In Wednesday's trade, the ASX 200 has followed United States markets lower as a host of Wall Street executives warn of tougher times ahead.

Goldman Sachs' CEO David Solomon said a US recession in 2023 is a possibility and that it should be no surprise that job cuts could be on the table.

JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon, in between having yet another dig at cryptocurrencies, likening them to pet rocks, warned of a mild to hard US recession next year.

Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said the bank has slowed hiring.

And Morgan Stanley said it will reduce its global workforce by about 2,000.

"We have not yet seen the bottom on equity prices," said Lauren Goodwin, portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments on Bloomberg. "While this phase of equity market volatility is likely to end in the next few months, earnings have not yet adapted to a recessionary environment."

The big US investment banks are about 10,000 miles away from the home of the ASX, but the old saying "when Wall Street sneezes, the ASX catches a cold" usually rings true. 

2) For a change, the stock market moved in response to the upcoming economic slowdown – something that will impact corporate earnings – rather than the move in bond yields, which in turn reflect future interest rate expectations.

Although there are the inevitable outliers, consensus is that central banks will be finished raising interest rates at or before the middle of next year. 

In other words, the heavy lifting on interest rates has already been done. Next up is estimating the impact it will have on corporate profitability.

You could argue/guess that most of the coming economic slowdown is already priced into many stocks. I've repeatedly used the example of high-quality retailer JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH), which trades on a valuation that is expecting "bad things" ahead. 

3) The stock market looks forward, with discretionary consumer stocks like JB Hi-Fi likely to move higher before earnings have bottomed for this economic cycle.

As to where they will bottom – and the bottom could still be higher than current levels of profits – is the great unknown.

As to when they will bottom, the pundits are queuing up to take a guess.

Over in the US, quoted on Bloomberg, David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Global Wealth, said markets have never bottomed before a recession has begun. "If there is in fact going to be a recession next year, if we are going to see a period of unemployment rising in the country, then we would expect that markets would have to settle down from where they are today over the course of the next several months."

Back in Australia, Bell Potter's Richard Coppleson said on Livewire the bear market is not over yet. The worst is likely still ahead of us.

Coppleson said we could see a lot of market pain at the start of the year, with a low in mid-March 2023. 

"The patterns of the past suggest we're coming close to the end of the current rate rise cycle and the bear market. If March 2023 becomes the final market low, and the start of the bull market run, investors may find opportunities there. They'll need to have a strong stomach though. The evidence for a change will take time to appear. Bear markets don't last forever after all."

Writing in its November 2022 monthly report, the 1851 Emerging Companies Fund believes we will not see a hard landing for the consumer during 2023, and in a contrarian bet, has been progressively increasing its weighting to the retail sector.

"Our expectation is better days lie ahead for the Australian small cap market and we are progressively rotating the portfolio to take advantage as we enter 2023."

They are definitely getting in ahead of the game… which is the game when it comes to stock picking.

4) So what's an investor to do?

I'd suggest four things…

1. Keep a healthy cash balance. These days you get paid for waiting. Plus, it helps you sleep well at night. I'm quite cashed up having recently received funds from a company that was bought out, I have more to come from my Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) shares (also acquired), plus even more to come from my MSL Solutions Ltd (ASX: MSL) shares (in the process of being acquired).
   
2. Don't sell out of any existing positions just because you think markets might tumble further between now and March 2023. Jumping in and out of the market only makes money for your broker. You'll very likely get the timing very wrong.
   
3. Keep adding to existing positions – or take out starter positions in new holdings – if you think are well placed to weather an economic slowdown, and trade on modest valuations. Easier said than done but hey, that's investing.
   
4. There's unlikely to be a time when you should go "all in" on a stock or indeed into the market. But you can certainly look to put more money to work should the market fall another say 10% to 20% from here. The problem is, when it happens, that's hard to stomach, because inevitably, you can't pick the bottom, and new money invested in the market can quickly be in the red. 

The time to commit to such a course of action is now, when things are relatively calm. Something like, if the markets fell by say 20% from here, committing to invest at least 50% of your cash balance into stocks. It'll be scary, but in five years time, it'll very likely look a brilliant move.

The post As 2 experts predict the stock market is yet to bottom, here are 4 things every investor can do now to prepare for the worst appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In what feels (to me at least) like the year from hell for stock market investors, the ASX 200 is down just 1.9% over the past 12 months. By contrast, on Wall Street, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) has fallen 14%, with the Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQ: .IXIC) down almost 29%.

The resources sector has been powering the ASX 200 index higher, with coal and lithium the standout commodities. The Whitehaven Coal Ltd (ASX: WHC) share price has soared more than 255% over the past year, while the Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) share price has jumped 160% in the same period.

You have to go all the way down to the 18th best ASX 200 index performer over the past 12 months to find a non-resources company, that being Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU), its shares rising by 41%. Bringing up the rear is poor old Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG), its shares crashing 71% over the past year.

Therein lies the tale of the tape for investors… great for commodities, awful for many industrials and most technology shares, including those who invest in US markets. 

Count me in the latter group, despite some individual success, like the takeover of MSL Solutions Ltd (ASX: MSL) at an 80% premium, and my largest position – Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) – being up 10% over the course of the last year.

2) Still, I live to fight another day. I hold a decent cash balance, and hold out recovery hopes – over the next three to five years – for my beaten-down ASX growth stocks.

In these times when the macro – particularly inflation and, therefore, interest rates – is driving the direction of the markets, it's easy to get caught up worrying about the next day or week, rather than keeping your investing eyes on the horizon.

Howard Marks of Oaktree Capital is one of Wall Street's legendary investors. In his latest memo, Marks tells us mere mortals…

"The vast majority of investors can't know for sure what macro events lie just ahead or how the markets will react to the things that do happen."

He basically says – for any number of reasons – that investors should pay little attention to macro events. He also reminds us that volatility – effectively, the short-term movements in share prices – is just a temporary phenomenon, and that most investors shouldn't attach importance to it. 

As markets continue to gyrate mostly to the tune of the words of central bankers, particularly the Federal Reserve, Marks reminds us "what really matters is the performance of your holdings over the next five or ten years".

"Invest in companies that will become more valuable over time," says Marks. It's as simple as that.

3) The Hyperion Small Growth Companies Fund has had a rough 12 months, down 27% as fast-growing stocks have been taken to the woodshed.

In February 2021, Morningstar selected Hyperion Asset Management as the overall Fund Manager of the Year, and over the long term, the fund has soundly outperformed its S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Accumulation Index benchmark. 

Writing in its October update, the Hyperion Small Growth Companies Fund says that, while they are seeing "persistent short-termism from market participants", they remain confident in the "strong fundamentals and sustainable competitive advantages" of the companies in their portfolio.

Hyperion's base case is that lower growth and lower inflation appear to be the most likely long-term scenario, an environment they believe their portfolio companies "will produce materially higher earnings growth than the broader market over the long term due to their superior value propositions, strong pricing power and low penetration rates".

You have to admire the fund's conviction, with its top five holdings making up more than 50% of its portfolio, being Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd (ASX: FPH), Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP), and Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV). 

None are cheap, even after the share prices of all apart from Wisetech and Lovisa have taken a pasting this past 12 months, yet the fund is clearly backing them all to deliver in the years ahead, damn the short-term volatility.

I'm hoping the Hyperion Small Growth Companies Fund is right, not least because I have a similar investing style and own some of the same companies (check disclosures below). 

For growth investors, these past 12-18 months have been tough to watch and tougher to invest through as we've watched the value of our portfolio wither away, sometimes quickly, other times by way of slow death.

Taking lessons from above, as we look forward, here are three things that give me comfort…

1. The huge winners of the next 12-24 months are rarely the same companies that have just seen their share prices shoot to the moon. In particular, I'm looking at the air coming out of many ASX lithium stocks, and I wouldn't be surprised to see much tougher times ahead for many ASX coal stocks. When everything resources goes up, it's worth remembering they are called commodities for a reason.
   
2. Although mindful that Howard Marks says we should pay little attention to the macro, I'm willing to stick my neck out and say I think most of the pain from interest rate rises is already behind us. There will still be bumps ahead, and potentially recession in the US, Europe and New Zealand (but probably not Australia), but I don't think we'll see huge falls in quality growth stocks going forward.

3. Over the long term, profit growth drives share price growth. Not valuation. Not interest rates. Not Putin, Trump, the RBA or the Federal Reserve. Hyperion is backing its top five holdings to keep growing for many years to come. Do that, and today's lofty valuations will be largely meaningless… over the long term.

The post Three comforting lessons for investors whose portfolio has been smashed versus the surprisingly good return of the ASX 200 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

"US producer price growth stepped down in October by more than expected in the latest sign that inflationary pressures are beginning to ease," reports Bloomberg.

Bullish investors are hoping inflation has peaked, meaning the Federal Reserve will moderate the pace of its interest rate hikes.

The S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) has jumped 6.5% higher in just the past four trading days, whilst the NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) has soared almost 10% higher in the same period.

Here in Australia, markets have been a little more subdued, partly because the ASX hasn't fallen as far as US indexes, partly because the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is dominated by big miners and banks, and partly because the RBA has already shown its hand by easing the pace of interest rate rises. 

The ASX 200 index is now down a very modest 3.9% over the past 12 months.

2) Not everyone is convinced it's all plain sailing ahead, and the Federal Reserve will be able to pull off an economic soft landing. From Bloomberg…

"Markets appear to be pricing in a best case scenario of a soft landing and falling inflation triggering a Fed pause," Venu Krishna, head of US equity strategy at Barclays Plc. 

"In our view, this is not a given and remains a low probability scenario – these are just a few data points on inflation and it needs to be sustained. Even if the Fed eventually pauses, it might not be able to prevent a shallow recession."

3) Recession or not, soft or hard, Warren Buffett is buying, the Sage of Omaha taking a roughly $US5 billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (NYSE: TSM), the chip supplier to companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm and Apple. 

Marketwatch headlines the story with…

"Warren Buffett's chip-stock purchase is a classic example of why you want to be 'greedy only when others are fearful.'"

According to Bloomberg…

"TSMC shares at home in Taiwan had dropped 28% this year through Monday's close, as demand for chips has slowed with the economic downturn and investors fretting about oversupply. The company said in October it pulled back on capital spending to about $US36 billion this year, which would still be a record high, down from at least $US40 billion planned previously."

The 92 year old Buffett has famously said his ideal holding period is forever, a period which will encompass many economic cycles. Such thinking has served him well, given his net worth of over $US100 billion, the vast majority of which was accumulated later in his life, courtesy the power of compounding returns.

4) Conventional wisdom, perhaps built up over the 30 years since Australia had a "proper" recession is that the lucky country will once again keep growing in 2023 and beyond. 

Unemployment remains low, immigration is starting to pick up again and commodity prices are high. The banking sector, as demonstrated by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) saying yesterday that credit quality indicators improved in the most recent quarter, remains strong.

Pushing against that goldilocks scenario are falling house prices, high inflation, higher interest rates and weak consumer confidence.

What's it all mean? It's a given the Australian economy will slow next year. 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecast economic growth will slow from 3.7% this year to just 1.7% in 2023-24 as those headwinds hit our shores. But, according to the AFR, it warned "that a deeper plunge in global growth than forecast, more persistent inflation, and a faster-than-expected decline in house prices could push the economy off course."

"Australia is expected to steer clear of a recession, but with significant downside risks."

5) What's all this mean for stock market investors?

We've already seen what Warren Buffett thinks.

As for a mere investing mortal like myself, it certainly doesn't change my view that consumer discretionary stocks – largely retailers – are likely in for a tougher time ahead.

The market always looks forward, and such pessimism could already be priced into a number of retail stocks. 

JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) shares trade on just 9 times earnings and a fully franked dividend yield of 7.3%.

Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK) shares trade on 10 times earnings and a fully franked dividend yield of 7.2%.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) shares trade on 10 times earnings and a fully franked dividend yield of 10.8%.

I'm happy to sit on the sidelines and watch the action play out for those companies. In really tough times, a halving of profits is absolutely possible, turning the share price from cheap to expensive, and dividends can be cut to zero. 

One consumer discretionary stock I'm playing for the coming economic slowdown is Best & Less Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: BST). 90% of its items sold retail for less than $20 and their average selling price is a modest $8.33.

Babies and kids grow, and as they do, need replacement clothes, so there's a repeat purchase element to the Best & Less business… unlike JB Hi-Fi where you can live with your TV for an extra year, or Nick Scali where you can live with your current sofa for a few more years.

Recent commentary from US discount retailer Walmart strengthens the case for a company like Best & Less with Chief Financial Officer John Rainey saying Walmart is winning new business from higher-income shoppers searching for bargains amid a challenging economic environment.

Best & Less shares trade at less than 9 times earnings and on a fully franked dividend yield of 9.1%.

6) Yesterday saw a nice payday for the Jackson Portfolio, with microcap MSL Solutions Ltd (ASX: MSL) share price jumping 70% higher on an all-cash takeover agreement. 

There's plenty of value in the microcap sector, if investors are willing to stomach the volatility and lack of liquidity. 

And there are plenty of value traps too, some of which I've found, to my cost, although position-sizing and downside protection has limited my losses. The key, as with any investing, is to buy quality companies that have at least some sort of competitive advantage and have at least an element of recurring revenue. 

MSL Solutions – a company that operates point of sale solutions at major sporting arenas – fits the bill nicely, given the long-term nature of its contracts. 

If only I'd backed myself more, taking an even bigger position. That's investing, where the fear of the unknown can impact your decision making, and where, despite a large monetary gain, you can still be dissatisfied. I'll get over it!

The post Buffett buys up big amidst recession fears. One cheap ASX share I'm backing, plus why I'm dissatisfied despite a huge one-day windfall appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Overnight, the US Federal Reserve indicated it was prepared to keep lifting interest rates to tame inflation but was wary of overcooking it, potentially sending the US economy into recession.

"… there are signs some officials are getting a little nervous that they could end up going too hard and may need to reverse course eventually," said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING, in a note quoted on Marketwatch.

Initially, the markets liked what they were seeing, looking ahead to the days when interest rates would be cut.

But then a dose of reality hit as traders remembered, before then, it will still take some super-sized increases in interest rates to tame inflation running at 8.5%.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) snapped a five-day winning streak, falling 170 points, or 0.5%. The NASDAQ-100 Index (NASDAQ: NDX) fell 164 points or 1.3% as traders took profits in growth stocks.

Naturally, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) followed the lead of US markets and was lower in early afternoon Thursday trade as coal and oil stocks rose, offsetting falls in tech and gold stocks. Never a straight line…

Has the market bottomed?

The big bad bears at Bank of America think markets haven't bottomed, despite the Dow having jumped 17% higher since its June low and the ASX 200 having gained a more modest 10%.

"Only 30% of our bull market signposts [things that happen before a market bottom] have been triggered versus 80% or more in prior market bottoms," the bank's equity and quant strategist, Savita Subramanian, said in the AFR.

Based on his 'Rule of 20', the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio should be 11 and not 20. 

At a time when earnings are falling and therefore P/E ratios are rising, the market could fall 50% from here, according to Bank of America's rule.

A fall of that magnitude would entail some capitulation. I'll happily take the other side of that bet and say markets won't fall 50%.

A glass half-full perspective

I'm always a glass-half-full person when it comes to the stock market. My 'Rule of One' (the one being me) is if markets rise, I'm happy as my existing portfolio gains. If markets fall, I'm happy too as it allows me to buy some companies on the cheap.

Which reminds me of a quote from billionaire investor Charlie Munger…

"If you're going to be in this game for the long pull, which is the way to do it, you better be able to handle a 50% decline without fussing too much about it."

Take that, Bank of America!

Cheap ASX shares ahoy

Finding cheap stocks amongst the ASX 200 is no easy feat. 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) on a P/E of 18? No thanks.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) on a P/E of 40? No thanks.

Mega-cap mining stocks like BHP Group (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) are cheap and are trading on bumper, fully-franked dividend yields, but this is the top of the cycle, historically not a great time to be buying mining companies.

That said, the Fortescue share price has hardly set the world on fire over the past 12 months, down 11%, lagging the return of the ASX 200. The market might have already priced "the top of the cycle" into the stock. 

On a trailing basis, Fortescue shares trade on a fully-franked dividend yield of more than 15%. That yield will come down once the iron ore giant reports full-year results, including its final dividend, on Monday, 29 August but is likely to still be at elevated levels.

A play on Fortescue is a play on the iron ore price, which is a play on China, which is also partly a play on the global economy. If only stock picking was easy…

Where to turn

When looking for cheap stocks, I prefer the small end of the market. Not only can you find companies that are growing quickly, but they are also often overlooked by fund managers because they are either too small to move the dial and/or too illiquid to buy and sell. All of which means small and microcap companies can trade at dirt cheap prices.

As I mentioned yesterday, one of my microcap holdings – MSL Solutions (ASX: MSL) – was announcing results today. The leading SaaS technology provider to the sports, leisure, and hospitality sectors reported bumper revenue growth of 37% and a 70% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA), both nicely above expectations. 

Frustratingly for shareholders and management, the MSL Solutions share price has hardly budged in Thursday trade, up just half a cent or 3% to 17 cents, still a long way from its 28 cent 52-week high.

Microcap investing can be a game of patience. And one that requires diversification, if nothing more than to relieve the boredom of waiting for the market to recognise what you think are results worthy of reward.

To stop me from getting bored, I've put plenty more irons in the fire, including one microcap that's trading on just 2.5 times its recently upgraded EBITDA forecast. I'm hoping its results will be greeted by more than a passing yawn. 

The post Here's why one big bad bear is suggesting the stock market could crash by 50% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

For a company trading on a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 40 times, the growth is underwhelming, to say the least. 

Admittedly, the past year has not been an easy one, with CSL Chief Executive Paul Perreault saying…

"CSL has delivered a good result at the top end of our guidance, demonstrating our resilient performance against the ongoing challenges presented by the global COVID pandemic."

CSL is anticipating a return to growth in FY23, forecasting an uplift in profits of around 8%. 

Once the darling of the ASX, the CSL share price first hit these levels coming up to three years ago now, lagging the returns of the ASX 200.

Given its competitive advantage, CSL might be seen as a safe investment, but trading on 40 times earnings, going forward it's unlikely to deliver anything like the bumper returns from years gone by.

2) With the ASX 200 up around 10% from its June lows, it feels like the easy "rebound" gains have already been made.

Results season has largely been "as expected" for many of the large-cap stocks that have so far reported. 

Resource and commodity companies: booming profits and dividends in FY22, but expecting lower commodity prices and higher costs in FY23. BHP Limited (ASX: BHP) has been the standout, with the BHP share price now trading on a fully franked dividend yield of around 11%. Just don't bank on that same yield going forward. 

Tech stocks: still posting losses, but with a keen eye on breakeven. Many share prices have made a partial recovery, albeit from falls of up to 80% or more, as tax loss selling hit them for six. 

Reporting today, SaaS stock Whisper (ASX: WSP) said it's "on track for positive EBITDA in FY23 as it reported an FY22 EBITDA loss of $10.6 million. The Whispir share price is up 67% from its June lows, but down 75% from its July 2020 highs. I own the stock, for my sins.

Bank stocks: a decent FY22, but a more challenging FY23. After holding up reasonably well during the "inflation correction", the CBA share price now looks downright expensive, and only trades on a fully franked dividend yield of 3.9%.  

3) So, where to from here?

I'm pinning my short-term hopes on a few ASX microcap stocks I own, many of which have (sadly, for me) not participated in the stock market recovery of the past two months.

One is MSL Solutions (ASX: MSL), a leading SaaS technology provider to the sports, leisure, and hospitality sectors. Its share price is showing signs of life on Wednesday — up 10% on modest volume — but is still trading lower than when it updated the market on May 31 with a strong forecast for FY22.

MSL Solutions reports tomorrow. It has forecast revenue growth of around 30% and trades on a forecast EBITDA multiple of around 12 times. MSL shares are not exactly cheap, but with a decent level of predictable revenue, I think the company should be able to keep growing nicely into the future.

The post An ASX 200 market darling in the past, but don't expect fireworks from the CSL share price going forward appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today's moves are only the latest bit of good news for MSL Solutions shareholders. On the current pricing, the company is now up 32% since last Wednesday, and 128.5% since November last year.

But who is MSL Solutions? And why are MSL shares rocketing so dramatically today?

Who is MSL?

MSL is a tech company that uses a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to provide services to the entertainment, sporting and hospitality sectors. Its software systems allow businesses to 'connect' to their customers through entry and exit monitoring, ordering facilities, promotions and end-to-end point of sale payment solutions. It also allows businesses to integrate their own internal operations, facilitating data sharing between 'front of house' and 'back of house' operations. It also provides "actionable insights on key success metrics to venues of all sizes".

MSL Solutions currently works with over 5,000 customers, which include names like Golf Australia, the Queensland Cricketers' Club and the Parramatta Eels NRL team.

Last year, the company signed an agreement with buy now, pay later provider Openpay Group Ltd (ASX: OPY). This agreement allowed customers to use Openpay when buying some products from MSL.

Why is the MSL Solutions share price rising today?

We have seen two major announcements from MSL Solutions over the past 2 days that are likely to be the pricing catalysts behind MSL's gains today.

Firstly, MSL told the markets yesterday that it has signed a ~$3.5 million, 5-year agreement with the American company ASM Global to provide point of sales payment solutions. This agreement covers 22 "large event venues", including arenas and racetracks, in the United Kingdom which are operated by ASM. It will see ASM install ~900 terminals that will run MSL software. MSL is set to " earn a combination of upfront software, hardware and services revenue plus annual support revenue over the initial 5–year term".

Secondly, MSL Solutions released a business update covering the quarter ending 31 March 2021 this morning. In this update, MSL reported its third consecutive quarter of positive operating cash flow. It also saw net cash from operations rise from virtually zero to $1.3 million year on year. MSL tells us that it is on track to record a full year of consistent cash generation from operations, which would be its first since FY2018. The company also reported that it has $4 million in cash on hand as well.

Judging by the MSL share price performance today, and over the past week, investors are clearly liking what they are seeing with the company. At the current share price, MSL Solutions has a market capitalisation of $52.24 million.

The post ASX stock of the day: MSL Solutions (ASX:MSL) shares rise 20% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What was in the announcement?

According to the announcement, Openpay signed a partnership with MSL Solutions that will allow customers to use Openpay when buying MSL's golf and membership products. Member subscribers will be able to pay membership fees using Openpay's platform. 

The agreement will initially run for 3 years and Openpay's partners will be excluded from offering buy now, pay later (BNPL) services to MSL's customers in Australia.

Openpay's agreement with MSL Solutions involves revenue sharing and Openpay will pay MSL an annual rebate of fees paid to Openpay by customers each year.

Openpay Chief Commercial Officer, Dion Appel stated; 

"Openpay prides itself on creating partnerships that support our customer network; merchants and in this case, members. MSL is one of the leaders in the golfing and hospitality industry. We are proud to announce this exclusive partnership that will enable a smarter way for hundreds of gold clubs on MSL's platform to offer Openpay's buy now, pay later for the purchase of golf memberships. MSL has been an innovator in the golfing industry and we are pleased to have been selected to further solidify its position as an industry leader."  

About the Openpay share price

Openpay is a BNPL provider that offers services in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The company partners with merchants to offer its payment platform in stores, in apps and online.

In July, Openpay announced a partnership with 1st Group Ltd (ASX: 1ST) to make its platform available to patients of medical practices within the MyHealth1st network. This partnership also included a revenue sharing agreement.

In the final quarter of the 2020 financial year, Openpay announced record growth with active customers up 141% relative to the prior corresponding period . The number of active merchants was also up 52% relative to the prior corresponding period. Openpay had total transactions of $62.6 million during the June quarter.

At 30 June, Openpay had $70,059,000 cash versus $45,559 at the end of the previous quarter.

The Openpay share price is up 1078% since its 52 week low of 32 cents. It has returned 204% since the beginning of the year. The Openpay share price is up 183% since this time last year.

The post Openpay share price up 16% on partnership with MSL Solutions appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.