There are a few S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares that are delivering elevated levels of growth at the moment.
COVID-19 has caused flow-on effects to different industries and companies. For some, like travel, it has made it difficult to make any profit at all. For others, there is a lot of growth happening:
Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)
Bapcor describes itself as Asia Pacific's leading provider of vehicle parts, accessories, equipment, services and solutions, with a network of over 1,100 locations across Australia and New Zealand.
The company had been guiding that the FY21 half-year result would be strong. It was.
Revenue for the six months to 31 December 2020 was up 25.8% to $883.6 million. Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 36.5% to $145.6 million, underlying EBIT went up 45% to $106.8 million and underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) rose by 54% to $70.2.
Statutory earnings per share (EPS) rose 25.3% to 19.9 cents, allowing the board to increase the interim dividend by 12.5% to 9 cents.
Bapcor said that its trade segment, including Burson, delivered revenue growth of 12.3% and it added another 9 stores during the period.
The retail segment, which includes Autobarn, saw revenue growth of 44% and EBITDA growth of 55.8%.
The ASX 200 share also said that significant progress has been made in its investments for long-term growth. The new distribution warehouse in Melbourne is nearing completion and a new e-commerce platform will soon be launched.
It said that performance in the first month of the second half of FY21 has been at similar levels as the first six months of the year.
Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)
Sonic is one of the world's largest pathology businesses with operations in Australia, North America and Europe.
The healthcare ASX 200 share announced its FY21 half-year result a couple of days ago which showed revenue growth of 33% to $4.4 billion.
There has been a significant revenue and earnings contribution from COVID-19 testing, leveraging existing Sonic infrastructure. More than 18 million COVID-19 PCR tests have been performed to date in approximately 60 Sonic laboratories around the world.
The global base business revenue (excluding COVID-19 testing) was down 1% in the first half, but it was significantly less impacted than in the first few month of the pandemic.
Sonic said it managed to grow its profit margins in both its laboratory and imaging operations.
Half-year EBITDA grew by 89% to $1.3 billion and net profit rose by 166% to $678 million. It was this strength that allowed the board to continue the progressive dividend policy, increasing the dividend by 6% to 36 cents.
For the rest of FY21, it's expecting continuing high levels of COVID-19 testing. It's looking at growth opportunities globally – Sonic is currently bidding on "significant" opportunities in Australia, the UK, the USA and Canada.
