Yowie's operating history has been patchy at best as it failed to meet ambitious sales growth forecasts for its US and Australian businesses, but it has always had an extremely strong balance sheet thanks to its ability to raise capital from investors on the back of its boasts about growing a successful US business.

Notably, though it never delivered on these boasts with the stock falling from $1.20 in July 2015 to 8 cents today. 

Yowie is also the subject of a controversial hostile takeover bid largely due to the cash on its balance sheet as it also claims it's close to becoming operating cash flow positive.

Today its chairman flagged that it anticipates trading "cash positively" for the second half of the year partly to justify its generous dividend payout policy that you won't find in a Harvard MBA student's textbooks.

The decision to pay a cash dividend despite the lack of profitability may also be partly to do with its board battling to knock back a hostile takeover bid from Keybridge Capital. As whoever controls Yowie also controls its US$16 million cash balance. 

Keybridge is attempting to have several of Yowie's directors and its chairman removed, while today Yowie's chairman mocked its takeover attempt and proposed nominees as alternate directors. 

If Yowie does pay its 2 cents per share special dividend it offers a monster 25% yield for today's investors based on the 8 cents share price. It even traded as low as 6.9 cents earlier today meaning some dividend seekers picked it up on a 29% yield.

The kicker is the board envisages more capital returns should trading turn out as expected. However, generally forecasting has not been this board's strength.

While this is a huge yield you should remember that the company is still not cash flow positive and its corporate governance appears all at sea. So it looks a high-risk bet.

The post Yowie shares offer investors a 25% yield & the board sees 'more capital returns' appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Back in January 2016 Yowie shares changed hands for close to $1, but today you can pick them up for just 8.8 cents. One of Yowie's main problems has been that its management team has repeatedly missed its own sales forecasts, which leaves it with a market cap of just $20 million after a 90% share price fall.

For the quarter ending September 30 2018 Yowie posted an operating cash profit of $581,000 on revenues of $4.4 million, however, it has almost its entire market cap in cash on its balance sheet which is a positive for shareholders.

The recent quarter was its first operating cash positive quarter since Q3 FY 2016, although sales in the most recent quarter were actually lower than the prior corresponding period.

It's the struggles the group had in growing sales in the complex and competitive US market that has seen the stock tumble. Recently, Yowie has attempted to move into its home Australian market to open up another growth avenue, but it seems investors are underwhelmed so far.

The post Why the Yowie share price is down 90% in 2 years appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While this is positive, it pales in comparison to some of the gains being made at the small end of the market.

Three small caps that have caught the eye with strong gains today are listed below:

The Biotron Limited (ASX: BIT) share price has continued its incredible run and is up a further 35% to 13.5 cents. Investors have been fighting to get hold of Biotron's shares since the drug developer announced positive results from the BIT225- 009 Phase 2 trial of its lead drug BIT225 in HIV-infected patients in combination with current antiretroviral drugs. According to the release, the data demonstrated that there are significant immunological benefits in patients receiving antiretroviral drugs with 200 mg BIT225 compared to antiretroviral drugs plus placebo. I think Biotron is well worth keeping a close eye on.

The Linius Technologies Ltd (ASX: LNU) share price has stormed 11% higher to 7.2 cents. Investors have responded positively to news that the video virtualisation engine provider has launched a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform that makes its patented technology commercially available to the world. The company's CEO, Chris Richardson, believes that the Linius Video Services platform "is a critical step towards achieving our goal of scaling rapidly and making the world's video accessible as data." He added that: "Organizations and individuals across all video-rich market sectors can now instantly access our video virtualization technology and unleash the value of their video assets."

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has surged 11.5% to 14.5 cents following the release of the confectionery company's first quarter update. According to the release, Yowie achieved cash receipts of $5 million during the quarter. Although this was a decline of over 12% on the prior corresponding period, investors appear to be pleased with the way the company has slashed its staff, administration, and corporate costs. This allowed Yowie to post positive operating cash flow of $581,000. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, I think it is a little too soon to get excited.

The post These 3 small cap ASX shares are posting strong gains on Wednesday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have defied the market today are listed below. Here's why they have climbed higher:

The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is up 5% to $12.20. Investors appear to have responded positively to the company's market release yesterday in response to media commentary about Nestle's a2 protein-only infant formula launch. Management doesn't appear concerned by the development and believes it is well-positioned to continue its growth.

The Bellamy's Australia Ltd (ASX: BAL) share price has jumped 7% higher to $21.25. Bellamy's shares were unnecessarily dragged down last week when news of the Nestle infant formula launch came to light. Investors appear to be seizing on this opportunity to pick up shares at a cheaper price today.

The NSL Consolidated Limited (ASX: NSL) share price has climbed 6% to 1.7 cents after the mining company provided an operational update. According to the release, its mining contractor's newly purchased fleet are currently being deployed ahead of commencement of full-scale mining at its iron ore operation. As a result, its plant is now on-track to produce in excess of 10,000 tonnes of iron ore concentrate in April.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has surged 10% higher to 11 cents after the chocolate company announced the expanded distribution of its products in the United States. According to the release, Yowie chocolates will be available for purchase by the end of May in up to 8,500 7-Eleven franchise stores and 6,000 CVS Health retail outlets across 49 states. While this is good news, the company has a record of failing to deliver on expectations. I would stay clear of Yowie until sales figures show that its chocolate is selling well in these stores.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares climbed higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Whilst there are changes across all of its major indices, the All Ordinaries (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) is by far the index with the most going on this quarter.

A total of 64 new shares will be added to the index at the expense of the same number of existing constituents on March 19.

Here is a quick summary of some of the changes being made this quarter:

Additions.

There have been a number of eyebrow-raising additions to the index this quarter.

This includes the addition of the first medicinal cannabis company on a major Australian index – Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN).

New additions from the resources sector include mineral exploration companies Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ), Argosy Minerals Limited (ASX: AGY), and Artemis Resources Ltd (ASX: ARV).

Infant formula hopeful Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB) will also be a new entrant to the index.

Finally, a few tech shares that have been added to the All Ordinaries include LiveHire Ltd (ASX: LVH), Yojee Ltd (ASX: YOJ), Fastbrick Robotics Ltd (ASX: FBR) and GetSwift Ltd (ASX: GSW).

Removals.

A lot of the companies making way for these new additions will not be a surprise to investors.

These include the embattled CBL Corporation Limited (ASX: CBL), Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd (ASX: IIL), Mcgrath Ltd (ASX: MEA), Resapp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP), and Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW).

I think it is fair to say that all five companies have had a disastrous 12 months, so their removal would have been largely expected.

Elsewhere, other removals of note include Billabong International Limited (ASX: BBG), GBST Holdings Limited (ASX: GBT), and Sundance Energy Australia Ltd (ASX: SEA).

What now?

When the All Ordinaries rebalances it often provides a short-term lift to the shares added to the index and the reverse to shares removed from the index.

This is largely because index funds that track the market need to buy or sell shares accordingly. But also because some fund managers are restricted from buying shares that are not included in the All Ordinaries. This could mean they have to dump shares that have been kicked out or can now buy shares that they have been previously unable to buy.

The post Cann Group Ltd is one of 64 new shares added to the All Ordinaries this quarter appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three shares which are at 52-week lows or worse today are listed below. Here's why they are down in the dumps:

The Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN) share price tumbled 18% to an all-time low of 31 cents this morning despite there being no news out of the freelancing and crowdsourcing marketplace operator. Investors have been selling their shares in a hurry ever since the company released its latest quarterly update at the end of January. That update revealed that gross payment volumes for the year came in at $588 million, a decline of 12.8% year-on-year. Management has blamed its decline on the negative impact that the introduction of its 1-click funnel for posting projects has had. While management believes it has moved on from this issue now, I'm still reasonably sceptical that the company will ever been as profitable as once hoped.

The PMP Limited (ASX: PMP) share price tumbled 26% to a multi-year low of 35 cents this afternoon. Investors have headed to the exits in their droves today after the printing company revised its full-year EBITDA guidance following a weaker-than-expected first-half performance. According to the release, PMP's revised EBITDA guidance for FY 2018 is now $40 million to $45 million pre-significant items. This compares to its previous guidance of $50 million to $55 million, which itself was downgraded in November from the range of $70 million to $75 million. I have little confidence that the company will achieve its newly revised guidance, so would suggest investors stay clear of its shares.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price fell to a multi-year low of 11.5 cents today. The embattled confectionery company came under fire from disgruntled shareholders following yet another guidance downgrade. Due to heightened competition in the United States during the third-quarter, management expects sales to be flat year-on-year. Less than six weeks ago the company downgraded its sales guidance from 55% to 17% and just three weeks ago this was reaffirmed. The company has a long history of failing to meet its guidance, making it uninvestable and a share that should be avoided at all costs in my opinion.

The post These 3 ASX shares just crashed to 52-week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that have fallen more than most today are listed below. Here's why they have sunk lower:

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is down 3% to $73.95. Almost all of today's decline can be attributed to the banking giant's shares going ex-dividend this morning. Shareholders can look forward to receiving the fully franked $2.00 per share interim dividend in their accounts on March 28.

The Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) share price has fallen almost 3.5% to $12.38 a day after the release of its half-year result. One broker that appears to have been less than impressed with the result was Macquarie. A note out of its equities desk today reveals that its analysts have downgraded the annuities company to a neutral rating and given its shares a lower price target of $12.95.

The Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price has tumbled over 6% to $46.44 following the release of a weak first half result. Domino's reported underlying net profit after tax growth of 5% to $63 million due largely to weakness in its Japan business. Management has, however, maintained its full-year profit growth guidance of 20%. The market appears doubtful that the company will achieve this.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has plunged 17% to 12 cents after the confectionery company downgraded its guidance once again. Due to the launch of a competing product in the US, sales during the third-quarter have been materially lower than the prior corresponding period. As a result, the company does not expect to achieve its revised forecast revenue guidance set in January. Instead, year-on-year growth is expected be flat. This is a company I would avoid at all costs.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares are sinking lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Three shares that I would continue to avoid even after their recent declines are listed below. Here's why I would avoid them:

Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG)

This food and beverage company's shares fell almost 4% on Tuesday, stretching its 12-month decline to over 71%. Despite this hefty drop I wouldn't be in a rush to invest in its shares. I have concerns that the negative media coverage surrounding the company this year could have a hugely detrimental impact on its business performance in the future due to lower franchise sales and renewals. So although it looks extremely cheap, I think there's a strong chance that it will eventually prove to be a value trap.

Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)

This conglomerate's shares have fallen around 7% since the end of last week due largely to its disappointing update on the performance of its UK hardware expansion. This week Wesfarmers advised that its UK hardware segment would report a $1 billion impairment and $165 million operating loss during the first-half of FY 2018. Whilst management could yet turn things around, I fear its UK expansion is destined to be just as disastrous as the Masters misadventure by rival Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW).

Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW)

This embattled chocolate company dropped lower yesterday, bringing its 12-month decline to over 74%. Whilst Yowie could potentially be cheap now, I have been alarmed at how often the company has missed its sales guidance over the last 12-24 months. I like companies that under-promise and over-deliver, whereas Yowie has been the exact opposite. But as well as this, I just don't see the appeal of the Yowie product in a market flooded with confectionary with much stronger brand appeal.

The post 3 ASX shares I would avoid after the market meltdown appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why these small-cap shares are finishing the week on a high:

The Audinate Group (ASX: AD8) share price is up 4% to $2.99 following the release of its quarterly update. The media networking technology developer recorded cash collections of $4.8 million in the second-quarter and positive operating cash flow of approximately $1.3 million. This brings its first-half cash collections to $9.3 million and improves its operating cash flow to negative $0.2 million. The launch of several new products could put the company in a position to deliver an even stronger second-half. I think Audinate could be worth delving deeper into.

The Redbubble Ltd (ASX: RBL) share price has jumped almost 7% to $1.49 after the ecommerce company provided the market with an update on its first-half performance. For the first-half of FY 2018 Redbubble reported revenue of $102.3 million, up an impressive 30% on the prior corresponding period. As a result of this strong first-half, management is confident that the company is on track to achieve its top-line growth and EBITDA guidance for FY 2018. I've been impressed with Redbubble's performance this year. If it can keep this up then it may have a very bright future ahead of it.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has climbed almost 7% to 16 cents after releasing its quarterly update. For the quarter ending 31 December 2017, the company generated net sales growth of 23% on the previous corresponding period. Pleasingly, management reaffirmed its full-year sales growth guidance of 17%. This growth guidance was, however, recently downgraded from 55% after the company suffered a slowdown in sales in North America. Due to the company's habit of falling short of guidance or downgrading it, I wouldn't be a buyer of Yowie's shares.

The post Why these 3 small-cap shares jumped higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a quick recap:

• FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.3%
• DAX (Germany): up 0.83%
• CAC 40 (France): up 0.81%
• Dow Jones (USA): up 0.4%
• NASDAQ (USA): up 0.84%

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price could remain in focus today after the chocolate manufacturer's shares lost a third of their value yesterday. The company revealed a sharp decrease in its sales guidance and announced a new CEO, with the group's shares down more than 78% over the past year.

The Technology One Limited (ASX: TNE) share price could also receive some attention. The Australian Financial Review reported on this business overnight, saying that the business wants to be known just as a software-as-a-service business within the next few years which could bring with it a significant boost to revenue. The publicity could help the share price today.

And BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) could receive some attention. The AFR also revealed that Vale is in talks with the miner to buy out BHP's stake in the embattled Samarco joint venture. The BHP share price has gained 20% over the past year, including 1.7% during yesterday's session.

Elsewhere, the Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) share price fell 2.1% yesterday and could remain in focus today as a result.

The post 4 shares you need to watch on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Unfortunately not all shares on the market have been able to push higher. In fact, the four shares listed below have sunk notably lower:

The iSentia Group Ltd (ASX: ISD) share price is down 2% to $1.38 despite there being no news out of the media monitoring company. Earlier today I explained why I think that investors ought to avoid iSentia in 2018.

The Midway Ltd (ASX: MWY) share price has fallen 2% to $2.52 after the wood fibre processor and exporter warned of lower than expected earnings for the first half due to a delay in export shipments. However, management does still expect to achieve consensus earnings forecasts for the full-year despite the slow start.

The Yojee Ltd (ASX: YOJ) share price has tumbled almost 7% to 31.7 cents. The technology company's shares rallied strongly at the end of last year following a positive market update. I suspect today's decline is down to traders taking profit now.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has plunged 33% to 14 cents following yet another sales guidance downgrade. The chocolates company had previously guided to sales growth of 55% in FY 2018, but now expects sales to grow 17%. As well as iSentia, I think Yowie is a company to avoid at all costs.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares sunk lower today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

First half sales were up 7.5% on the first half last year. After a catastrophic fall in the first quarter, US sales stabilised and were flat at US$4.4 million, while Australian sales came in 15% above expectations.

Margins remained steady, as did market share. Sales were downgraded for several reasons:

• The new Discovery World product will fall short of expectations as retailers are 'hesitant to bring on more, lower priced offerings to the crowded set.'
• The deferred Canadian launch late in Q1 (October 2017) will lead to lower full year sales activity
• Reduced promo opportunities at Yowie's largest retailer (Walmart)

Additionally, CEO Bert Alfonso resigned yesterday and was replaced by Mark Schuessler, the Chief Operating Officer (COO). It was clearly a disastrous update that follows on from a long list of recent issues.

The Discovery World falling short of expectations particularly jumped out at me because it suggests that the company made sales forecasts before it knew whether it could sell the product.

For example, if retailers are hesitant to bring on new products in a crowded market, wouldn't that become apparent quite early in the process when Yowie started marketing Discovery World to retailers?

Instead, it looks as though Yowie has forecast sales from Discovery World even before it knew whether most retailers would pick up the product. This follows on from a previous forecast involving Canada sales that the company completely missed in June last year.

Ordinarily a missed forecast might not be a big deal, but this company has made forecasts every quarter for the past 18 months or so and from memory it's missed almost every one.

Yowie's forecasting apparatus is clearly broken and I would suggest that the company quit forecasting entirely and focus on walking the walk with sales and cost controls.

Other things that grind my gears are the continued lack of disclosure around same store sales at major customers. According to page 48 of the 2017 annual report, 63% of all of Yowie's sales are to one customer (presumably Walmart, although the customer is not named), so news that 'reduced promo opportunities at Yowie's largest retailer' impacted the sales growth forecast would appear to be vitally important news.

Even though US sales stayed flat, 'reduced promo opportunities' could imply sales are reversing at Walmart, yet again Yowie has given no disclosure on its 'same store' or 'like for like' sales.

It also chose to omit the glossy statistics about its rapid growth in its social media following from today's announcement.

Ironically, the upside of all these downgrades and slowing sales performance is that Yowie may finally have to do something about its expensive cost structure. With sales growth slowing, the only way to become financially sustainable (Yowie's substantial cash balance notwithstanding) is to cut costs.

Staff and corporate costs account for more than 50% of sales, so I expect to see some restructuring going on soon.

I was previously – wrongly – bullish on Yowie and my views have now changed to the point where I recently sold almost all of my shares. In fact, I even selected the company as my top 'short selling' idea in November as part of an informal competition between Foolish contributors.

I kept a really tiny handful of shares to ensure that I followed the company a while longer to see if my thoughts were borne out.  With the downgrade today I'll be selling the remainder of my shares (when trading rules permit) – maybe I'll buy a Yowie with the proceeds.

I think this company is not investment grade and should be avoided entirely.

The post Why the Yowie Group Ltd share price collapsed 35% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Every time The England team come to Australia there are high hopes that they may be able to challenge. However, England don't normally pull it together for one reason or another. High hopes make it even more disappointing when they don't remotely come close.

Here are three shares that had big hopes just like the England Cricket team and failed to deliver:

Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW)

The chocolate and publishing company had big aspirations to grow in the USA and become as synonymous with toys in chocolates as Kinder Surprise. A year after launching in the USA the share price rose up to $1.25. Today it languishes at $0.20 per share.

So far, Yowie has been a classic example of big aspirations not coming to fruition

QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE)

QBE was (and still is) one of the ASX's most global companies with operations in Australia, America, Europe and Asia Pacific. However, it seems that the business was more focused on size rather than the quality of its overseas businesses which have helped drag the share price from almost $35 pre-GFC to today's $10.66.

It's beginning to show signs of recovery but I'm not sure it will ever get back to a share price above $25 considering it may offload more of its overseas operations.

Vocus Group Limited (ASX: VOC)

Vocus once had the aspirational goal of reaching a share price of $20 by 2020. That goal has been firmly shelved and now the business is having to offload its New Zealand business to shore up the balance sheet. Going from over $9 to under $3 in less than a year and a half isn't a great record.

Management may be able to turn it around but it will have to produce a few good results in a row for the market to trust that the business is over its acquisition indigestion.

Foolish takeaway

I think the English Cricket team have a better chance of winning the series than Yowie or QBE do of reaching their previous all-time highs. There is a chance that Vocus could get back there with the right moves because demand for technology and data is only going to get larger from here.

The post What these 3 shares have in common with the England Cricket team appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a quick recap:

• FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.28%
• DAX (Germany): down 0.38%
• CAC 40 (France): down 0.02%
• Dow Jones (USA): down 0.16%
• NASDAQ (USA): up 0.21%

The SYNLAIT FPO NZX (ASX: SM1) share price could receive some attention today. The company said this morning that it has officially opened its new Wetmix kitchen which will double the amount of infant formula powder it can produce at its Dunsandel site.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price could receive some attention today after the company said it expanded its U.S. retail distribution for its confectionary products, which is expected to generate higher sales in the first half of calendar 2018. Yowie's shares have lost nearly three-quarters of their value so far in 2017.

Retail shares could also receive more attention today. Shares of companies such as JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH) and Harvey Norman Holdings Limited (ASX: HVN) retreated on Wednesday following a sharp rise on Tuesday, which could have been related to the local opening of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Finally, shares of GetSwift Ltd (ASX: GSW) will not trade today with the company requesting a trading halt pending a capital raise.

The post 5 shares you need to watch on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Why I bought Yowie:

I thought Yowie had a promising product, could be made at a decently profitable price, the ability to expand into related categories of movies, books etc, and it had a ~2-year period where it had the only capsules chocolate that could be sold in the USA. I believed that the books, animated shows and chocolate etc would all feed off each other to create a virtuous cycle, and that the 2-year grace period would allow the company to build a brand to fend off competition.

I held probably longer than I should, as my original forecasts when I bought suggested that Yowie would become cash flow positive in financial year 2018. Management's own forecasts aligned with this, and the company was still growing. However, the last two quarters show a sharp reversal and I think Yowie's time is up.

Why I've sold it:

As part of its company development, Yowie saddled itself with a prohibitive cost structure to land globally experienced executives. From the most recent quarterly report, 27.6% of its sales were spent on staff expenses. 23.7% of sales spent on corporate costs. This means that 51.3% of the company's revenues last quarter went to staff and corporate overheads.

A further 77% of sales were spent on manufacturing and marketing. (This adds up to more than 100%, because Yowie is unprofitable). The real problem is that Yowie North America comparable sales collapsed 22% in the quarter. Sales fell primarily, I believe, due to strengthening competition as competing brands begin selling their capsule chocolates.

With a high cost structure and the heightened competition in its core market, I now doubt if Yowie will ever be profitable. The recent expansions into Canada and Australia are necessary to lift volumes but I believe that a) it is too early to tell if they will be successful and b) anecdotally the price point of the product appears wrong. Several anecdotes suggest the Canadian Yowies are selling for CAD$5 a unit which appears too high for the type of product that it is. Likely the cost of shipping to these locations plays a role, but more importantly I think competitors like Kinder Surprise could effectively undercut that price.

Additionally, if Yowie sales collapsed due to the introduction of competition in North America, it is hard to see the product becoming a huge winner in other markets where competitors are already entrenched. Total group sales were down 7% in the latest quarter and this follows a further 15% sales decline at Yowie's largest customer (Walmart) in the June quarter.

Management claims that Yowie is starting to see operating leverage, but I think this is inaccurate. The September 2016 quarter had higher relative cash outflows than September 2017, but this was due to inventory build for the following quarters. Advertising, corporate, and staff expenses were much lower in 2016 compared to 2017, and sales in that quarter were also juiced by a new Yowie Series release.

If anything I think Yowie is seeing operating deleveraging:

Compared to the prior corresponding period, sales are up 13%, manufacturing expenses are down 22%, although as noted this is due to inventory build in the prior quarter. Advertising is up 29%, staff costs are up 65% (!), corporate costs are up 24%. If you exclude the benefit of lower manufacturing expenses, Yowie went significantly backwards in the quarter. While it is myopic to just look at two quarters, with sales under pressure I do not see the company going anywhere in the near future.

This would be survivable if the company had a great product. However, management points out that sales this quarter were lower than what would be expected due to a delayed product launch. From my perspective, this is critical as it suggests that Yowies do not sell themselves, they need to be actively sold to people. This also suggests that the books and animated episodes etc are not enough to drive sales of Yowies, breaking a key point in my thesis.

Lastly, and I've critiqued this before, the company hasn't done a very good job justifying its strategy to shareholders. There has been a focus on social media influencing and such but the actual benefit to sales has not been demonstrated or quantified, in my opinion. Yowie has also been historically reluctant to share comparable growth figures or information about things like why it has hired consumer goods consultants to help it sell, when the company is already paying a high price for management's reputed expertise in this field.

In a nutshell, several core premises of my original thesis seem broken, and I do not believe that this is likely to change in the near future, so I sold almost all of my shares several weeks ago. I retain a tiny – and I mean truly insignificant – handful of shares so that I will follow the Yowie story for a while longer to see if my current analysis is borne out. I believe Yowie Group is not currently a worthwhile investment.

The post Why I've sold all my Yowie Group Ltd shares appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a quick recap:

• FTSE 100 (UK): up 0.36%
• DAX (Germany): up 0.37%
• CAC 40 (France): up 0.42%
• Dow Jones (USA): up 0.7%
• NASDAQ (USA): up 0.01%

A number of shares experienced major swings on Wednesday which could keep them in focus again today.

Among those companies were St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM), which soared more than 11%, Aconex Ltd (ASX: ACX), which rose 4.5%, and Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY) which jumped 4.3%.

Crown Resorts Ltd (ASX: CWN) shares dropped 4.3% for the day following allegations of improper manipulation of poker machines at Crown Casino in Melbourne. The company released a brief response yesterday calling on Mr Andrew Wilkie MP to provide to the relevant authorities all information relating to the matters alleged.

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP) shares could draw some attention after the company announced that its majority-owned German joint venture has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the "Hallo Pizza" china of 170 stores in Germany. The purchase price is for around $48 million (€32 million), plus an additional $30 million to $45 million (€20 million to €30 million) in integration, re-branding, store conversion and transaction costs.

And finally, Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) reported its quarterly results as well as an entry into Canada this morning. The company reported a 'steady' group net sales revenue of US$4.58 million for the first quarter, which is actually 7% lower than in the previous year.

The post 6 shares you need to watch on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Unfortunately not all shares have followed the market higher today. Here's why these four shares are ending the week in the red:

The AuMake International Limited (ASX: AU8) share price has not been able to follow up on yesterday's 194% gain and is down 13% to 20.5 cents in afternoon trade. AuMake is a retail company which connects Australian suppliers directly with daigou and Chinese tourists. While it could be one to watch, I would hold off an investment for the time being.

The Cann Group Ltd (ASX: CAN) share price has fallen over 3% to $1.33 despite there being no news out of the medicinal cannabis company. Today's decline is likely to be a spot of profit taking in my opinion. In the last three months Cann's shares have risen over 117% thanks to a series of positive announcements.

The Lifehealthcare Group Ltd (ASX: LHC) share price is down almost 4% to $2.23. Today's decline is likely to be attributable to a research note out of UBS. According to the note, the broker has downgraded the healthcare company to a neutral rating and reduced the price target on its shares to $2.30. The downgrade was made based on its belief that discounts to prosthesis list prices could impact its business in the future.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has fallen 8% to 23 cents. I suspect this decline could be due to profit taking as well. After all, even after taking into account today's sizeable drop, the confectionery company's shares have rallied over 21% since this time last month despite there being no news out of it.

The post Why these 4 ASX shares are ending the week in the red appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Whilst those five shares helped carry the index to a 2.6% gain over the period, the five shares below have acted as a drag on it.

These are the five worst performing shares on the All Ordinaries in the last 12 months:

The Innate Immunotherapeutics Ltd (ASX: IIL) share price has fallen 89% in the last 12 months after the biotech company released negative results to its Phase 2b trials in June. Those results found that its MIS416 treatment for multiple sclerosis was no better than a placebo. Unfortunately for shareholders there doesn't seem to be any way back for the company now.

The Quintis Ltd (ASX: QIN) share price has plunged 82% since this time last year following a sudden fall from grace. The declines began earlier this year when short sellers targeted the company, claiming it had a Ponzi-like operation. Since then there has been shock announcement after shock announcement, including the revelation that the company was unaware that it had lost one of its largest supply contracts in December of last year.  The company's shares have not traded since May but are expected to resume trading on 1 September 2017. Stay well away would be my advice.

The Blackham Resources Ltd (ASX: BLK) share price has lost 82% of its value in the last 12 months. Despite a rise in the gold price, the gold miner's shares have come under heavy selling pressure this year after strong rains led to the loss of 26 days of open pit mining. Furthermore, the knock on effect of this has been slower than expected dig rates which have significantly reduced the total ore mined.

The Resapp Health Ltd (ASX: RAP) share price is down 77% during the period. Like Innate Immunotherapeutics, the decline in its shares relates to a disappointing study result. According to the results of its Smartcough C study, predefined endpoints for positive percent agreement and negative percent agreement with clinical diagnosis are unlikely to be met. This strikes me as another one to avoid.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has fallen almost 74% in the last 12 months after a series of profit downgrades sent shareholders to the exits in their droves. As I wrote last month, Yowie released its quarterly update at the end of July which revealed a 23% increase in quarterly revenue. Whilst this is positive growth, it is worth noting that with nine days remaining in the quarter the company provided guidance for 37% growth. Furthermore, it meant the company fell short of its full-year guidance which had already been downgraded three times in the space of 12 months.

The post These are the 5 biggest losers on the All Ordinaries in the last 12 months appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Sure, I have had some absolute blunders in the sharemarket.

For example, I lost more than 50% of my money on instalment warrants of Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) — in less than a year.

My investment in G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) shares cost me (very) dearly.

Slater & Gordon Limited (ASX: SGH) was… well… the single most expensive investment I ever made for my family's portfolio — and my own.

I invested in Reffind Ltd (ASX: RFN) in the 'hope' they would make money.

And I have learnt the hard way what poor management can do to a small company, like Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW).

But none of these mistakes even compare to my failure to recognise the power of compound interest.

Because while I was trying to find the next gangbusters growth stock, I missed one very important idea: losing money destroys your ability to compound your wealth.

I'm still well ahead since I began investing.

But throw in an itchy trigger finger with emotions and you can easily and quickly mess-up an opportunity to compound your wealth at an extraordinary rate.

What not to do

Based on each of those terrible investments above, here are some thoughts:

• Rio Tinto: Keep investing simple. I've never heard of anyone who has got rich by investing in 'warrants'.
• G8 Education: It's okay to change your investing style. But there is no rush.
• Slater & Gordon: Don't take management's (or the auditors) word for it. Read the notes to the accounts.
• Reffind: Hope is not an investing strategy.

• Yowie: Position sizing is important. I put far too much in a company that was not profitable.

Be a better investor

My advice now is that you can try your hand at researching and investing, but don't let it come between you and the beauty of compounding.

If you have $1,000 to invest, stick half of it in a well-diversified portfolio and half of it in the other companies that you want to own. The diversified portfolio will also rise and fall. But so long as you accept it, I think it will reward you again and again over many years.

Just $500 invested every month for 25 years at an 8% return (slightly below the share market's long term average) becomes $442,060.

The post Give me 2 minutes and I'll make you a better ASX investor appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares which haven't been able to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they have sunk into the red:

The Admedus Ltd (ASX: AHZ) share price is down 5.5% to 25.5 cents. This now brings its two-day decline to in excess of 10.5% and comes following the release of its quarterly update yesterday. The market appears to have been disappointed that the healthcare company reported fourth-quarter revenue growth of 28% on the prior corresponding period. Whilst this is undoubtedly strong, it is slower growth than the company experienced in previous quarters.

The BlueScope Steel Limited (ASX: BSL) share price has fallen 3% to $13.31 despite there being no news out of the steel producer. But with its shares up 43% this year, I wouldn't be surprised if this was the result of profit taking. Whilst I think its shares are reasonably expensive still, if they came down a little lower they could be worth a closer look.

The Wellard Ltd (ASX: WLD) share price has continued to tumble lower, this time by 3.5% to 13 cents. Due partly to a sharp decline last week following the release of a terrible trading update, the cattle exporter's shares have now fallen over 70% in the last 12 months. As cheap as they look, I would avoid its shares at all costs.

The Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) share price has plunged 10% to another multi-year low of 23 cents. The confectionery company's shares have now lost 27% of their value since the release of its latest quarterly result. Although Yowie delivered revenue growth of 23% in the fourth-quarter, it fell short of the 37% growth guidance given on June 21 when there were only nine days remaining in the quarter. Ultimately this led to the company missing its full-year guidance, which it had downgraded no less than three times throughout the year. This is another company I would suggest investors avoid.

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