In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has dropped into the red. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is down 0.4% to 8,037.3 points.
Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:
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DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price is up 10% to $1.29. This may have been driven by a broker note out of Bell Potter this morning. According to the note, the broker has reaffirmed its buy rating on the counter drone technology company's shares with an improved price target of $1.35. It said: "We remain confident the company will deliver a significantly improved 2H performance based on 1) the significant level of inventory on hand to facilitate rapid fulfilment, 2) the historical seasonality of the business with >80% of CY23 revenue recorded in the 2H and 3) numerous near-term sales opportunities, including recently announced military aid packages."
Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU)
The Perseus Mining share price is up 7% to $2.72. This follows the release of the gold miner's full year results. Perseus reported a 7% increase in revenue to US$1,026 million and a 14% lift in profit after tax to US$364.8 million. This allowed the gold miner to declare a final dividend of 3.75 cents per share, lifting its total dividends to 5 cents per share in FY 2024. Management also announced plans to buy back upwards of $100 million of Perseus's shares over the next 12 months.
Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ)
The Smartgroup share price is up 3.5% to $7.82. This morning, this fleet management and salary packaging company released its half year results and reported a 27% lift in revenue to $148.5 million and a 16% increase in net profit to $34.1 million. This allowed the Smartgroup board to declare an interim fully franked dividend of 17.5 cents per share.
Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)
The Woolworths share price is up 2.5% to $36.36. Investors have been buying the supermarket giant's shares following the release of its FY 2024 results. Woolworths reported a 3.7% increase in normalised sales to $67,922 million and a 3.4% lift in normalised earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to $3,223 million. This was ahead of expectations. Goldman Sachs said: "WOW reported 2H24/FY24 results with group sales +7.1% YoY/5.6% YoY (2H24 2.0% vs GSe and +2.1% vs Visible Alpha Consensus Data [VA]), while EBIT was +3.6%/3.4% YoY (2H24 1.2% vs GSe and +3.1% vs VA consensus)." Another positive was the announcement of a special dividend.
