on invested capital (ROIC) of more than 10% by the end of FY22. It's aiming for ROIC of more than 7% by FY23.
Service Stream Limited (ASX: SSM)
Service Stream announced today that it has extended its operations and maintenance master agreement (OMMA) with the NBN for an additional six months from the end of December 2020, with an option to extend for a further six months to December 2021.
The ASX 200 company will continue to be responsible for performing operations and maintenance field services for the NBN including service activations and service assurance activities.
Revenue generated for Service Stream will be dependent on the work volumes. Under the existing agreement, the ASX 200 company generated $330 million of revenue in FY20 and $280 million in FY19.
Another strong quarter from Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)
Financial technology business Hub24 released a strong quarterly update today for the three months to 30 September 2020.
It said that its funds under administration (FUA) of $19 billion was up 32% compared to the prior corresponding period.
Hub24 achieved record net inflows for a September quarter of $1.36 billion, up 10% compared to the first quarter of FY20. That record inflow was up $260 million compared to the June quarter.
Management boasted that the Hub24 platform's market share increased to 2.1% in the quarter.
It maintained second place for both quarterly and annual net inflows.
Hub24's new business pipeline continues to grew with 27 new licensee agreements signed during the quarter and 101 new advisers using the platform.
The company believes that the new business pipeline will continue to grow as additional opportunities emerge given adviser movement from institutional licensees and further industry consolidation.
