If you're a growth investor, then you're in luck. This is because there are a number of companies on the Australian share market that have been growing at a rapid rate in recent years.
Two that have been tipped to continue this positive form over the long term are listed below. Here's what you need to know about them:
Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)
This machine learning and artificial intelligence data services company has been a strong performer in 2020. During the first half of FY 2020, the company reported a 25% increase in revenue to $306.2 million. This was driven by its key Relevance segment, which provides annotated data to be used in search technology for improving the relevance and accuracy of search engines, social media applications, and e-commerce websites. The Relevance segment delivered a 34% increase in revenue to $273.9 million, which offset weakness in its Speech & Image segment. The latter reported a 20% decline in revenue to $31.9 million.
While the pandemic has impacted demand for its services this year, management remains confident that new projects will commence once the crisis passes.
Macquarie appears to agree and remains positive on the company's prospects. It has an outperform rating and $43.00 price target on its shares.
Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)
This ecommerce company has been a very strong performer in 2020 thanks to the accelerating shift to online shopping. The COVID-19 pandemic has sent millions of consumers online for their shopping, many for the first time, much to the delight of online retailers like Kogan.
While FY 2020 was strong, Kogan's growth has gone up a level early in FY 2021. For example, during the month of August, the company reported gross sales growth of more than 117% and adjusted EBITDA growth of more than 466%. This was driven by the addition of 152,000 new customers to its platform during the month, bringing its total to 2,461,000.
No further updates have been provided since then, but based on many of its online peers, the market appears confident this exceptional form has continued through to today. In addition to this, the company has acquired online retailer Mighty Ape for NZ$120 million and furniture retailer Matt Blatt for $4.4 million. These additions should give its second half performance a boost.
Credit Suisse is positive on Kogan. It recently put an outperform rating and $20.60 price target on its shares.
