The results have confirmed the ASX small cap miner's status as undervalued in the eyes of the team at Shaw and Partners, which reiterated a bullish price target for the shares.

More on that later. First, let's have a look at the results.

Record performance

Metro Mining said in a statement to the ASX last week that it had shipped a record 6.2 million tonnes of bauxite, which was a 9% increase year-on-year.

The company's net profit came in at $142.3 million, up from a loss of $22 million the pervious year, and the company had $57.5 million in cash and $58.9 million in senior debt at the end of the year.

The company's guidance for this year's production was set at 6.6-7.1 million tonnes of bauxite, with Metro's confidence allowing it to start a share buyback.

As the company said:

Due to confidence in the company's financial position, operational performance and long-term outlook the board believes that the current share price does not reflect the underlying value of the company's assets and prospects. As part of its ongoing capital management strategy, Metro is pleased to announce its intention to undertake an on-market share buy-back of up to 5% of shares on issue.

ASX small-cap shares looking cheap

The Shaw and Partners team had a look at the full year result and said it was "strong", with underlying EBITDA up 95% to $73 million and net debt close to zero.

They added:

The result was delivered despite a weaker bauxite price in 2H25, delivery of bauxite into low price legacy contracts, and a number of operational issues which have now been addressed.

 They also believed the production guidance could be conservative.

Metro has released production guidance for CY26 of 6.6-7.1Mt (Shawf 6.8Mt). In CY25 the flow sheet proved itself capable of delivering in excess of 7Mt, and so we view the guidance as realistic but conservative. CY25 was impact by an unseasonal tropical low in April which caused the Skardon River channel to silt up, and restrict the amount of bauxite which could be loaded on barges. The operation also suffered from an unplanned barge loader outage in October and weather disruptions in late December.

Shaw and Partners has a price target of 15 cents on Metro Mining shares, compared with 7 cents currently.

Metro Mining was valued at $433.9 million at the close of trade on Friday.

The post This ASX small-cap miner could more than double: Broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Namely bauxite, which is used to produce aluminium. Aluminium is in strong demand for its critical role in the global electrification push.

According to CM Group, "The global traded bauxite market has entered a period of significant transformation, driven by the emergence of 'merchant' refineries importing bauxite into China."

The industry analysis company added:

More recently, we've observed the early signs of structural grade depletion of China's domestic bauxite reserves which, combined with strong alumina growth, create a significant opportunity for bauxite miners the world over.

Citing data from CM Group, The Australian Financial Review reported that the bauxite price reached a new record of US$112 per tonne last week, up 59% year to date. That certainly won't go unnoticed by ASX mining shares, with iron ore trading for around US$105 per tonne.

Atop the strong demand from China, global bauxite prices have been buoyed by supply disruptions out of Guinea, which followed Indonesia's export ban last year. The blockage of a Brazilian bauxite shipping lane by an errant cargo vessel in November has only added to the supply crunch.

Which ASX mining shares have exposure to bauxite?

Among the ASX mining shares exploring for and digging up bauxite, we find:

• Metro Mining Ltd (ASX: MMI), whose flagship project is the Bauxite Hills Mine in Queensland.
• South32 Ltd (ASX: S32), which is headquartered in Perth and has operations in ten countries mining bauxite, silver and copper, among other metals.
• Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), which has bauxite mines in the Northern Territory and Queensland.
• Canyon Resources Ltd (ASX: CAY), which owns the Minim Martap Bauxite project in Cameroon.

So, how have these ASX mining shares been performing?

Well, since the opening bell on 2 January:

• Metro Mining shares are up 185%
• South32 shares are up 1%
• Rio Tinto shares are down 12%
• Canyon Resources shares are up 143%

Having a look at the performance, you can see that the smaller miners focused more solely on bauxite have been having a much stronger run in 2024 than the more diversified mining stocks.

What are the market experts saying?

Commenting on the soaring bauxite price helping boost ASX mining shares with significant exposure, Vivek Dhar, a commodity analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) said (quoted by The AFR), "It's impossible to predict when the bauxite rally might peak. This market was already a tinderbox before the Brazilian shipment got stuck."

Alan Clark, managing director of CM Group, added:

If you rewind five years and told people bauxite prices would overtake iron ore in price, they'd have laughed you out of the room. This highlights the contrasting trajectories of two critical global industries: aluminium and steel. Right now, one is soaring while the other is facing headwinds.

Now, Australian bauxite is lower in grade compared to the metal mined in Guinea. It's also cheaper. According to CM Group, Aussie bauxite is trading at all-time highs of US$88 per tonne, up 75% from its 2024 lows.

Doug Ritchie, chair of ASX mining share Metro Mining, said that the lower-priced Australian bauxite is gaining traction in China.

According to Ritchie:

We've expanded our customer base from one to three in China. Selling bauxite is a long-term process. It requires aligning refinery capabilities with the material's properties, which takes sustained dialogue and trust-building.

The post The under-the-radar metal trading at record prices (and 4 ASX mining shares exposed to it) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are pushing higher:

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura Rare Earths share price is up 6.5% to 19.2 cents. This has been driven by news that the rare earths developer has secured funding from the German government. It revealed that the government has issued conditional approval for up to US$115 million (AU$173 million) in Untied Loan Guarantees from Euler Hermes. The funds would support debt financing for Arafura's rare earths Nolans Project and will secure neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) supplies for German-based companies.

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price is up 6% to $9.09. Investors have been buying this fund manager's shares following the release of its monthly update. In June, Magellan revealed that net flows were flat. This comprised net retail outflows of $0.2 billion and net institutional inflows of $0.2 billion. It also revealed that it will be entitled to estimated performance fees of approximately $19 million for the year ended 30 June 2024.

Metro Mining Ltd (ASX: MMI)

The Metro Mining share price is up 6% to 5.4 cents. This follows the release of a trading update from the bauxite producer. Management advised that it has established a new second quarter shipment record of 1.42 million wet metric tonnes. This is up 12% year on year. This is despite the quarter being classed as the "commissioning quarter" for the new 7 million wet metric tonnes per annum expansion project.

Santos Ltd (ASX: STO)

The Santos share price is up 5% to $8.04. This has been driven by reports that the energy producer could be a takeover target again. According to Bloomberg, both Saudi Aramco and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co are considering takeover bids for Santos. Bloomberg notes that these energy companies were looking to increase their international gas exposure. The media outlet's sources also suggested that "other potential buyers" could be interested in acquiring the ASX 200 energy giant. However, at present, there has been no comment from Santos, Abu Dhabi National Oil Co, nor Saudi Aramco. Last year, Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) failed in its attempt to acquire its rival.

The post Why Arafura Rare Earths, Magellan, Metro Mining, and Santos shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Short-term gains are broadly going backwards today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) down 2.7% in early afternoon trading.

Tech share prices are among the hardest hit. The S&P ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX), which tracks 50 of Australia's leading and emerging technology shares, is down 4.4% intraday trading.

ASX shares are broadly following the lead of US share markets, which all lost ground yesterday (overnight Aussie time).

The S&P 500 Index fell 3.5% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 5.0%.

All the fabled FAANG shares lost ground, with behemoth Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) leading the way down. Apple's share price fell 8.0% by the closing bell. A bit of back of the napkin maths tells me that works out to more than a US$160 billion (A$216 billion) daily loss.

Some of today's share price losers… and winners

Here in Australia, online retailer Kogan.com Ltd's (ASX: KGN) share price is among the biggest fallers today, down 11.2% at time of writing.

Buy now, pay later (BNPL) giant, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)'s share price dropped more than 7% at the open, but has regained some of those losses and is currently down 4.6%.

Of course, as the old saying goes, it's a market of shares, not a share market. And while the overall indexes are falling, there are some big winners on the ASX today too.

Like the Metro Mining Ltd (ASX: MMI) share price, up 5.3%. Or Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI), which is up 4.0%.

There are always opportunities, if you know where to look for them.

Why you should keep these short-term share price falls in perspective

After detailing some of the daily moves for you, I'll now recommend you largely ignore it.

You see, the rapid share price gains enjoyed by many companies over the past months, particular technology shares, was never going to continue apace. At some point retracements are inevitable. And at some point the rate of growth will slow.

Let's take the ASX All Tech index as an example.

From 23 March through to yesterday's close, the index of 50 leading ASX tech shares had gained 110%. That blistering recent growth doesn't mean these shares don't have further growth ahead of them. I believe many of them do. But they won't keep doubling in price every 5–6 months.

And that's okay. At least, if you have a long-term investment horizon, rather than looking to double your money in short order. That way you can ride out the share price dips and let the power of time and compounding grow your wealth.

Kogan's share price, for example, is still up 157% in 2020. And Afterpay's share price is up 159% this year. As for the Nasdaq, it's still 27% higher than it was on 2 January.

Now there may well be some more short-term falls to come. But long-term, the well managed companies with solid balance sheets and good growth outlooks should continue to deliver patient investors healthy share price gains.

What the experts are saying about the share price retracement

If you're feeling anxious watching the share prices of some of your favourite companies head lower today, don't be. In fact, turn off your finance screens and tune into something else.

The current retracement was broadly expected. And as Alec Young, chief investment officer at Tactical Alpha says, healthy even for the broader market (as quoted by the Australian Financial Review):

Frankly, the deeper the pullback in tech, the healthier it is for the overall market. The market was overbought, there were too many people chasing the tech names. It's all healthy. The valuations have been stretched.

Randy Frederick, the vice-president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin Texas, agrees:

Some of the stocks have gotten a little pricey, and what the actual cause is to spark this selloff is difficult to say. The leading sector for quite a long time has been the Nasdaq, which is very heavily weighted in technology stocks so people just saw this as an opportunity to take the profits off the table.

There's nothing wrong with taking profits off the table if your investment horizon is months and not years. But unless you need the money for other purposes, history shows that staying invested in quality shares is among the best ways to growth your wealth over time.

The post Every bull run has pullbacks. Why today's share price falls are 'healthy' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.