It's been a fairly rough day all around for the Australian stock market and ASX 300 shares so far this Tuesday.
At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) had dropped by 0.44% and is back to just under 8,430 points. But let's talk about two ASX 300 consumer shares that are going the other way, thanks to well-received market updates.
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Two ASX 300 consumer shares bucking the market today
Select Harvests Ltd (ASX: SHV)
First up, we have ASX 300 agricultural share Select Harvests. Select Harvests stock is currently up a confident 0.9% at $5.02 a share, after rising as high as $5.23 this morning. That high also happens to be a new 52-week high for this company.
This spike in share price that we've witnessed today seems to be a reaction to the annual general meeting (AGM) presentation that Select Harvests released to the market this morning.
This presentation mostly covered Select's FY2024 numbers, which have already been released to the market. However, the company also issued some guidance for FY2025, which appears to be driving Select Harvests' shares higher.
Select told investors that it is expecting a "positive year" for its primary almond crop. Its Australian orchards are reportedly experiencing "normal but quick bloom conditions" with an expected crop size of between 27,500 and 29,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, this ASX 300 share's Californian crop isn't doing as well, with poor weather and insect damage reportedly a concern.
Even so, Select Harvests notes that "strong global demand", particularly from the Chinese and Indian markets, as well as high almond prices, bode well for the company's FY2025.
ARB Corproation Ltd (ASX: ARB)
Next up, we have ASX 300 share and offroad accessories company ARB Corp. ARB shares are comprehensively bucking the market today, currently up a rosy 4.14% at $10.01 each.
This gain comes after ARB dropped its latest earnings report this morning. It was a bit of a mixed-bag report from this ASX 300 share. ARB revealed that, over the six months to 31 December, its revenues grew by 5.9% year-on-year to $361.7 million. However, profits before tax slipped by 0.7% on last year's levels to $70.3 million. Profits after tax also fell by 0.6% to $51 million.
ARB also revealed its latest interim dividend, which will be 34 cents per share, fully franked. That matches last year's interim dividend but trails the final dividend of 35 cents that we saw doled out last October.
Judging by today's share price reaction, it seems investors are impressed by what was in ARB's report, or perhaps relieved that the numbers weren't worse.
