The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.5% today to 6,210 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME)
Imaging healthcare business Pro Medicus announced a European contract win today.
It said that its German subsidiary has signed a 7-year, AU$10 million contract with Munich-based Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat (LMU Klinikum), which is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe.
This contract will see the company's Visage 7 technology implemented across all of LMU's Klinikum's radiology and subspeciality imaging departments replacing existing legacy PACS systems with a single centralized instance of the Visage 7 platform. Visage is also used in the hospital's state of the art operating theatre suite for HD video documentation and point-of-care ultrasound archival and viewing.
The implementation is scheduled to commence in December 2020.
Pro Medicus CEO Dr Sam Hupert said: "Traditionally, large European teaching hospitals like LMU Klinikum have standardised on IT platforms for large, multinational imaging equipment vendors making this a difficult market to penetrate. So this is a very significant milestone for us in this highly competitive market."
The Pro Medicus share price rose 7.6%. It was one of the best performers in the ASX 200 today.
Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE)
Today, the car dealership business announced a trading update for the nine months ending 30 September 2020.
It said that it has recorded an underlying operating profit before tax from continuing operations of $96.6 million, which represents an increase of 45.4% from the prior corresponding period.
Management said that in the Australian states and territories not currently locked down, vehicle sales have rebounded strongly from historical lows experienced during April and May.
However, whilst demand is high, supply constraints have caused global manufacturer closures during the June quarter, meaning lower vehicle deliveries to customers.
The reduced inventory position combined with cost cuts after the AHG merger, and in response to COVID-19, have led to the strong underlying trading performance.
The AP Eagers share price went up by 6%. It was another of today's strongest performers in the ASX 200.
Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC)
Coal miner Whitehaven delivered its September 2020 update today.
It said that it saw strong sales in the quarter ending 30 September 2020, with total managed coal sales of 6Mt, up 13% on the prior corresponding period. Managed run-of-mine production was 4.5Mt, up 4% on the prior corresponding period. The company attributed this pleasing update to demand from Asian customers
One highlight from the quarter was that on 12 August 2020, the NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the Vickery Extension Project to operate up to a 10Mt per annum open cut metallurgic and thermal coal mine.
As part of the update, the company refined its FY21 guidance unit cost range to be between AU$69 per tonne to AU$72 per tonne.
Whitehaven CEO and managing director Paul Flynn said: "Operationally, we have continued the June quarters' momentum by delivering on-plan mining performance of coal and overburden across all operations laying a solid foundation to much improved operational results.
"In a more capital constrained environment we continue to cautiously progress our development projects and implement a range of business improvement measures to drive cost reductions."
The Whitehaven share price grew by 12.1% today. It was among the best ASX 200 performers.
Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL)
Online artist marketplace business Redbubble reported a strong set of numbers for the first quarter of FY21.
Redbubble reported that its marketplace revenue jumped by 116% to $147.5 million. This boosted gross profit by 149% to $64.5 million.
The company generated EBIT of $22.1 million. Operating cash inflow was $27.1 million, up from $10.2 million in the prior year.
Redbubble finished the quarter with a cash balance of $85.4 million.
The CEO of Redbubble, Martin Hosking, said: "The strategic priority for the group now is to ensure we extend the market leadership we have established. We intent to invest in the customer experience to improve loyalty and retention and ensure long-term higher levels of growth. The company has the resources to undertake the anticipated investments and the margin structure to ensure it can do so while remaining profitable."
The Redbubble share price grew by 8.1% today.
