There are some ASX shares that have seen elevated levels of growth during this period of time where COVID-19 is affecting many areas of the economy and life.
The two businesses below are seeing very strong levels of growth, but they have plans to keep things going beyond COVID-19:
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Ansell Limited (ASX: ANN)
Ansell is one of the largest global suppliers of safety gloves and other protective gear for industrial and healthcare settings.
Around a month ago, the business gave a trading update that said it's continuing to support elevated levels of demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) around the world. Its important capacity expansions remain on track to meet increased demand.
In-fact, the demand has been so strong that the financial performance since January 2021 has been stronger than expected.
COVID-19 has caused global disruption to manufacturing, but Ansell said it has seen limited downtime or employee disruption.
There has been raw material cost increases for the ASX share, but it has managed to pass on price increases to customers. It has also managed to keep supplying customers despite tight raw material supply and an increase in transportation transit times.
Ansell said that the COVID-affected parts of its business have bounced back quicker than expected.
In the first half of FY21, Ansell said it started five new production lines and expect another eight production lines to go live during the second half.
By FY22 to FY23, it expects to have more than doubled its in-house capacity of single-use gloves and suits and will also have expanded capacity in surgical, multi-purpose, chemical and electrical gloves to be able to meet the stronger demand from customers.
Ansell expects that COVID-19 will impact the world for some time and once the pandemic is under control, elevated demand for its products is likely to persist because of enhanced safety practices at plants and hospitals, better protection awareness in emerging markets, more research and testing activities worldwide.
Nick Scali Limited (ASX: NCK)
Nick Scali is a leading furniture ASX share in Australia. It has a national store network of stores, it imports its quality pieces from overseas.
It's currently rated as a buy by Citi with a price target of $12.05. The broker pointed out that strong order book and seemingly improving freight situation.
The business has been growing increasingly profitable over the last several years. In the FY21 half-year result, its gross profit margin increased by another 180 basis points to 64% due to reduced discounting.
Operating leverage helped Nick Scali double profit in the first six months of FY21. This is translating into much larger cashflow and dividends for shareholders.
In the third quarter of FY21, it saw written sales growth of 50%. Sales growth to the end of April 2021 was approximately 44%.
Nick Scali said that the order bank at the end of April continues to remain at elevated levels, providing a foundation for revenue growth into FY22.
The ASX share has further growth plans by expanding its store network, launching adjacent product categories, growing its online offering, potential acquisitions and increasing the property portfolio. It has opened three new stores in FY21. Nick Scali currently has 61 stores across Australia and New Zealand, it's targeting at least 86.
