It's been a pretty depressing day for most ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) this Thursday so far. At present, the ASX 300 has shed a horrid 0.86%, leaving the index at just 6,748.3 points. But let's talk about one ASX 300 stock that is bucking the trend today.
That would be the Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB) share price. Aussie Broadband shares are currently in the green, up a rosy 0.26% at $3.86 a share.
That's an outperformance of the broader market by more than 1%. Thus, Aussie Broadband shareholders are probably feeling pretty chuffed right about now.
So what's behind this pleasing showing from this ASX 300 telco stock today?
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Why is this ASX 300 stock beating the markets today?
Well, it appears the catalyst for this rise comes from Aussie Broadband itself. This morning, the company released the details of what will be presented to shareholders today at the company's annual general meeting (AGM). And it included a positive trading update, covering the first quarter of the 2024 financial year.
Aussie Broadband reported that it had 731,785 total broadband connections on its books as of the end of the first quarter of FY24 (the three months to 30 September). This metric is inclusive of the 8,700 acquired from Aussie Broadband's Uniti acquisition that was completed earlier this year.
That number was up a healthy 5.88% over the 691,172 total broadband connections the company reported as of 30 June. It also represents a 20% year-on-year growth rate.
Aussie Broadband also reported that this latest quarter was the "strongest organic growth quarter in the past 18 months", thanks to "increased marketing".
The company has also reported that its broadband connections growth has "continued into October and now exceeds 740,000". Aussie Broadband now also can boast of an NBN market share of over 8%, with a "pipeline
of opportunities [that] continues to grow".
This quarterly performance has prompted Aussie Broadband to reaffirm its guidance for FY24. The company is expecting an earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) range of between $100 and $110 million (a 12-23% increase over FY23), despite acquisition and marketing costs.
So considering all of this, it's not too surprising to see the Aussue Broadband share price outperform the ASX 300 over today's trading thus far.
After today's gains, this ASX 300 telco stock is now up a pleasing 49.2% year to date.
