The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by around 0.7% to 6,758 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)
Shoe store business Accent Group released an update for the first half of FY21. The Accent share price went up around 3% today in response.
The company said that its FY21 first half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to be in the range of $95 million and $98 million, before AASB 16. This will represent growth of 40% to 45% compared to the prior corresponding period. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) growth is expected to be similar.
Management said that the first half result was driven by a number of different factors.
Sales were stronger than expected in November and December with total sales up 12.3% and like for like sales were up 7.4% in those months. New store sales contributed to the overall growth.
Accent said it achieved positive like for like (LFL) sales growth of 2.7% in the first half. Excluding Auckland, Victorian and Adelaide stores during periods when they were shut, like for like sales increased by 12.3%.
Turning to e-commerce sales, Accent said that online sales grew 110% to $108.1 million compared to last year. Online sales represented 22.3% of total sales.
Accent said that it achieved a strong profit margin, ahead of the prior year. The company also said that the disciplined cost controls which started in the second half of FY20 has continued, along with rental abatements and wage subsidies (for July to September).
Since June through the Victorian, Auckland and Adelaide shutdowns, and recently in Sydney's Northern Beaches, all permanent employees have received full pay despite store traffic levels in those areas being significantly impacted. Accent estimated that the net benefit of wage subsidies in the first half of FY21 was $9.4 million.
Daniel Agostinelli, the CEO of Accent, said: "I am delighted with the way our team has executed through the all-important November cyber events and the lead up to Christmas. Our strong focus and capability in digital, combined with operational excellence in merchandise and store execution has delivered a strong, trading led result. The company's store network and best in class digital fulfilment capability, allowed us to fulfil significant volumes of online Christmas customer orders placed up until 22 December in time for Christmas Day."
Big movers in the ASX 200
There were some big movers today in the ASX 200.
The best performer in the ASX 200 was the Bingo Industries Ltd (ASX: BIN) share price which went up 8.7%. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) business Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) saw its share price rise 6.6%. The share price of BNPL peer Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) climbed 6.3%. Bingo's competitor, Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd (ASX: CWY), benefited from a share price rise of 5.5%. Finally, the JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) share price went up 5%.
At the bottom of the ASX 200 were resource businesses. The IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) share price fell 4.2%, the Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR) share price fell 3.9%, the Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN) share price fell 3.8%, the Silver Lake Resources Limited. (ASX: SLR) share price declined 3.7% and the Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS) share price fell 3.1%.
