Latest news with #NickScali
The Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
ASX200: Key sectors split on down day for market
A mixed bag has capped the share market's first weekly gain in three weeks, in the midst of reporting season with an expected interest rate cut just days away. The S&P/ASX200 closed Friday with a loss of 24.3 points or 0.28 per cent at 8807.1. Sell offs in financials and healthcare outweighed gains in mining stocks, with six of 11 sectors in negative territory. The All Ordinaries also slipped 0.28 per cent, down 25 points to 9,076.6 while the Small Ords was flat. Daily returns were dominated by earnings results. QBE shares tanked 8.8 per cent (to $21.39) despite the company reporting a 20 per cent jump in half-year profit. Afterpay owner Block rose 9.1 per cent (at $127.09) as second quarter results showed consumers were blowing cobwebs off their wallets. Gains in mining did not offset losses in financials. Picture: Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Furniture retailer Nick Scali lifted 6.9 per cent (to $20.49) as its Australian and New Zealand orders over the second-half rose 7 per cent. Investors made themselves comfy despite a near 30 per cent slide in profits. 'We're getting better deals … and we are passing that through to the consumer for better prices and that is probably helping us,' chief executive Anthony Scali told investors. 'I think the consumer is a bit more confident.' Other big gainers include finance tech company Iress (up 12.2 per cent at $9.40), Pilbara Minerals (up 9 per cent at $1.93) and AMP (up 7.1 per cent at $1.87). At the other end, GQG Partners was deep in red territory. GQG's share price fell 14.6 per cent (to $1.72), as a funds under management update revealed an exodus. RBA Governor Michele Bullock is expected to announce a rate cut on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short Investors ditched game company Light and Wonder, as the Las Vegas-headquartered firm announced plans to delist from the Nasdaq later this year. Aussie-listed stocks fell 11.2 per cent to $118.75. The RBA is expected to cut the cash rate on Tuesday, and will take heed from London in doing so. The Bank of England cut its main interest rate Thursday by a quarter point to 4 per cent, to spite a lagging economy. In international news, the UK, Switzerland and the US have found themselves in a tussle after a report Donald Trump had imposed tariffs on imports of 1kg gold bars. Independent market analyst Stephen Innes said the US administration was taking a three-pronged approach. 'Weaken Switzerland's refining monopoly. Force London's bullion banks into a defensive posture. Supercharge the fiscal optics by goosing gold's domestic valuation,' he said. 'The optics are unmistakeable. At a time when central banks are hoarding gold to diversify away from dollar risk, Washington is slapping toll booths on the global metal highway. 'Switzerland, the middleman in this high-value supply chain, just became collateral damage.' The news sent gold futures climbing to a record high on Friday, even after a stellar week for the precious metal. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold benchmark is up 11.5 per cent for the week, including a 2 per cent sweetener on Friday. Read related topics: ASX Blair Jackson Reporter Blair's journalism career has taken him from Perth, to New Zealand, Queensland and now Melbourne. Blair Jackson
Perth Now
3 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
ASX dips ahead of expected RBA rate cut
A mixed bag has capped the share market's first weekly gain in three weeks, in the midst of reporting season with an expected interest rate cut just days away. The S&P/ASX200 closed Friday with a loss of 24.3 points or 0.28 per cent at 8807.1. Sell offs in financials and healthcare outweighed gains in mining stocks, with six of 11 sectors in negative territory. The All Ordinaries also slipped 0.28 per cent, down 25 points to 9,076.6 while the Small Ords was flat. Daily returns were dominated by earnings results. QBE shares tanked 8.8 per cent (to $21.39) despite the company reporting a 20 per cent jump in half-year profit. Afterpay owner Block rose 9.1 per cent (at $127.09) as second quarter results showed consumers were blowing cobwebs off their wallets. Gains in mining did not offset losses in financials. Gaye Gerard / NewsWire Credit: News Corp Australia Furniture retailer Nick Scali lifted 6.9 per cent (to $20.49) as its Australian and New Zealand orders over the second-half rose 7 per cent. Investors made themselves comfy despite a near 30 per cent slide in profits. 'We're getting better deals … and we are passing that through to the consumer for better prices and that is probably helping us,' chief executive Anthony Scali told investors. 'I think the consumer is a bit more confident.' Other big gainers include finance tech company Iress (up 12.2 per cent at $9.40), Pilbara Minerals (up 9 per cent at $1.93) and AMP (up 7.1 per cent at $1.87). At the other end, GQG Partners was deep in red territory. GQG's share price fell 14.6 per cent (to $1.72), as a funds under management update revealed an exodus. RBA Governor Michele Bullock is expected to announce a rate cut on Tuesday. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia Investors ditched game company Light and Wonder, as the Las Vegas-headquartered firm announced plans to delist from the Nasdaq later this year. Aussie-listed stocks fell 11.2 per cent to $118.75. The RBA is expected to cut the cash rate on Tuesday, and will take heed from London in doing so. The Bank of England cut its main interest rate Thursday by a quarter point to 4 per cent, to spite a lagging economy. In international news, the UK, Switzerland and the US have found themselves in a tussle after a report Donald Trump had imposed tariffs on imports of 1kg gold bars. Independent market analyst Stephen Innes said the US administration was taking a three-pronged approach. 'Weaken Switzerland's refining monopoly. Force London's bullion banks into a defensive posture. Supercharge the fiscal optics by goosing gold's domestic valuation,' he said. 'The optics are unmistakeable. At a time when central banks are hoarding gold to diversify away from dollar risk, Washington is slapping toll booths on the global metal highway. 'Switzerland, the middleman in this high-value supply chain, just became collateral damage.' The news sent gold futures climbing to a record high on Friday, even after a stellar week for the precious metal. The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold benchmark is up 11.5 per cent for the week, including a 2 per cent sweetener on Friday.
West Australian
3 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
Nick Scali insists there is ‘pathway to profitability' for British stores as it posts profit slump
Nick Scali shares have surged to record highs after its boss insisted there was 'a pathway to profitability' for the furniture chain despite being weighed down by its British stores. Kicking off reporting season for the retail sector on Friday, Nick Scali revealed a 5.8 per cent lift in revenue to $495.3 million for the 2025 financial year, as profit slumped 28.3 per cent to $57.7m, a result attributed to its loss-making British stores. The company acquired British furniture chain Fabb early last year and is in the process of rebranding the 21 stores in its network under the Nick Scali brand. While it already warned sales at the British stores would be impacted amidst the refurbishments, the group revealed the extent of the losses had widened to $11.2m, from a loss of $1.4m a year ago. It took a $33.9m hit to UK written sales orders 'caused by stores closed for refurbishment for long periods and the continuous clearance of old Fabb product range being sold from showrooms and warehouse inventory'. But Nick Scali chief executive Anthony Scali said there was a 'pathway to profitability' for the British stores and there was 'contingent belief that the product is right for the UK'. So far, 12 stores have been refurbished and rebranded, with the remaining expected to be completed during the first half of the 2026 financial year. Mr Scali said the rebranded stores have already delivered a 58 per cent gross profit margin for May and June, compared with 42 per cent at acquisition. Mr Scali said based on recent average sales per Nick Scali store in Britain, each store would need to lift sales by $10,000 a week, or an additional 2.5 orders per week, to begin contributing profits to the group. Despite the near-30 per cent profit slump, investors chose to focus on Nick Scali's potential for growth, sending shares 8 per cent higher to $20.70 just after 1pm. 'I'm confident with the right sales team, we're going to get the uplift in sales,' Mr Scali told investors on a call. In Australia and New Zealand — which accounts for the majority of Nick Scali's sales with over 60 stores — sales fell 1.4 per cent to $453.5m for 2025, while net profit slumped 12.3 per cent. Nick Scali said sales in Australia and New Zealand grew by 7.7 per cent in July. It expects sales revenue for the first quarter of the 2026 financial year to be up on the prior year. MLC Asset Management senior portfolio manager Anthony Golowenko said Nick Scali appeared to have a good growth trajectory and the company was making steady progress in building its business in the UK. 'This is setting the scene for a solid (2026 financial year), more favourable customer demographics, and likely rate cuts adding to consumer confidence,' he said. Nick Scali declared a final dividend of 33¢ a share.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
ASX slides lower but miners shine; QBE slumps
The Australian sharemarket remains slightly lower at lunchtime on Friday on the back of a mixed session on Wall Street, while Donald Trump announced his choice to fill the vacant seat on the Federal Reserve board. The S&P/ASX200 was down 7.7 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8823.6 just after midday, with seven of 11 industry sectors in the red, with tech and health care stocks the biggest weights on the index. Financial stocks are mixed. ANZ gained 0.3 per cent while Westpac lost 0.5 per cent, NAB gave up 0.4 per cent and Commonwealth Bank shed 0.3 per cent. QBE shares slipped 6.7 per cent after the insurance giant reported a jump in net profit after tax to $US1.02 billion ($1.84 billion) in its first half, up from $802 million a year earlier. Although the profit result was higher than market expectations, Barrenjoey analyst Andrew Adams said this was helped by foreign exchange movements, and some of the details within the result were 'more debateable' and could lead to volatility in the share price. Financial services company Block jumped 7.4 per cent on strong profit growth as it announced its results. Mining stocks are higher, with iron ore heavyweights Fortescue (up 0.8 per cent), BHP (up 0.8 per cent) and Rio Tinto (up 0.1 per cent) advancing. Gold miners continued their winning run, with Newmont climbing 2 per cent, Northern Star bouncing 3.7 per cent and Evolution Mining rising 0.9 per cent. Furniture seller Nick Scali's share price has risen 7.6 per cent after unveiling a 5.8 per cent lift in group revenue to $495.3 million. However, net profit fell by 28.3 per cent to $57.7 million. MLC Asset Management senior portfolio manager Anthony Golowenko said there was 'solid momentum' in the Australia and New Zealand businesses, underpinned by a 7.3 per. cent uplift in written sales in the second half, while Fab Furniture, the business acquired in the UK, has been undergoing rebranding to Nick Scali. 'This profitable growth story 'keeps on keeping on' in ANZ, with strong progress and still some work to do in the UK,' Golowenko said.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-08-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Bargain-hungry Australians are shopping their hearts out
Forget the cost-of-living crisis, Australians opened their wallets and emptied their mattresses to embark on such a vigorous shopping spree in June that retail sales for the month have come in three times higher than expected. But this rush of retail blood isn't a display of stronger consumer confidence. Instead, the sales bump has come from left field. The 1.2 per cent boost in June's retail sales was much stronger than the May rise of 0.5 per cent and the April reading, which was flat. The catch here is that the buying bonanza has been almost entirely driven by bargain hunting for discretionary goods, propelled by clothing, footwear and household items. Shares of JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman, Nick Scali and Wesfarmers rose on the back of the retail data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and even department store operator Myer's share price moved up on the news. Most of the retail categories, even food retailing, came in ahead of expectations in June. The one area that didn't feel the love was eating out and takeaway food, with the sector turning negative in June after a mildly positive reading in May. But the stronger sales number is a mixed blessing for retailers. While the increased demand and volume of sales is a positive, selling goods at discount is a surefire way of whittling down their profit margins. Loading The other worry is that the big spend in June may not be repeated over the next couple of months, meaning any gains to be had will be slowly unwound. What the data does support is that households have the money and the desire to spend on big-ticket items as long as they believe they are receiving value. It also indicates that Australians have not been unduly fazed by the international economic turmoil introduced by Trump's tariff attack.
