The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dropped 1.6% to 5,960 points. The ASX selloff followed on from overseas market declines seemingly because of COVID-19 declines.
Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ)
The big four ASX bank announced its FY20 result today. There were some pretty big profit declines.
ANZ's statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) fell by 40% to $3.56 billion and continuing operations cash profit dropped by 42% to $3.76 billion.
The bank said that the profit decline was primarily driven by full year credit impairment charges of $2.74 billion, which increased because of the impact of COVID-19 and the first impairment of its Asian associates to the tune of $815 million, also due to the pandemic.
ANZ declared a final dividend of $0.35 per share, bringing the full year dividend to $0.60 per share. That amounts to a cut of 62.5% compared to FY19.
The ASX 200 bank's CET1 capital ratio was almost the same as last year, ending at 11.3% – still unquestionably strong using APRA's standards.
ANZ CEO Shayne Elliot said: "We could never have forecast 2020, a year that started with devastating bushfires in Australia and unwound with the waves of a pandemic that continues today. While we still cannot predict its course, we remain confident that we can deal with its impacts.
"While our immediate focus has been on assisting customers, we have also taken steps to protect the steps of our shareholders by maintaining our strong capital position, tightly managing costs and bolstering credit reserves, while still managing to pay a prudent dividend without diluting their holdings."
The ANZ share price fell by 2.4% today.
Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB)
Hub was in the spotlight today after coming back to trade from its capital raising and acquisition news.
It is raising around $60 million to fund three acquisitions. It's going to acquire investment platform provider Xplore Wealth Ltd (ASX: XPL) for $60 million through a combination of cash and new shares.
Hub24 is going to acquire Ord Minnett's non-custody portfolio administration and reporting service for a $10.5 million upfront consideration.
It's also going to invest in some Easton Investments Ltd (ASX: EAS) shares which will result in Hub24 owning 40% of Easton.
The total investment is $93 million and it's expected to add 13% to Hub24's earnings per share (EPS) in FY22.
The Hub24 share price went up more than 8% today.
REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)
REA Group has also announced an acquisition today. The real estate tech share is going to take a controlling stake in India's Elara Technologies. Its shareholding will be between 47.2% to 61.1%.
The total consideration will cost between US$50 million to US$70 million for the ASX 200 share.
Elara is India's fastest growing digital real estate businesses in terms of audience with brands like housing.com, PropTiger.com and Makaan.com. Whilst Indian listings have been impacted due to COVID-19, Elara has continued to grow its market share.
REA Group CEO Owen Wilson said: "India is an incredibly attractive market and one that provides excellent long-term growth opportunities, while complementing REA's footprint in Asia and North America. The country is forecast to deliver strong growth over the next decade and continues to experience rapid digital transformation."
Elara provides a wide range of services including digital advertising and transactions including personalised search, virtual viewing, site visits, home loans and post-sales services.
The REA Group share price fell by 1.2% today.
JB Hi-Fi Limited (ASX: JBH)
The electronics ASX 200 retailer announced its FY21 first quarter trading update today.
JB Hi-Fi said that its total sales growth was 27.3% with comparable sales growth of 27.6%. JB Hi-Fi New Zealand delivered a total sales decline of 2.5%, with a total comparable sales decline of 2.5% as well. The Good Guys managed to grow total sales by 30.9%, with comparable sales growing by the same amount.
The company said that all of its stores located in metropolitan Melbourne opened yesterday.
The JB Hi-Fi share price dropped backwards by 6.2% today.
