Last week earnings season went up a gear with a number of popular S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares reporting their latest numbers.
Among the highlights were the three results summarised below. Here's what they reported:
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
The CSL share price charged higher last week after its half year results impressed the market. The biotherapeutics giant reported a 5.3% increase in revenue to US$6,041 million but, as was widely expected, a 5% constant currency decline in net profit after tax to US$1,722 million. The latter was driven by plasma collection headwinds, which weighed on margins. However, management spoke positively about the outlook for collections and effectively upgraded its profit guidance for FY 2022 by 5%.
South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)
The South32 share price pushed higher after the market responded positively to this mining giant's half year results. Thanks to rising commodity prices and robust production, the miner reported a 32% increase in revenue to US$4,602 million and a massive 638% jump in its underlying earnings to US$1,004 million. This allowed South32 to pay a fully franked 8.7 US cents per share interim dividend. Another highlight from the result was its strong free cash flow from operations, which came in at US$942 million. This has some analysts speculating that its strong cash generation could support further M&A activities in the near future.
Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE)
The Treasury Wine share price was on form last week after it released its half year results. While the wine giant continues to be impacted by being shut out of Mainland China, management appears confident that the tide is turning. In respect to the result, Treasury Wine reported a 10.1% decline in net sales revenue to $1,267 million and a 6.7% decline in EBITS to $262.4 million. As for the future, management has advised that it is now shifting its focus from "recovery and restructuring" to one of "growth and innovation."
