In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a solid gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.55% to 8,405.5 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are racing higher:
Aussie Broadband Ltd (ASX: ABB)
The Aussie Broadband share price is up 3% to $3.69. This morning, this broadband provider announced that it will be returning funds to shareholders through an on-market share buyback. The company will buy up to 10% of its issued capital over the next 12 months commencing from its half year results in February 2025. Management advised that it "determined that initiating an on-market buy-back would enable the Group to optimise its capital position and maximise shareholder value, while maintaining financial flexibility and sufficient capital to explore organic and inorganic opportunities to support further business growth."
Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN)
The Harvey Norman share price is up over 2% to $4.89. This follows the release of a trading update from the retail giant this morning. For the four months ended 31 October, Harvey Norman achieved aggregated sales growth of 1.7% when compared to the prior corresponding period. Comparable store sales were up 1.4% year on year for the four months.
HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC)
The HMC Capital share price is up 3% to $12.62. Investors have been buying the alternative asset manager's shares today after it released a trading update at its annual general meeting. Based on its year-to-date performance, annualised pre-tax operating earnings are currently tracking at 70 cents per share. This represents an impressive 89% increase on its record FY 2024 result. Management notes that this major step up in earnings has been driven by the continued outperformance of HMCCP in addition to the establishment of DigiCo REIT, which will generate significant recurring and transaction income in FY 2025.
Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB)
The Web Travel share price is up almost 15% to $4.85. This follows the business to business travel technology company's half year results. The WebBeds owner reported a 23% increase in bookings to 4.3 million and a 25% lift in total transaction value (TTV) to $2.59 billion. Weaker margins meant that revenue rose only 1% to $170.4 million and underlying EBITDA was down 8% to $70 million. Looking ahead, management is expecting FY 2025 EBITDA to be between $117 million to $122 million. It also revealed that it is confident that it will return to its ~50% EBITDA margin target in FY 2026.
