If accepted, it would mean the company would exit the ASX and shareholders would get a significant premium on recent share pricing. This deal is not set in stone and could well fall through. But it gives an example of when an ASX exit can be a good thing for investors. Alas, it seems the opposite might be occurring for the Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT) share price.

Zebit shares last traded at a price of 4.3 cents each yesterday afternoon. And that might be the last price the company ever receives from the ASX. That's because Zebit has now officially been suspended from the ASX boards. That means its shares are no longer eligible to trade — bought or sold — on the ASX. It will officially depart our sharemarket on Friday 22 April.

Zebit share price departs ASX boards

It's not the end for Zebit the company though. Zebit's ASX listing was actually a CHESS depository interest (CDI). This means that the ASX listing was only a mirror image of the company's ordinary shares. Its true stock is domiciled in the United States. However, the company does not trade on a share market stateside. So if investors still own Zebit shares, the following is their only option, according to the company:

If CDI holders do not sell their CDIs prior to [today], their CDIs will, following delisting… automatically be converted into shares of common stock in the Company at a ratio of one share of common stock per CDI. Holders of shares in common stock will then only be able to sell their shares to willing purchasers in accordance with the Company's By-laws and the applicable laws of [the US state of] Delaware.

The buy now, pay later (BNPL) company first announced this move to investors back in February. At the time, it justified the move by highlighting the company's lack of ASX liquidity, the high cost of maintaining a public listing, capital requirements, and the volatile valuation the market has placed on Zebit over time.

At the time, this announcement sparked a savage selloff, with the Zebit share price cratering by more than 60%. Between March 2021 and yesterday, Zebit shares gave up more than 97% of their value. Since February, the shares have lost even more steam.

So it looks as though it's the end of the ASX road for Zebit which will continue life as a private company in the US from now on.

The post This struggling ASX BNPL share is delisting. What does this mean? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Delisting will be put forward for shareholder approval at a general meeting that's set to be held on 16 March 2022.

The company broke the news in an announcement today, sending its shares hard to the floor and finishing more than 55% down on the day at 8.6 cents.

Why is Zebit delisting from the ASX?

Zebit believes delisting will be in the best interest of the company for a number of reasons. These are primarily centred around the lack of liquidity in the trading of its securities, as well as administrative costs in maintaining the listing.

Essentially, "the costs and administrative burden of remaining listed on ASX outweigh any benefits associated with remaining listed", it says.

Zebit is listed on the ASX in the first place as a chess depositary interest (CDI), an instrument that allows foreign companies to raise capital and list on the exchange and trade on the secondary markets. Its shares are listed on a 1:1 ratio, meaning one CDI is equivalent to one Zebit share.

However, trading in these CDIs has been thin over the last few years, leading the company to conduct a re-evaluation of its capital structure.

Zebit had 1,375 CDI holders at the beginning of February, and of this amount, approximately 46.47% or 639 CDI holders had small positions of A$500 or less.

"The Company's low liquidity levels have resulted in limited trading opportunities for securityholders seeking to exit their positions and for new ones to acquire CDIs", Zebit said. "It is not anticipated that trading levels/liquidity will improve in the near future".

Not only that, but Zebit reckons it could put the costs assigned to maintaining its listing to better use in other alternatives. It estimates the delisting will save around US$140,000 per month in the next year, annualised to US$1.68 million per year.

"Legal, accounting, insurance, and other expenses incurred in satisfying ASX filing, reporting, and compliance requirements have proven burdensome for the Company in recent times, given its limited cash reserves", the company said in regards to its listing costs.

But Zebit also reckons it will have a difficult time in raising new capital from Australian investors in FY22 – and the company needs to raise capital, non-negotiable. It is doubtful that investors are willing to commit more of their hard earned capital via public equity offerings.

Finally, the board reckons that investors are unfairly punishing the stock, leading it to "question whether the market is fairly valuing the company".

"Since the company's IPO debut, the board has observed ongoing fluctuations in the quoted price of the company's CDIs and noted that the value attributed to a CDI has been largely independent of news flows, even when positive news has been released.

"The Board believes that being an unlisted Company would allow a more objective and independent appraisal of valuation to take place, without concern for any illiquid public market".

What does this mean for Zebit shareholders?

Good question. One might assume the company would commit to repurchasing its own stock, or at least arranging a third party buyer off-market.

But it appears the ASX granting Zebit its voluntary surrender is contingent on a few outcomes, notwithstanding a full process for shareholders to unload their holdings.

Zebit must show compliance to a "statement to the effect that if security holders wish to sell their securities on ASX, they will need to do so before the company is removed from the Official List".

However, "if they do not, details of the processes that will exist after the company is removed from the Official List to allow a security holder to dispose of their holding and how they can access those processes".

The full consequences of being removed from the Official List will be detailed in full during the planned notice meeting later this month.

Very importantly for Zebit shareholders, is that its CDIs will no longer be publicly quoted or traded on the ASX, and "it will be more difficult for a securityholder to dispose of their securities", the company says.

Investors will only be able to "sell the converted, underlying shares in off-market private transactions requiring securityholders to identify and agree the terms of sale".

After the suspension date that's planned on 19 April, investors "wishing to trade their securities will be entitled to transfer their securities off-market to a willing third party purchaser in accordance with the Company's By-laws".

Naturally, investors are running for the hills in fear of being the one left catching the falling knife, or at least being left with un-tradable, illiquid stock.

The board also acknowledged it will surely face backlash from stakeholders given the timing of its decision, but offered some assurance and said:

In addition to a right to participate in, and vote at, the meeting, shareholders have the right to assert various claims against Zebit and its directors under US federal law as well as under Delaware state law being, including for breach of fiduciary duties, fraud, self-dealing and a variety of acts.

The Delisting is subject to securityholder approval (as a special resolution at the general meeting proposed to be held on 16 March 2022. Further details relating to the Delisting, including potential advantages and disadvantages for securityholders, will be included in the notice of meeting which will be dispatched to securityholders shortly. All securityholders will be entitled to vote on the resolution.

The anticipated delisting date is 22 April 2022, following a notice of meeting on 21 February and the special meeting on 16 March. If all goes ahead, everything should be wrapped up by 27 April.

The post Oh Dear…This ASX share just shocked the market with delisting news, and then crashed 60% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Zebit is a California based e-commerce company that enables customers to pay for products in instalments over six months.

The small cap retailer operates in both retail e-commerce and financial services. Zebit sells products as a merchant and provides the financing for its customers (via a BNPL solution) for those products over time.

What's driving the Zebit share price?

The Zebit share price was up today on the back of its solid quarterly report ending 31 December which exceeded the prospectus forecast.

In particular, the company increased revenue by 34.2% compared to this period last year. This resulted in quarterly revenue coming in at $44.2 million. Contribution margins also climbed to 15.8%, a significant improvement compared to the 7.3% achieved during December of FY19.

Zebit reduced its bad debts metric to 9.4%. While the level is still high, it's well below the 19.1% recorded in the prior corresponding period.

Management comments

Zebit president and CEO Marc Schneider welcomed the news, saying:

I am extremely pleased with the company's performance and continued strong operational execution of Q4 and H2 FY20. We saw positive trends with strong revenue growth and improved credit performance.

Zebit continues to be the one-stop e-commerce solution for millions of US consumers who do not qualify for mainstream credit and need a longer duration to finance sizable purchases.

In over 30 years of operating companies, I have never seen such a strong demand and repeat usage of a product offering. The company continues to be focused on high growth in 2021.

About the Zebit share price

Zebit plans to expand its solid quarterly report by adding new products. The company is piloting an e-commerce solution for prime credit customers. This will allow them to move up the market with a differentiated product.

Listing on the ASX in October last year, the Zebit share price has returned 5.5%. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has returned 10.5% over the same period.

The post Zebit (ASX:ZBT) share price rises on quarterly report appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are racing higher:

Atomos Ltd (ASX: AMS)

The Atomos share price has jumped 11% to $1.09. Investors have been buying the global video technology company's shares after the release of a trading update. That update revealed that Atomos achieved sales of $32.6 million during the first half. This was well ahead of its previous guidance of ~$28 million. Management advised that sales momentum in the later months of the half accelerated after its customers adjusted to a new COVID norm.

BOD Australia Ltd (ASX: BDA)

The Bod Australia share price has surged 11.5% higher to 48 cents. Investors have been buying the medicinal cannabis company's shares after it reported strong sales growth. According to the release, Bod filled a total of 3,941 MediCabilis prescriptions during the last six months. This marks a 91% increase on the previous six months and a 114% increase on the prior corresponding period. Bod has now filled over 8,000 MediCabilis prescriptions since July 2019.

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY)

The Galaxy share price is up a further 7% to $2.82. This lithium miner's shares have been on fire over the last few months after lithium prices improved. In fact, an update by rival Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) on Wednesday revealed that the Platts Battery Grade lithium carbonate pricing is up 35% to date from its lows in August 2020.

Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT)

The Zebit share price has jumped 11% to $1.05 following the release of a trading update. That update revealed that the ecommerce company achieved net sales of US$44.8 million in the final quarter of 2020. This was a 35.2% increase on the prior corresponding period. Management advised that this was due to the strong trading conditions recorded throughout the peak shopping season.

The post Why Atomos, BOD Australia, Galaxy, & Zebit shares are racing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What's driving the Zebit share price higher?

The Zebit share price is surging this morning following the company's report it has achieved record net sales for its FY20 fourth quarter and full year performance.

The company delivered net sales of US$44.8 million in the final quarter, which trumped the previous corresponding period by 35.2%. Management said this was due to the strong trading conditions recorded throughout the peak shopping season. In December alone, net sales accounted for US$21.3 million, which was also 55.4% above the same time last year.

This flowed through to the company's full year FY20 performance in which Zebit achieved total net sales of US$88.1 million, exceeding FY19's result.

In the update, Zebit also highlighted that its registered user base grew to 792,000 at the end of the year. This was complemented by the company completing eight B2B acquisition partnerships during the period, which added 28,800 registered users in the fourth quarter.

About Zebit

Based in California, United States, Zebit is an e-commerce company that sells products and provides financing to financially challenged customers.

Its platform offers a built-in buy now, pay later (BNPL) facility, servicing customers who are unable to access traditional credit. Zebit shares first listed on the ASX in October 2020.

Management remarks

Commenting on the company's achievement, Zebit president and CEO Mr Marc Schneider said:

The strength of Zebit's performance through Q4 is a bellwether for the increasing demographic of consumers who value and repeatedly use the company's e-commerce services.

We expect strong growth in 2021 as we expand our reach in helping the increasing number of Americans living paycheck to paycheck purchase everyday products that many of us take for granted.

In addition to its primary e-commerce sales channel, as physical retail stores reopen, Zebit will also enable consumers to continue to finance purchases in physical retailers through sales of electronic gift certificates on our platform that can be redeemed in brick and mortar.

About the Zebit share price

On its first day of trading on 26 October 2020, the Zebit share price opened at $1.50 after floating at an issue price of $1.58. By the end of the day, Zebit shares closed the session at $1.05. By early Decmber, the Zebit share price fell to just below the $1 mark and since then has traded around the same level prior to today's rise.

Based on current prices, the company has a market capitalisation of around $90 million. 

The post Why the Zebit (ASX:ZBT) share price is jumping 12% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Youfoodz Holdings Ltd (ASX: YFZ)

According to Youfoodz, the company specialises in the production and distribution of high quality and affordable, ready-made meals and other convenience food products for residential, retail and corporate customers. The business operates three production facilities in Brisbane and has developed a scalable, proprietary in-house technology system to optimise production and supply-chain management across its centres. Its facilities produce more than 350,000 ready-made meals, 80,000 snacks and 25,000 drinks per week on average. 

The Youfoodz IPO had an offer price of $1.50 per share but its shares sank more than 30% to $1.05 on their first day of listing, and closed at 96 cents on Monday this week. The company has had a bumpy growth journey, delivering $123.3 million, $156.6 million and $127.3 million in revenue between FY18 to FY20 respectively.

Across those three years, Youfoodz reported a net loss after tax of $17.1 million, $34.6 million and $6.2 million respectively. Youfoodz is forecasting FY21 net revenue of $149.9 or a 17.7% increase in FY20. To achieve this, the company is focused on executing five key growth initiatives which include: 

• Capturing underlying market and category growth. 
• Growing segment market share and average order value through new offerings.
• Improving customer retention with a subscription model and loyalty program.
• Driving manufacturing automation and other efficiencies from a new, purpose-built manufacturing facility. 
• Selectively targeting new geographies.

Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT) 

Zebit is a United States-based e-commerce merchant that also provides a financing solution to its customers via an in-house and proprietary buy now, pay later solution. It currently offers over 90,000 products across more than 25 product categories such as electronics, appliances, home décor, furniture, and beauty. 

There are approximately 119.8 million US adults who have a credit score that is below prime and subprime categories, or have a thin/stale credit record. Zebit defines these 119.8 million US adults as "financially underserved customers" because of the lack of cost-effective or mainstream credit options available to them. Zebit sees itself as one of the first e-commerce companies to address this large, underserved consumer base in the US with its in-house BNPL solution. 

The company achieved a record Black Friday performance with $1.63 million in net sales on the day, or an increase of 29.9% compared to Black Friday 2019. It also delivered total net sales of $23.5 million for the first two months of Q4 2020 or an increase of 21.7% on the prior corresponding period. Despite the company's confidence in achieving its prospectus forecast, its shares closed at 98 cents yesterday, down nearly 35% from its offer price of $1.50. 

The post These were 2 of the worst performing IPOs of 2020 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The opposite has occurred. Not only have some BNPL shares outperformed almost every other ASX share in the financials sector, but some have handily outperformed most ASX blue chips. Especially if you take their performances since the March share market crash. But some others haven't, and instead delivered handy losses.

Let's have a look:

Afterpay still sits on the BNPL throne

No surprises as to the king of this particular hill. BNPL pioneer and titan Afterpay comes in at the front of the pack so far for 2020. At the time of writing, the Afterpay share price has in fact just made a fresh new all-time high of $120.77, putting its year-to-date gains at almost 300% – an eye-watering sum on its own, but especially so if you consider that Afterpay also banked year-to-date gains of more than 100% in both 2018 and 2019 as well (close to 150% for the latter).

And here's the real kicker: Afterpay shares plummeted all the way down to $8.01 at one point during the March share market crash. If you count the gains between 23 March and today, the Afterpay share price has returned 1,402%.

So what has gone so right for this company? Well, quite a lot, as it turns out.

Back in May, Afterpay announced that the Chinese gaming and e-commerce giant Tencent Holdings had acquired a 5% stake in the company. At the time, investors were a little worried that the coronavirus-induced recession would 'pop the Afterpay bubble' by eliciting a wave of payment delinquency. That, as it turns out, did not come to pass. But at the time, the Tencent move shored up a lot of confidence. Especially when Afterpay's management said the deal would help the company expand into the Asian region.

Since then, it has only been onwards and upwards for Afterpay. The company announced some stunning growth numbers in its FY2020 earnings report, and later made inclusion into both the ASX 50 and the ASX 20 indexes. All of these factors have worked marvelously for sentiment surrounding Afterpay shares, and have likely been the driving factors behind the recent all-time highs.

Some other top performers

But it's not just Afterpay that's been doing well in 2020. Sezzle has also been a top performer. It claims the No. 2 spot on 2020's BNPL gainers, but also outperforms even Afterpay since 23 March, giving investors a 1,749% gain to today.

We can probably thank raw growth for these gains. Just this month, Sezzle reported that underlying merchant sales for the month of November 2020 were 188.5% higher than November 2019.

Turning to Openpay and we have an interesting story. Yes, Openpay shares are up a more-than-respectable 97.58% for the year. However, the Openpay share price remains more than 50% below its 52-week high of $4.98 seen back in September. At that point, Openpay was up around 280% year to date. What happened? Well, it's not clear. Openpay is still growing at a healthy clip. It recently reported record user growth and transactional volume across both October and November. Perhaps investors just decided they wanted Afterpay shares instead.

Split and Zip

We see a similar pattern with Splitit. The Splitit share price is also boasting healthy year-to-date gains on today's prices. But it is also down around 33% from its 2020 high watermark. Again, we have seen some strong numbers out of the company recently. At the end of October, Splitit reported 214% year-on-year growth in sales volume, and a 318% increase in quarterly revenue over the prior corresponding period. It also touted some ambitious expansion plans over in the United States.

Turning now to Zip Co, the perpetual 'bridesmaid' of the BNPL shares. Zip's successes have been a little more muted in 2020 than the companies we've discussed so far. And, like Openpay and Splitit, Zip shares are also quite a way from their own 52-week high. Back in September, the Zip share price hit $10.64, more than 40% away from its current share price.

With this company, investors were initially highly welcoming of Zip's acquisition of the US-based QuadPay that was announced back in June. Zip's subsequent trend lower can likely be put down to (again) investors preferring Afterpay, or perhaps as a result of some negative broker attention over the past few months.

Some not-so-impressive BNPL shares

Now to the losers of the group – Laybuy, Humm and Zebit.

Laybuy and Zebit both only had their initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2020, Zebit just back in October. The BNPL sector has attracted a lot of froth and volatility in 2020, as you've probably picked up. These kinds of IPOs tend to attract investors trying to make a quick buck, as it were. A similar pattern emerged with both companies' floats: a spike, followed by net selling pressure.

Finally, let's look at Humm (formerly known as FlexiGroup until last month), the wooden spoon recipient of the ASX's BNPL shares. Humm has posted some unimpressive numbers in 2020, including a 62% drop in profits for FY2020 back in July, and has recently launched into the New Zealand market. However, its modest growth compared to its peers and a recent capital raise seems to have dimmed investors' appreciation of this company. The Humm share price remains down by almost a third in 2020 so far.

The post Here's how ASX buy now, pay later (BNPL) shares have performed in 2020 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the US-based e-commerce company's shares are up 1% to 95 cents.

Despite this, the Zebit share price is still trading materially lower than its October IPO price of $1.58.

How is Zebit performing?

According to the release, the "Amazon for the under-served" had a record Black Friday sales period with $1.63 million in net sales generated on the day. This was an increase of 29.9% compared to Black Friday 2019.

In addition to this, the company provided an update on its performance for the first two months of the fourth quarter of FY 2020.

Over the period, Zebit has delivered total net sales of $23.5 million. This is an increase of 21.8% compared to the same period in FY 2019.

It also revealed that it recently achieved a record 3,000 customer approvals in a single day.

You might be wondering why Zebit needs to approve customers. These approvals relate to its unique business model which, unlike traditional online retailers like Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) and Amazon, comes with an in-built buy now pay later function. Its focus is on consumers with low credit scores that may be unable to get credit elsewhere.

Pleasingly, Zebit advised that it continues to see strong credit performance, which is leading to a widening contribution margin.

In light of the above, the company reiterated that it is on track to achieve its prospectus forecast for the year ending 31 December 2020.

Zebit's President and CEO, Marc Schneider, commented: "We are extremely pleased with our trading results over the last few months and we believe that the sales achieved in the first two months of Q4 is a strong indicator of how healthy and robust the December month is expected to be."

"So far this holiday season has proven to be a solid tailwind for the business. Q4 is seasonally the Company's strongest, and we are entering the final month of FY20 with strong momentum. I look forward to publishing our Q4 results in January 2021 and our FY20 numbers shortly thereafter," he concluded.

The post Zebit (ASX:ZBT) share price higher on record Black Friday performance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

MyDeal.com.au Ltd (ASX: MYD)

MyDeal is an Australian e-commerce group that has successfully established an Australian online retail marketplace specialising in household goods such as furniture and homewares. MyDeal has more than 800 active sellers and more than 5 million products across 2,000 categories. More than 1 million products were sold in FY20 on the platform. 

 The IPO was priced at $1.00 with an indicative market capitalisation of $258.8 million at the offer price. While the MyDeal share price went as high as $2.20 on its ASX debut, it failed to hold these gains and is currently $1.26 at the time of writing. 

Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) 

Adore Beauty is Australia's number one pureplay online beauty retailer. The company is an integrated content, marketing and e-commerce retail platform that partners with beauty and personal care brands to introduce customers to a large range of products to suit a variety of needs and preferences.. Education and entertainment are also core elements of Adore Beauty's offering. Its platform is a destination for beauty consumers even when they are not seeking to purchase items. 

The IPO offer price was $6.75 per share with an indicative market capitalisation of $635.3 million at the offer price. The Adore Beauty share price opened at a high of $7.40 however closed at $5.80 on the same day. It is currently hovering around these $5.70 lows. 

Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT) 

Zebit is a California-based e-commerce company that is dedicated to making a fundamental change in the lives of Financially Underserved Consumers by giving them access to a broad set of products and the ability to pay for those products in instalments over six months. 

Zebit operates an e-commerce platform and currently offers more than 90,000 products across more than 25 product categories such as electronics, appliances, home décor, furniture and beauty. Registered users, who are consumers that have been underwritten and accepted by the company's proprietary fraud detection and credit management systems, can make purchases on the Zebit Marketplace and pay for them in instalments. 

The IPO offer price was $1.58 per share with an indicative market capitalisation of $149.0 million at the offer price. The Zebit share price opened near its offer price at $1.50, however sunk more than 30% to close at $1.05 in just one day. Its shares have since made a small recovery but still at a significant discount to its IPO offer price. 

The post These 3 ASX shares to IPO recently are struggling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Australian Financial Review reports that Limepay has tapped Ord Minnett in a $30 million pre-IPO funding round. If successful, Limepay won't be like any other ASX shares in the BNPL market. 

Yet another ASX buy now, pay later share?

Zebit is not in the crowded Australian market. Like Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL), it is focused on the giant US retail markets. However, its business model is hard to differentiate from many others in this space. This comes shortly after the listing of New Zealand BNPL company Laybuy Holdings Ltd (ASX: LBY). which has seen its share price fall by 27% since the day it listed. 

The entrance of payments giant Paypal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) into the BNPL space had an immediate chilling effect on ASX BNPL share prices. Nonetheless, this is the market that Limepay intends to enter with a different, potentially disruptive business model.

Limepay's technology is designed to address one of the core issues merchants have with BNPL companies. That is, both the large ASX BNPL shares, Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) and Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P), have websites filled with merchants a consumer can buy from. This means they take customers as part of a sale in one store, and target them with competitors' products. In the process, they own the relationship with the consumer, not the original vendor. 

In contrast, the Limepay approach allows companies to build their own Afterpay-style functionality. Dan Peters, a former Google Australia executive, is the Limepay chief revenue officer. He recently commented:

The concern from merchants with the likes of Afterpay etc is that they're essentially marketplaces. They acquire all of these customers from merchants and then they remarket to those customers. It's like a leaky bucket taking customers away.

Another tech luminary on the company's board supporting CEO Tim Dwyer is the former chief growth officer of Zip Co, Andy Mitchell. The money raised by Limepay would also be used to boost its management team. In addition, as the company moves towards listing on the ASX, the funds would also be used for sales, marketing and product expansion. 

Foolish takeaway

While there are already many ASX shares in the BNPL space, Limepay brings an entirely new business model. It had 82 live merchants using its platform as of September this year, including a globe-spanning partnership with Accor. It will be interesting to watch if the company can actually disrupt this young fintech sector. 

The post Meet Afterpay (ASX:APT)'s latest BNPL challenger appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This week, the theme of takeovers is likely to continue. In addition, there will be a series of AGMs, some of which may prove contentious. All times mentioned are eastern standard time. 

Major events planned for ASX shares

Monday

New listing:

Monday will see Dusk Group Limited (ASX: DSK) list for the first time. This company is the candle retailer you may have run into in the local malls. An omni-channel consumer discretionary company, it has reportedly completed a $70 million deal at $2 a share. The IPO will value Dusk at 10.1 times earnings for the year to 30 September. This is the equivalent of $124.5 million in terms of market capitalisation.

This comes on the heels of Adore Beauty Group Ltd (ASX: ABY) and, more successfully, Zebit Inc CDI (ASX: ZBT)'s recent listings.

Westpac annual report:

This morning, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) released its annual report, posting a 66% decline in statutory net profit to $2,290 million, which was largely in line with expectations. Analysts at Goldman Sachs, for example, were expecting Westpac to deliver a 63% decline in cash earnings. The bank also included additional charges for AUSTRAC matters. Additionally, a write down associated with Westpac Life Insurance Services Ltd, and an increase in provisions for refunds and litigation. 

The Westpac share price slid by 4.9% across last week's trading, but is up by 0.34% so far this morning as the market digests the results.

Reports on the economy:

At 11.30 am the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) will release the building approvals and the housing finance reports. At the same time Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ) will release the ANZ job ads report. These three reports will provide investors with a view into the domestic economy. In particular, there has been a lot of interest in the housing market since the lockdowns started. This is likely to impact ASX shares. 

Wednesday

At 9 am, small cap ASX share, Evans Dixon Ltd (ASX: ED1) will hold its AGM. While only a small company, it is likely to be a contentious event. Evans Dixon is currently being targeted for takeover by 360 Capital Group Ltd (ASX: TGP). 360 Capital managing director Tony Pitt recently manoeuvred the company to purchase 19.9% of Evans Dixon from company co-founder Alan Dixon. 

Tony was then elected with unanimous support to the board of Evans Dixon, subsequently dropping an unsolicited takeover bid into their laps on 22 October. As of last Friday, the board had withdrawn support for him. In addition, it has recommended shareholders do not support his election to the board, declaring in a statement: "The directors believe that his appointment would put him in a position of conflict between his obligations to 360 Capital Group and his obligations as a director to the company."

Thursday

At 9 am Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN) will hold its AGM, with detail behind Q1 performance and FY21 guidance. Last Friday, the personal protective equipment company company upgraded its FY21 guidance for earnings per share from $1.26–$1.38 to $1.35–$1.45. This is due largely to better than expected sales across all of its 5 strategic business units. The healthcare ASX share will also provide further detail on the progress of expansion capex spending, which it believes is proceeding to plan.

Friday

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) will present an interim result on Friday. In a recent presentation, Macquarie included its Q1 results, which showed that the profit contribution from the company's annuity-style businesses was slightly up versus the prior corresponding period (pcp). Its market-facing businesses were slightly down versus pcp.

The rise in  from the annuities businesses was largely due to the sale of the company's rail operating lease business. In the market-facing businesses, Macquarie Capital saw investment-related income reduce significantly.

Macquarie Group has also been making headlines due to its stake in Barrenjoey investment bank. The interim update may also include further information on this issue. 

The post 6 major events for ASX shares this week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The U.S. based ecommerce company's shares dropped 3.5% to $1.10.

This means the Zebit share price is now trading 30% lower than its IPO price of $1.58.

What is Zebit?

Zebit is a newly listed ecommerce platform with a built-in buy now, pay later offering (BNPL).

It has a focus on the large (and growing) proportion of the US population (est. 100 million) that is considered to be credit challenged. 

It aims to provide affordable credit for consumers that wouldn't qualify for credit cards or even for regular BNPL platforms like Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT) or Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL).

How did Zebit perform in the third quarter?

For the three months ended 30 September, Zebit reported revenue of US$15.35 million and a gross margin of 28.2%.

No figures were provided for the prior corresponding period to compare against. Though, judging by its commentary, I suspect its revenue was down on the third quarter of FY 2019.

Management advised that it "deliberately constrained demand and was much more selective in its underwriting criteria related to customer acquisition and taking new orders during Q3 FY 2020."

One positive, though, was that these operational tactics resulted in a heavier mix of orders from tenured customers on the platform. This increased the overall quality of its booked revenue.

Which may explain why the third quarter was the first positive EBITDA quarter since incorporation. Though, this didn't quite lead to its operations being fully profitable. On the bottom line, Zebit posted a net loss after tax of US$0.33 million.

The company also booked a bad debt reserve of 6.26%. This is the proportion of bad debt Zebit expects to take for historical outstanding sales.

What now?

Management notes that in September the company decided to resume operating on a pre COVID-19 business-as-usual basis. It explained that it decided to do this because of the continuing development of its proprietary credit decision models and predictive analytics.

It advised that the switch resulted in an acceleration in orders and new registered users during the month of September.

This is just in time for the company's busiest quarter. Zebit CEO and Co-Founder, Marc Schneider commented: "H2 has historically accounted for about 65% of Zebit's total annual revenue, with Q4 being the most material quarter of Zebit's fiscal year. Q4 contains well known key sales events for consumers, namely the Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales event as well as Christmas trading."

"The remainder of 2020 will be a busy time for Zebit as we deploy the IPO capital and continue to grow our registered user base across the U.S. and continue to deliver upon our IPO objectives in the most significant quarter of Zebit's fiscal year," Mr Schneider concluded.

The post Zebit Inc (ASX:ZBT) share price tumbles lower on Q3 update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

A number of shares have completed their IPOs this month and hit the ASX boards. Some more successfully than others.

Here's a summary of recent IPOs and how they have fared since listing:

Adore Beauty Group Limited (ASX: ABY)

The Adore Beauty share price has had a difficult start to life on the ASX boards. This afternoon the online beauty retailer's shares are trading at $5.88. This represents a 13% decline from its IPO price of $6.75. 

Adore Beauty raised $269.5 million from its IPO, giving it a market capitalisation of $635.3 million. The company intends to use the proceeds of its IPO to support its growth strategy and future growth opportunities. This includes growing its brand awareness, strengthening its offering, and expanding into new markets and adjacent categories.

Aussie Broadband Limited (ASX:ABB)

The Aussie Broadband share price has been a very strong performer since completing its IPO. On Tuesday afternoon the internet provider's shares are fetching $1.89. This is up a sizeable 89% from its IPO listing price of $1.00.

Aussie Broadband listed on the Australian share market after raising approximately $40 million through a partially underwritten initial public offering. The funds raised are going to be used predominantly on the deployment of a dark fibre network.

CleanSpace Holdings Limited (ASX: CSX)

The CleanSpace share price has also been a strong performer since listing on the Australian share market. The shares of the designer, manufacturer, and seller of workplace respiratory protection equipment (RPE) for healthcare and industrial end markets are trading at $6.88 this afternoon. This is up an impressive 56% from its listing price of $4.41.

CleanSpace's IPO raised a total of $131.4 million. Though, only $20 million of this was primary capital. The remainder is for long term shareholders to realise some of their investments.

MyDeal.com.au Limited (ASX: MYD)

The MyDeal.com.au share price is trading at $1.32 this afternoon. While this is notably higher than its IPO price of $1.00, it is materially lower than its high. The online retail marketplace provider's shares rocketed 120% higher on their first day on the ASX boards to $2.20.

MyDeal raised $40 million from its IPO, which comprises $35 million for the company and $5 million for certain existing shareholders. It intends to use the proceeds to drive future growth. This includes growing its private label business, investing in its proprietary technology, and investing in advertising to grow its customer base and brand.

Zebit Inc (ASX: ZBT)

The Zebit share price has had a disastrous start to life on the ASX boards. This afternoon the US-based e-commerce company's shares are changing hands for 97.5 cents. This is down 38% from its IPO price of $1.58.

The California-based company raised A$35 million, which it plans to use to rapidly accelerate its growth in North America. Zebit markets itself as the Amazon for the under-served, with a built in buy now pay later platform that provides credit to those that cannot get it elsewhere.

The post Here's how Adore Beauty (ASX:ABY) and these new IPOs have fared since listing appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.