Upgrades keep flowing, this time from protective equipment maker Ansell and property and retail group Mirvac.
Ansell lifted its 2021 guidance, saying it will have a stronger second half than the 24.5% sales growth it forecast in February.
The company reported a 61.3% jump in profits to $US106.5 million ($A136 million) for the first half of 2021 but another strong half was in doubt because of rising raw material costs.
But on Wednesday Ansell confirmed it had managed those surges in material costs well through “better than expected execution of price increases”, as demand for protective equipment continues to surge worldwide.
The firm now expects a stronger second half than the first, pushing earnings per share to between US192c and US202c a share – that’s a huge jump from the 160c to 170c range predicted just two months ago.
Ansell reported EPS of US121.8 cents a share for 2019-20 . (Ansell has been doing a buyback so that is helping boosting eps).
So the company could be looking at earnings rising 60% or more on 2020’s statutory result of $US158.7 million.
Meanwhile Mirvac has lifted its full-year earnings guidance by about 7% thanks to very strong residential sales in the March quarter.
Mirvac CEO Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz said during the quarter the business performed well and has strong momentum leading into the final quarter with (retail) rent collection rates improving, and residential settlements and sales ahead of expectations.
“The residential business, with 1,791 settlements in the financial year to date, positions Mirvac to comfortably exceed guidance of over 2,200 lot settlements in the 2021 financial year,” she said in Wednesday’s announcement.
As a result of these improvements Mirvac, upgraded its full-year forecast earnings guidance to at least 13.7¢ a security from 13.1 to 13.5¢ a security.
“Domestic owner-occupiers continue to drive activity, with lending volumes and sales increasing during the quarter,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.
She said Mirvac the upgraded guidance also includes the return of $10 million in JobKeeper payments received this year.
She said demand for quality-built homes continues to accelerate across both middle ring and inner ring markets as the established housing market experiences significant price growth.
Investors have begun to return to the market, primarily focused on master-planned communities but demand is also gathering pace in the apartment markets.
Ansell shares rose 3.9% to $40.86 and Mirvac shares were up 3.1% to $2.64 on the upgrades.
