At lunch on Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a disappointing decline. The benchmark index is currently down 1% to 6,104.3 points.
Here's what is happening on the market today:
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Afterpay share price hits record high.
The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price has hit a record high of $82.00 today. Investors have been buying the payments company's shares following a surprise upgrade to its earnings guidance for FY 2020. Due to a better than expected Net Transaction Loss (NTL) as a percentage of underlying sales, Afterpay expects its EBITDA to be $44 million. This compares very favourably to its previous EBITDA guidance of $20 million to $25 million.
Qantas takes $4 billion revenue hit from COVID-19.
The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is trading lower today following the release of its full year results. Qantas revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted its revenue by $4 billion during the second half. This ultimately led to the airline operator posting a statutory loss before tax of $2.7 billion. Management advised that the majority of this loss is non-cash and includes aircraft write downs.
Webjet sinks lower after major loss.
The Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price is sinking notably lower today after the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June 2020, the online travel agent posted a 27% decline in revenue to $266.1 million and a statutory net loss after tax of $143.6 million. This statutory result includes one-off items totalling $117.7 million. These include $40 million debtor write-offs, $14.6 million associated with the closure of Webjet Exclusives, and a $20 million impairment of intangibles from the closure of Online Republic Cruise.
Best and worst ASX 200 shares.
The best performer on the ASX 200 on Thursday is the IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) share price by some distance. Its shares are up 27% today after the release of a surprisingly strong full year result. Going the other way, the worst performer has been the Webjet share price with a 11% decline. This follows the release of its aforementioned full year results.
