Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) healthcare leader CSL (ASX:CSL) posted a robust 11 per cent rise in sales from US$13.3 billion to US$14.8 billion, with CSL’s Behring segment, that markets products like immunoglobulin derived from blood plasma, contributing over 70 per cent of total sales. The company also reported a 21.8 per cent increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), a 24 per cent rise in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) and a 15 per cent growth in net profit for 2024, after adjusting for currency fluctuations.  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Stocks We Like.

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Our domestic large-cap funds have maintained an underweight position in the banks, and even though the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA) was, for a time, our largest position, being underweight in the sector has cost relative performance thanks to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s share price rallying as much as 23 per cent year-to-date and 35 per cent last financial year.  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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It’s fascinating to read about the latest prognostications of those who manage billions of dollars of their own or others’ money.

I guess I must be a bit of a collector because I like to make lists of their comments for no other reason than to admire them against one another.

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by Roger Montgomery Posted in Market commentary.

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As a Gen Xer myself, it seems the press has left us behind, sandwiched as it were, between the Baby Boomers and Millennials. So, when an article purporting to describe me occasionally appears, I sit up and take notice. What do the media and financial experts think of my generation? Did they get it right? Or are they necessarily broad generalisations that don’t apply to me or my friends?  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics, Editor's Pick.

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QBE Insurance’s (ASX:QBE) first-half 2024 (1H24) results offer a nuanced picture.  Depending on your interpretation of the performance of the American business, QBE Insurance is either off to a challenging start to the year, or long-term prospects remain optimistic, largely driven by ongoing restructuring efforts, particularly within the company’s North American segment.  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Stocks We Like.

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For background information about this A1-quality company, I previewed REA Group’s (ASX:REA) latest results here, wrote about why I believe REA Group is one of Australia’s highest-quality businesses here, and I also wrote about why REA Group will keep delivering for investors here.  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies, Editor's Pick, Property.

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 In presidential campaign speeches in 1959 and 1960, John F. Kennedy noted, “In the Chinese language, the word “crisis” is composed of two characters, one representing danger and the other, opportunity.” It’s not quite correct but that didn’t stop the handy anecdote becoming a popular trope adopted by business consultants and in motivational speeches and calls to action.  Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Economics.

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Despite cost-of-living pressures and a continual stream of consumer data reflecting a zipping up of wallets around the country amid a cost-of-living crisis, JB Hi-Fi’s (ASX:JBH) total revenue for the year to 30 June fell just 0.4 per cent to $9.6 billion. This was the result of a much stronger than expected result for the Australian business. Continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Companies.

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