The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was essentially flat today, ending the day at 7,307 points.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Metcash Limited (ASX: MTS)
Metcash reported its FY21 result to the market, with Mitre 10 and Home Timber and Hardware performing strongly.
The ASX 200 share said that its group revenue increased by 9.9% to $14.3 billion.
Metcash generated underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $401.4 million, up 19.9%.
Underlying profit after tax went up 27.1% to $252.7 million. The wholesaler and hardware business announced statutory profit after tax of $239 million (up from a loss of $56.8 million in the prior year). It generated $475.5 million of operating cashflow.
The board increased its FY21 total dividend by 40% to 17.5 cents per share, whilst also announcing an off-market share buyback of up to approximately $175 million.
Metcash also increased its total ownership in Total Tools from 70% to 85% for an acquisition cost of $59.4 million.
The CEO of Metcash, Jeff Adams, said:
It has been a standout year for Metcash, with record sales underpinning significant earnings growth and record operating cashflow.
All pillars performed strongly, and the group has successfully navigated significant challenges and uncertainty associated with COVID, while continuing to implement our MFuture growth initiatives.
Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP)
The Bapcor share price went up around 0.7% today after revealing its goals. It told investors about the medium-term growth targets for its networks.
Bapcor was going to reveal these new targets at its investor day a few days ago, but that had to be postponed due to COVID restrictions.
Physical store targets have increased in all segments. It outlined its supply chain and technology strategy. The Asian strategy has been expanded with the addition of Tye Soon. Bapcor also expanded on its environmental, social and governance commitment. Finally, its own brand targets were also increased in all segments.
With Australian trade, it currently has 200 stores and it wants to reach 260. Bapcor is going to open between 10 to 12 new stores per annum to reach this goal.
Looking at Australian retail, it has a target of 200 stores, where it currently has 133. Bapcor is planning to add approximately 12 new Autobarn stores per annum.
In Asia, the ASX 200 share is aiming to have more than 60 Thailand stores, where it currently has six. This results in a target of $100 million revenue in Thailand. The total Asian revenue goal is $500 million. It currently has $4 million of revenue from Thailand and $200 million with Tye Soon, an Asian-listed business that Bapcor recently bought a quarter of.
E-commerce ASX shares
Lockdowns and restrictions were enacted in different states and territories across Australia over the last few days.
E-commerce ASX shares had a green day today as many of them saw their strongest day for a while.
The Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price went up 6.6%, the Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) share price increased by 8.2%, the Cettire Ltd (ASX: CTT) share price rose 14%, the Temple & Webster Group Ltd (ASX: TPW) share price climbed 10.2% and the Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) share price went up 2.5%.
