The ASX 200 finished 0.1% higher today

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX:XJO) finished higher by over 0.1% today. Some ASX growth shares were sold off including Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1).

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finished 0.12% higher today, ending at 6,192 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport reported its first quarter of FY21 to investors today.

It said that it grew its quarterly revenue to $17.3 million, up 2% from the last quarter. Monthly recurring revenue (MRR) for September 2020 was $5.8 million, up 2% quarter on quarter.

Total installed data centres grew 5% to 385 and total enabled data centres went up 5% to 702 over the quarter.

Megaport had 1,980 customers at the end of the quarter, an increase of 7% compared to the last quarter.

Total ports rose by 10% quarter on quarter to 6,333. Average revenue per port was $913. At the end of September 2020 it had $152.8 million of cash.

Megaport's CEO, Vincent English, said: "Megaport remains committed to driving value for our customers, partners and shareholders. We are constantly evolving our platform so our customers can more easily connect with the services they need to power their business. MVE will play a fundamental part in our success by allowing our customers to access Megaport's elastic interconnection platform from locations beyond traditional data centres – including branch offices, corporate campuses, and point of sale locations.

"Profitability remains a company-wide priority. We are focused on achieving earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) breakeven on an exit run-rate basis by the close of fiscal year 2021 by driving further customer growth across all regions."

The Megaport share price fell 13% today, making it the worst performer in the ASX 200.

Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW)

The e-commerce business announced a trading update today.

Year to date revenue for the period from 1 July 2020 to 19 October 2020 was up 138% compared to the prior corresponding period.

Temple & Webster reported that it made $8.6 million of EBITDA in the first quarter of FY21, which was more than the whole of FY20.

October revenue growth was still more than 100%. The company said this was pleasing because it has entered its peak trading months.

Management said the company is committed to a high growth strategy to take advantage of the structural shift towards online, to capitalise on both organic and inorganic opportunities.

However, the Temple & Webster share price sank around 17% today.

EML Payments Ltd (ASX: EML)

Payments business EML announced its first quarter trading update today as well.

EML revealed that its gross debit volume (GDV) was $4.85 billion in the first quarter. Up 20% on the prior quarter (being the fourth quarter of FY20) and up 51% on the prior corresponding period (PCP – the first quarter of FY20).

EML Payments said that its revenue was up 20% on the prior quarter and up 75% on the PCP. This helped drive EBITDA up 69% on the prior quarter and it grew 215% over the PCP.

Management were pleased with this update because historically the first quarter is normally the weakest quarter of the year.

Cost control initiatives by the ASX 200 share reduced cash overheads by $0.7 million compared to the prior corresponding period (excluding the PFS acquisition).

Looking at the PCP for the different divisions. Virtual account numbers' GDV was in line with the PCP.  Total general purpose reloadable GDV was up 234% largely due to the PFS acquisition – without the PFS acquisition, EML GDV increased 16% and PFS GDV went up 24%. Gift and incentive GDV was down 11% on the PCP because of COVID-19 impacts, however it was up 41% compared to the fourth quarter of FY20.

The EML share price fell 2.4% today. 

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Temple & Webster Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended EML Payments. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO and Temple & Webster Group Ltd. 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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