The Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price has returned from its trading halt and crashed deep into the red.

In afternoon trade, the ASX 300 wealth management software solutions company's shares are down 54% to 39 cents.

Why is this ASX 300 tech share being sold off?

Investors have been hitting the sell button today after the ASX 300 tech share completed a placement and institutional entitlement offer.

According to the release, the company raised a total of $66 million from investors. This comprises $43 million under the institutional entitlement offer and $23 million under the placement.

These funds were raised at $0.40 per new share, which represents a 53% discount to the Bravura share price prior to the halt.

Encouragingly, management notes that the placement and entitlement offer saw strong support from both existing shareholders and new investors. This led to the latter commanding a take up rate of approximately 85%.

Combined with its new debt facilities, management believes it is well-positioned to fund investment in its operational change program, fund negative cashflow and transaction costs, and provide balance sheet flexibility and working capital.

Bravura's CEO, Libby Roy, commented:

We are very pleased with the success of the Institutional Offer and the strong support shown by both our existing institutional shareholders and the broader investment community. The Board and management team are excited by Bravura's future and proceeds of the Offer will provide additional balance sheet flexibility to support our restructure.

Bravura will now seek to raise a further $17 million from retail shareholders.

Results update

The ASX 300 tech share also released its half-year results while it was in its trading halt.

These results go some way to explaining why Bravura needed to raise capital today. Here's a summary:

• Revenue down 11% to $118 million
• Total expenses up 17% to $125 million
• Total non‐cash impairment of $176 million
• Net loss of $190.9 million
• Adjusted net loss of $14.2 million

Roy commented:

The first half was undoubtedly a difficult period with our performance impacted by a number of operational and market‐related challenges. However, after conducting a wide‐ranging strategic review of our business and having taken some tough but necessary decisions, I believe we now have a plan in place that will allow us to better manage and monetise our suite of high‐quality, mission‐critical products and build on our strong customer base. I am confident in the team's ability to execute on this plan and achieve our targets of delivering an estimated $25‐30m in annualised cost benefits once fully implemented.

The post Why did this ASX 300 tech share just crash 50%? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The share price of S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) tech stock Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) won't be going anywhere today.

Trading of the stock has been suspended following a two-session-long trading halt as the company considers its business performance, its guidance, and contemplates a capital raise.

The Bravura Solutions share price last traded at 85 cents.

Let's take a closer look at what appears to be going on with the ASX 300 tech share.

Bravura Solutions share price suspended, earnings delayed

Those invested in Bravura Solutions shares likely expected to flick through the wealth management and administration software provider's first-half earnings this morning. Instead, they've been left with a potentially ominous message.

The company has delayed the release of its earnings, potentially until the very last minute – 6 March. And the market could be forced to wait until the following day to trade in the stock.

In the meantime, it's flagged a potential capital raise. Though, it didn't clarify why it might need extra cash.

Bullish market watchers might be anticipating news of an acquisition. Bears, on the other hand, might be expecting the company's earnings to reveal a decimated cash position.

The company warned its financial year 2023 performance would likely come in below expectations in November.

It said its revenue should increase modestly year-on-year while customer spending trend lower and three legacy contracts wind down in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Meanwhile, operating costs were tipped to grow between 16% and 20%.

It forecast its first-half earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to come in between $10 million and $15 million. Meanwhile, its net profit after tax (NPAT) was tracking to be flat at best and a $5 million loss at worst. Bravura Solutions continued:

The company has sufficient liquidity comprising $29 million of cash and $19 million of available debt facility, as at [2 November], and the current and planned initiatives to reset the company are expected to be managed within the existing capital structure.

Board changes

The ASX 300 tech share also revealed three major board changes today.

Director Alexa Henderson has stepped down from the board. She walked away holding 10,000 shares in the company, while her spouse has 201,975 shares in their superannuation fund.

Meanwhile, Andrew Russell and Russell Baskerville have been appointed to the board.

Chair Neil Broekhuizen thanked Henderson for her contribution to the board and commented on the appointment of Russell and Baskerville. He said:

They not only bring extensive technology knowledge but also change management, transactional and governance capabilities along with an entrepreneurial spirit. Their expertise will be most valuable as we implement our restructuring program to set the business up for a return to profitable growth.

Bravura Solutions share price snapshot

The last few years have been disastrous for the Bravura Solutions share price. It's tumbled 49% since this time last year and is currently 86% lower than its $6.10 peak – reached in 2019.

The post Why is ASX 300 tech share Bravura Solutions suspended? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX directors buying and selling their company's shares can arguably provide insight into what they expect from its future. Indeed, investing great Peter Lynch is widely quoted as saying:

Insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise.

Thus, insider buying is often heralded as a sign those in the know are confident in their business, while insider selling can arguably signify the opposite.

There have been plenty of director transactions on the ASX this month. Let's take a look.

ASX directors trading their company's shares this month

Let's start with ASX technology share Electro Optic Systems Holdings Ltd (ASX: EOS). The stock has tumbled 75% since the start of 2022.

Its slump may have presented a buying opportunity, if a recent uptick in insider buying is any sign.

Directors Kate Lundy and Robert Kaye both recently bolstered their stake in the company. Lundy bought 8,000 shares in the ASX tech stock for 60 cents apiece on 22 November, while Kaye's spouse purchased 50,700 shares, paying around 57.90 cents apiece, on 22 November. The buys were worth $4,800 and $29,355 respectively.

Topping off the trading was a $307,050 acquisition by newly appointed chair Garry Hounsell. Hounsell bought 500,000 shares for 60.41 cents apiece on 24 November.

Meanwhile, insider selling was going down at WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC). The ASX tech company's founder, CEO, and director Richard White has been selling off the company's shares in droves this month, but there might be more to the story than meets the eye.

Between 28 October and 24 November, White appears to have offloaded a grand total of 455,075 shares in the ASX company, receiving $25.8 million for the sales. However, it's unclear whether the insider selling is related to a previously announced equity swap transaction.

Finally, ASX share Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) recently took a 52% tumble and some of its directors have seemingly taken advantage.

Chair Neil Broekhuizen indirectly bought 636,000 Bravura shares, paying 62.53 cents apiece, on 4 November. Director Alexa Henderson got in on the buying action on 7 November, indirectly acquiring 141,000 shares for 70.72 cents apiece. Finally, director Peter Mann indirectly purchased 119,200 shares for around 73.33 cents per stock on 8 November.

The parcels of ASX shares cost the respective directors $397,675, $99,715, and $86,224.

The post Which ASX directors were buying and selling their company shares in November? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Investing great Peter Lynch is widely quoted as saying, "insiders might sell their shares for any number of reasons, but they buy them for only one: they think the price will rise". That's likely welcome insight for fans of ASX tech share Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) after two directors snapped up additional stock following its recent downturn.

Bravura's stock plummeted 52% on news the provider of wealth management and funds administration software faces a reconfiguration earlier this month. The technology company told the market:

[W]hilst Bravura has solid foundations, the business will be required to be reconfigured to scale our products across customers.

The pace of change from a traditional services model to a more scalable technology solutions provider will accelerate but requires a realignment of the organisation and resources to create greater product discipline.

The tumble saw the Bravura share price hit an all-time low of 54 cents. Though, it's since posted a slight recovery. It closed Thursday's session at 70 cents – still a far cry from its 52-week high of $2.77.

But directors are apparently confident in the company's future. Let's take a look at the latest insider buying going down at the embattled ASX tech share.

Insiders continue buying decimated ASX tech share

The Bravura share price has suffered a major nosedive this month, and some of the tech company's directors are buying the dip.

Two insiders at the ASX tech stock have bolstered their holding in recent weeks. They've indirectly bought a combined total of 777,000 shares on-market.  

Bravura chair Neil Broekhuizen was the first to take advantage of the downturn. He indirectly bought 636,000 Bravura shares, paying just 62.53 cents apiece on 4 November, as my colleague Sebastian reports.

The whole parcel cost Broekhuizen just under $400,000. That same holding would have been worth over $775,000 at the end of October.

Now, director Alexa Henderson has joined in on the insider buying.

An ASX release states her hold was indirectly bolstered by 141,000 Bravura shares via her spouse's superannuation fund on Monday.

Each stock was purchased for 70.72 cents – leaving the parcel with a value of nearly $100,000. That's a $72,000 discount on what the holding would have cost as of the final close of last month.

Henderson now directly holds 10,000 shares in the ASX tech stock and indirectly boasts another 201,975 shares.

The post Directors are continuing to buy up this decimated ASX tech share appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

On Thursday, this All Ords financial technology company lost a staggering 52.3% of its value in a single trading session.

As we covered at the time, the catalyst for this precipitous drop in value was the disappointing update Bravura released after market close on Wednesday.

This told investors that, after a review, the company needed to be "reconfigured":

The review has indicated that whilst Bravura has solid foundations, the business will be required to be reconfigured to scale our products across customers.

This will require enhancing the existing technology stack to unlock the existing microservices strategy, drive higher resale multiples on technology development and reduce single customer efforts.

Bravura also sharply downgraded its FY2023 guidance and flagged that it was likely to book a loss on the bottom line.

Investors were not impressed, needless to say.

Bravura director buys the dip

But one insider appears to welcome this massive share price collapse for Bravura. That would be Neil Broekhuizen.

Broekhuizen is an indeprendent non-executive chair and director of Bravura. According to an ASX notice, Broekhuizen owned 215,000 shares of the company before 4 November.

But on that date, Broekhuizen went shopping. He acquired a whopping 636,000 shares on 4 November. This was at an average price of 62.53 cents per share. The buy-the-dip move almost quadrupled Broekhuizen's share count to 851,000.

Broekhuizen didn't get in at the bottom by any means. Bravura bottomed out at 54 cents a share last Thursday. But even so, Broekhuizen has already been handsomely rewarded for his pounce. Today, the Bravura share price is trading at 71 cents. That's up a staggering 19% for the day.

This means that Broekhuizen has already booked an approximate profit of $60,000 on his purchase of the All Ords share last week.

So it seems that Broekhuizen may have pulled off a classic 'be greedy when others are fearful' play right out of the Warren Buffett handbook. No doubt Bravura investors have taken this as a positive sign.

The post This ASX All Ords share dumped 50% last week, now a director is buying up big appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price is down 1.5% to $5.40. This follows a lukewarm reaction to its US FDA approval from analysts at Credit Suisse. The broker has responded by retaining its neutral rating with a slightly higher price target of $5.30. The broker warned that the quality of A2 Milk's earnings in the US will be lower due to higher costs and lower pricing.

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The Bravura share price is down a further 3.5% to 60.7 cents. This financial technology company's shares have been smashed this week after it announced the results of a strategic review. Following the review, management admitted that the Bravura will need to be "reconfigured." This will involve "enhancing the existing technology stack to unlock the existing microservices strategy, drive higher resale multiples on technology development and reduce single customer efforts."

Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG)

The Magellan share price has fallen 3% to $9.50. This has been driven by the release of another disappointing funds under management (FUM) update from the struggling fund manager. Magellan revealed further net outflows of $2.4 billion for the month. This comprised net retail outflows of $0.4 billion and net institutional outflows of $2 billion.

Pendal Group Ltd (ASX: PDL)

The Pendal share price is down 1.5% to $4.45. This follows the release of the fund manager's full year results this morning. Pendal reported a 17% increase in underlying profit after tax to $194.2 million but a 32% decline in statutory profit after tax to $112.8 million. The latter reflects significant seed investment gains in 2021 that reversed in the current year as global equity markets declined.

The post Why A2 Milk, Bravura, Magellan, and Pendal shares are dropping appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The Bravura share price has crashed 54% to 60.2 cents. Investors have been selling this financial technology company's shares after it announced the results of a strategic review. Management commented: "The review has indicated that whilst Bravura has solid foundations, the business will be required to be reconfigured to scale our products across customers. This will require enhancing the existing technology stack to unlock the existing microservices strategy, drive higher resale multiples on technology development and reduce single customer efforts."

Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)

The Domino's share price is down 10.5% to $53.70. This pizza chain operator's shares have come under pressure after the release of a disappointing trading update at yesterday's annual general meeting. Management warned that its earnings would be down "materially" during the first half.

Lendlease Group (ASX: LLC)

The Lendlease share price is down 7.5% to $7.94. This has been driven by the release of the property developer's strategy briefing this morning. That briefing also provided an update on the company's outlook for FY 2023. Lendlease now expects to only hit the lower end of its ROIC and EBITDA margin guidance for its businesses.

Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW)

The Woolworths share price is down almost 4% to $31.99. Investors have been selling this retail giant's shares following the release of a mixed first quarter update. Although Woolworths' sales were largely in line with expectations, its key Food businesses underperformed due partly to weak online sales.

The post Why Bravura, Domino's, Lendlease, and Woolworths shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today, the Bravura share price has gone one better, losing more than half of its value again shortly after the open. In early trade, the company's shares are down 59% to a record low of 54 cents.

Why is the Bravura share price crashing again?

Investors have been hitting the sell button in a panic today after the company released a very disappointing update after the market close on Wednesday.

Following a strategic review, Bravura revealed that the company needed to be "reconfigured." It explained:

The review has indicated that whilst Bravura has solid foundations, the business will be required to be reconfigured to scale our products across customers. This will require enhancing the existing technology stack to unlock the existing microservices strategy, drive higher resale multiples on technology development and reduce single customer efforts.

The pace of change from a traditional services model to a more scalable technology solutions provider will accelerate but requires a realignment of the organisation and resources to create greater product discipline. This will deliver efficiencies and support a greater focus on spend, project execution and key account management. Several key appointments to drive technology, project delivery and go-to-market capability are in progress.

Guidance misses by a mile

Unsurprisingly, given the above, the company's guidance for FY 2023 has fallen well short of expectations.

This is due to its customers adopting a cautious approach to spending, the winding down of three legacy contracts, and a sizeable 16% to 20% increase in operating costs.

The sum of the above, is as follows:

The cumulative impact of the factors discussed above, and allowing for additional costs associated with one off initiatives from the Strategic Review, is that Bravura is expecting its FY23 earnings to differ materially from analysts' consensus forecasts.

With modest revenue growth of between $270 to $275 million, and increase in the FY23 cost base, Bravura now expects to deliver EBITDA of between $10 and $15 million and NPAT to be within the range of ($5M) to $0. The H1 result is expected to reflect lower run rate revenue which is expected to build into the second half, however, costs are expected to remain broadly consistent across the year.

Broker 'surprise'

The team at Goldman Sachs was taken by surprise by this update. It commented:

We had previously flagged ongoing risk to Bravura's earnings outlook (here and here) from 1) wage inflation; 2) higher cost investment to execute on strategic priorities; and 3) pressure on the dividend due to softer cash flow. That said, Bravura's update came as a surprise given the extent of cost investment, both from organisational change and BAU wage pressures, and in the context of commentary at the FY22 result suggesting 1H23 EBITDA would be consistent with the 2H22 run-rate (anchoring consensus to mid-40's EBITDA).

Unfortunately, the broker believes it could take some time until the company is back to its best. It concludes:

[I]n our view this is likely to take several years of heightened investment (with significant execution risk) and we look to further clarity on timing for a resumption in earnings growth, particularly given commentary regarding competing forces in FY24 from expected cost efficiencies on one hand and revenue headwinds in EMEA on the other.

The post Why is the Bravura share price crashing 59% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that have failed to follow the market higher today are listed below. Here's why they are sinking:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The Bravura share price is down 9% to $1.46. Investors have been selling this financial technology company's shares after its full year results disappointed. Although Bravura's revenue rose 10% to $266.7 million, its net profit after tax was down 14% to $30 million. Management highlighted that its operations suffered "unprecedented macroeconomic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic."

Bubs Australia Ltd (ASX: BUB)

The Bubs share price is down 4% to 58.2 cents. Investors appear disappointed that this infant formula company only managed to deliver an underlying EBITDA profit of $4.8 million from a 123% increase in revenue to $104.2 million in FY 2022. Bubs also recorded a loss before tax of $11.3 million for the year.

Grange Resources Limited (ASX: GRR)

The Grange share price has continued its slide and is down a further 11% to 87 cents. Investors have been selling this iron ore pellet miner's shares this week following the release of its half year results. Grange revealed a half year profit of $132.2 million, which is down almost 36% from $205.3 million a year earlier.

Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR)

The Sandfire share price is down 4.5% to $4.51. This follows the release of the copper miner's full year results for FY 2022. This morning Sandfire reported record sales revenue of $922.7 million but scrapped its final dividend. Management advised that it will instead focus on repaying debt and pushing forward with its growth strategy.

The post Why Bravura, Bubs, Grange, and Sandfire shares are sinking appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) share price is sinking today after the company announced mixed results for FY22.

At the time of writing, shares in the wealth management software company are down 8.41% to $1.47 each.

Let's go over the report's highlights.

Bravura Solutions share price falls as earnings slump

• Group revenue up 10% year over year (yoy) to $266.7 million
• Group earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) down 8% yoy to $45.3 million
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) down 14% yoy to $29.99 million
• Net assets per ordinary security of 134.8 cents
• Earnings per share (EPS) down 14% to 12.1 cents per share (cps)
• Unfranked dividend of 3.2 cps

Bravura notes that its operations suffered "unprecedented macroeconomic challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic". These were said to have affected investors' outlook for making long-term investments, affecting its top and bottom lines, driving up wage costs, and causing disruptions.

A slowdown in rolling out its software projects was also observed due to the virus.

Other highlights from the year were that it successfully integrated its FinoComp and Delta acquisitions into its operations.

The unfranked dividend of 3.2 cps has a record date of 5 September and a payment date of 29 September.

What else happened in FY22?

In terms of the company's operating segments, wealth management revenue grew 6% and fund administration revenue grew 17%. Contracted recurring revenues also grew during the same period, growing 8% to $142.1 million.

Bravura also invested substantially into research and development (R&D) during the period with a $21.2 million investment. These funds were primarily used to develop its Sonata Alta wealth management software built to be used by Australian super funds.

Two major corporate changes occurred during the year, including appointing Libby Roy as the new chief executive officer and Brent Henley as chief financial officer.

What did management say?

Bravura Solutions chief executive officer Libby Roy said:

The long-term nature of Bravura's client relationships, our high proportion and continued growth of recurring revenue and our strategic acquisitions helped us return to revenue growth in FY22.

In FY22, Bravura's financial results reflected revenue growth of 10%, offset by increased operating costs in a challenging technology labour market.

Group EBITDA was down 8% to A$45.3m, compared to A$49.3m in FY21. The EBITDA result was driven by continued wage pressure driven by resource shortages and the global resource mix, staff attrition and investment in key delivery resources across APAC and EMEA. This resulted in the EBITDA Margin of 17% (20% in FY21).

What's next?

For FY23 and beyond, Bravura will continue to work on its flagship Sonata product to deliver business process as a service (BPaaS) offers to its key customers. The company also notes it has a strong sales pipeline for its Sonata offering to increase its growth in the future.

Besides that, the company plans to increase its number of partnerships with its client base, allowing for more cross-selling and upselling opportunities.

"Funds Administration represents 36% of Bravura's revenue and we will continue to explore opportunities for expansion," Roy said.

A further focus on transitioning its products to the cloud is underway.

Bravura Solutions share price snapshot

The Bravura Solutions share price is down 40% year to date and 52% in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down around 8% and 7%, respectively, over the same periods.

Bravura has a market capitalisation of $398.61 million.

The post Bravura Solutions share price slides 8% amid profit downfall appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade, the wealth management software solutions provider's shares are down a further 2.5% to $1.41.

This means the Bravura share price is now down almost 45% since the start of the year.

Why is the Bravura share price sinking again?

Investors have been hitting the sell button on Thursday after Bravura announced the surprise exit of its long serving CEO.

According to the release, Nick Parsons will be stepping down from the role after "fifteen years of dedicated service." The release reveals that Parsons is leaving to spend more time on other priorities.

Bravura has been quick to find a replacement and has appointed Ms Libby Roy as its new CEO and managing director. Roy will join the company after serving notice with Optus, where she is currently the managing director of Optus Business in Australia.

Prior to that, Roy was managing director of PayPal in the ANZ region, and held senior global roles with American Express.

In the meantime, non-executive director, Peter Mann, has agreed to take on the role of interim CEO. He was previously the CEO of Skandia.

Bravura Chairman, Neil Broekhuizen, said:

I am pleased to announce that the Bravura Board of Directors has appointed current Non-Executive Director, Ms Libby Roy to the position of CEO and Managing Director. Given her executive background, industry knowledge and experience at Board level with Bravura, I have every confidence that Libby will champion the needs of clients, employees and shareholders into the future.

I am delighted that Libby has agreed to become our next CEO, having experienced her talent and contribution first hand, I am sure she will contribute significantly to Bravura's development, both internally and externally.

Guidance reaffirmed

Perhaps stopping the Bravura share price from falling further was confirmation that management expects to achieve its guidance in FY 2022.

That guidance is for "revenue growth to continue in 2H22, resulting in full year revenue growth in excess of 10% against FY21."

The post Bravura share price tumbles after surprise CEO exit appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At time of writing, the index is up 0.6% after almost dipping into the red in the early lunch hour.

This comes after investors, spooked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, hit the sell button yesterday. That saw the All Ordinaries close for a 2.8% loss for the day.

While the index is clawing back some of its losses, these 2 All Ordinaries shares are heading sharply in the other direction.

2 ASX All Ordinaries shares hitting 52-week lows

First up we have Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS). The ASX tech shares provides software solutions for the wealth management, life insurance, and funds administration industries.

The Bravura share price is down more than 17% today, sinking it to 52-week lows to $1.56.

This comes on the back of the release of its half year financial results today. While the reporting period saw some strong figures, management downgraded its net profit after tax (NPAT) guidance for the full 2022 financial year.

With the Bravura share price now down 47% in 12 months, is opportunity knocking on this beaten down All Ordinaries share?

According to Goldman Sachs it may well be. The broker has a buy rating on the stock, with its most recent price target (issued 24 November 2021) for Bravura of $3.70 per share. That's 137% above the current price.

Also hitting 52-week lows

Our second ASX All Ordinaries share hitting 52-week lows today is healthcare services provider, Integral Diagnostics Ltd (ASX: IDX).

The Integral Diagnostics share price is down 12% today to $3.45 per share. That brings its 12 months losses to 29%.

This comes after the company emerged from a 2-day trading halt today and following the release of its half year results yesterday, along with the announcement that it had agreed to acquire Peloton Radiology. While the results were solid, the company's dividend payout slipped.

Catch a falling knife? Or opportunity knocking?

According to Goldman Sachs, this All Ordinaries share also could be an opportunity.

Yesterday the broker had a buy rating on Integral Diagnostics, with a price target of $5. That's 45% above the current share price.

The post Is opportunity knocking? 2 ASX All Ordinaries shares hitting 52-week lows appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Shares in Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS) are plunging today after the company released its interim report and financial results for the half-year ended 31 December 2021.

At the time of writing, the Bravura share price is trading deep in the red at $1.56 apiece, down 17.7%, after releasing its earnings.

Bravura share price slumps amid earnings growth

Key takeouts from the wealth management company's earnings results today include:

• Revenue was up 14% to A$132.3 million, a gain from A$115.7 million in 1H21)
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was 61% higher to A$25.3 million
• net profit after tax (NPAT)also up 69% to A$15.3 million
• EBITDA margin increased to 19% compared to 14% the same time last year
• First half earnings per share (EPS) up 68% to 6.2 cents per share
• Unfranked interim dividend declared of 3.7 cents per share
• Dividend payout ratio totalling 60% of 1H22 NPAT.

What else happened this half for Bravura?

In its release today, Bravura said it had seen developments in key markets, particularly the Superannuation Fund Consolidation. The company highlighted a "vertical integration leading to value chain disruption", and a greater need to improve the digital experiences of customers.

From its efforts this half, Bravura grew revenue by 14% to $132 million with EBITDA and NPAT expanding substantially by 61% and 69% respectively.

Meanwhile, revenue from wealth management was also happy and grew 10%. As a result, the group's EBITDA margin decreased by 100 basis points to 24% this half.

In the same breath, funds administration division revenue grew by 23%, and EBITDA margin widened by 9 percentage points to 51%.

"Included in the funds administration revenue was the licence associated with a major contract renewal," Bravura said.

With the growth at the top, Bravura carried this through to EPS of 6.2 cents – up almost 70% year on year – and declared a 3.7 cents per share on a payout ratio of 60% of NPAT.

Bravura also noted in its release today that it "continues to evaluate a pipeline of additional acquisitive and organic growth opportunities".

Management commentary

Speaking on the group's performance, Bravura CEO Nick Parsons said:

Bravura's 1H22 results are encouraging and the return to both revenue and EBITDA growth is very welcome. We are beginning to see the positive effects of our strategic investments.

We continue to sell and deploy our new solutions, which together with increasing economic activity as our core markets emerge from COVID-19, makes us optimistic for future growth.

What's next for Bravura?

The company expects revenue growth to continue throughout 2H22, resulting in "full-year revenue growth in excess of 10% against FY21".

It also noted that "some opportunities are shifting to FY23", and that operating costs are increasing at a similar rate to revenue.

As such, management guides that FY22 EBITDA will be in the range of $45 million to $50 million and the revised guidance for FY22 NPAT "to be in the range of $25 million to $30 million, below previous guidance provided at the November 2021 AGM".

Bravura share price snapshot

In the past 12 months, the Bravura share price has plummeted more than 46% and is down almost 36% this year to date.

The post Battered: Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price slides 17% on reduced guidance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Cloud computing has been hot for a few years now, but the dilemma these days is about finding ASX shares that haven't already blown up in value.

When everyone knows cloud and software-as-a-service is the way of the future, a lot of money has already been ploughed into stocks that are involved in that area.

This is why Clare Capital's report this week was interesting.

The Wellington investment firm put together a list of all publicly listed software-as-a-service from Australia and New Zealand, then analysed their multiples.

Looking at the enterprise value to last 12 months' revenue ratio, there were some very expensive businesses. 

Pointerra Ltd (ASX: 3DP) topped the list at 55 times multiple, while both Dubber Corp Ltd (ASX: DUB) and Serko Ltd (ASX: SKO) were notable for exceeding 40. For context, the median multiple was 8.

But you're not interested in those. You want to know what the cheapies are, so that you can pick up some possible cloud bargains.

Here are the 4 ASX shares with the lowest multiples:

'Tide now turning' for the cheapest ASX cloud software share

Shares for finance software provider Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS), which has had 2 different lives on the ASX, are going for just 2 times its last 12 months revenue.

Even though the stock has doubled since its relisting 5 years ago, the price has fallen more than 56% since the pre-COVID high seen in February 2020.

The shares were changing hands for $2.50 on Wednesday afternoon.

While analyst coverage is scarce for Bravura, at least Goldman Sachs is bullish on it.

"The broker reiterated its buy rating and $3.70 price target on the wealth management technology company's shares," The Motley Fool's James Mickleboro reported last month.

"With the tide now turning, Goldman appears to believe investors should be jumping on board before it's too late."

Sure it's cheap, but is it a trap?

Faring not much better than Bravura are shares for analytics firm Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL).

The company has unfortunately become the poster child for overhyped initial public offers. 

After listing on the ASX one year ago, a series of financial downgrades and governance scandals have sent the stock down from a high of $11.86 to $2.11 on Wednesday afternoon.

That valuation now equates to roughly 3 times the last 12 months revenue, according to Clare Capital.

With its own shareholders starting 2 separate class actions against the business, there is much more to play out before Nuix regains the confidence of the market.

2 ASX shares that hit all-time highs this year

Shares for billing solutions provider Hansen Technologies Limited (ASX: HSN) and finance software maker Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) are both trading at 4 times their revenue.

This year has been a wild ride for Iress shareholders, as the stock hit all-time highs in August. But it's come off the boil since then, dropping 17.5%.

Professional stock pickers are divided on the company. According to CMC Markets, 2 out of 6 analysts are each divided on "buy", "hold" or "sell".

The Hansen share price also hit all-time highs just last month, but it's sunk more than 21% in a few weeks.

Analyst coverage is scarce, but CMC Markets reports 2 professionals think Hansen is a "strong buy" while one thinks it's a "hold".

The post 4 cheapest cloud software ASX shares right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The two ASX shares listed below have been beaten down this year. Is this a buying opportunity for investors?

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

The A2 Milk share price has been among the worst performers this year with a decline of 47%. This has of course been driven by a significant deterioration in the infant formula company's performance.

One leading broker that is sticking with the company is Bell Potter. It recently retained its buy rating and $7.70 price target on the company's shares. Based on the current A2 Milk share price, this implies potential upside of 25% for investors.

Bell Potter was pleased with A2 Milk's recent investor update and the targets that management has set over the medium term.

It commented: "A2M have indicated a medium term target of ~$2.0Bn in revenue with a target margin in the teens. A margin of low-mid 20's would be achievable longer-term, subject to a higher EL [English label] recovery and market share gains. The revenue targets compares to our FY24e target of ~$1.6Bn and so is a fairly material uplift if achieved."

It also sees a lot of value in management's plan to double its market share in China through an expansion in mother and baby stores (MBS) distribution from 23.8k stores to 30k-35k stores.

"In our view the runway to expanding MBS channels is achievable when viewed in the context of competitors and based on average sales rates by A2M and competitors, achieving the distribution expansion alone would add NZ$200-400m in revenue. As such we do not see the PRC label target as particularly aggressive," it added.

All in all, the broker appears to see the weakness in the A2 Milk share price this year as a buying opportunity for investors.

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The Bravura share price is down 18% since the start of the year. While this is disappointing, the team at Goldman Sachs believe it could be a buying opportunity for investors.

This week the broker reiterated its buy rating and $3.70 price target on the wealth management technology company's shares. This implies potential upside of 39% from the current Bravura share price.

Goldman notes that the company is very well positioned to deliver growth into FY 2022 and beyond. This is due to its healthy pipeline in key markets, a shift to consumption-based contracts, acquisitions, and the evolution of the Australian superannuation market.

In respect to the latter, the broker said: "BVS expects the evolution of this market will provide significant opportunities for Sonata Alta and Digital Advice, addressing client needs including a seamless digital experience, ongoing changes in regulation and pressure to increase operational efficiency. In our view this dynamic could see further contracts with large superannuation funds, similar to the Aware Super contract."

Overall, with the tide now turning, Goldman appears to believe investors should be jumping on board before it's too late.

The post Are A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) and this beaten down share bargain buys? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's why these ASX dividend shares could be in the buy zone:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is this provider of software products and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries.

Bravura is best known for its Sonata wealth management platform, which allows financial advisers to connect and engage with clients via computers or smart devices. However, it also has a number of other businesses supporting its growth. These include the Rufus transfer agency solution, the Garradin back office solution, and the Midwinter financial planning solution.

Bravura has struggled during Brexit and the pandemic, but has started to bounce back. It is for this reason that the team at Goldman Sachs believe its shares could be great value now. According to a recent note, the broker has put a buy rating and $3.70 price target on its shares. It believes the company is well positioned due to its strong market position, high degree of recurring revenue, and its emerging microservices ecosystem strategy.

Goldman is forecasting partially franked dividends per share of 10 cents in FY 2022 and 11 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Bravura share price of $3.20, this will mean yields of 3.1% and 3.4%, respectively.

Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL)

Another ASX dividend share to consider is this supermarket, convenience store, and liquor retailer.

It was on form again in FY 2021, delivering a 3.1% increase in revenue to $38,562 million and a 7.5% lift in net profit after tax to $1,005 million.

And while some of the tailwinds from the pandemic are now easing, such as panic buying, the company remains well-positioned for growth over both the short and long term. This is thanks to the normalisation in shopping habits, inflation, its strong market position, cost cutting, and store expansion opportunities.

Morgans is very positive on the company's outlook. It currently has an add rating and $19.80 price target on Coles' shares. It is also forecasting dividends per share of 61 cents in FY 2022 and 62 cents in FY 2023.

Based on the current Coles share price of $17.06, this implies fully franked yields of 3.55% and 3.6%, respectively.

The post 2 growing ASX dividend shares named as buys appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise

The Australian share market looks set to end the week on a positive note. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 17 points or 0.2% higher. This follows a decent night of trade on Wall Street, which saw the Dow Jones rise 0.4%, the S&P 500 climb 0.3%, and the Nasdaq edge 0.15% higher.

Telstra named as buy

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is in the buy zone according to analysts at Goldman Sachs. The broker has been looking through the telco sector and has retained its buy rating and $4.30 price target on its shares. Goldman notes that there have been recent NBN price rises from providers and expects this market rationality to continue in FY 2022.

Oil prices rise

Energy producers such as Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) and Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) could end the week on a positive note after oil prices pushed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 1.6% to US$69.70 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 1.6% to US$72.75 a barrel. Optimism over the global economic recovery drove prices higher.

Gold price falls

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX: NCM) and St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM) will be on watch after the gold price edged lower overnight. According to CNBC, the spot gold price is down 0.2% to US$1,811.90 an ounce. Traders appear undecided on what recent economic data means for the gold price.

Shares going ex-dividend

A number of shares are going ex-dividend today and could trade lower. This includes fuel retailer Ampol Ltd (ASX: ALD), regional bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), and financial technology company Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS).

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While this is disappointing, investors need not worry. This is because there are plenty of ASX dividend shares that can help you overcome low rates. Two to look at are listed below:

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Bravura Solutions. It is a leading provider of software products and services to the wealth management and funds administration industries.

Its shares have been sold off this week following the release of its full year results. Although the company achieved the low end of its guidance, its FY 2022 guidance was a touch below expectations. In addition, the shock departure of its long-serving CEO hit investor sentiment hard.

The team at Goldman Sachs believe that this is a buying opportunity. They believe the selloff was overdone and have retained their buy rating with a slightly trimmed price target of $3.70.

The broker is also forecasting dividends per share of 10 cents, 11 cents, and then 13 cents between FY 2022 and FY 2022. Based on the current Bravura share price of $3.10, this will mean yields of 3.2%, 3.5%, and 4.2%, respectively.

Goldman Sachs is positive on the company and believes it is well positioned due to its strong market position, high degree of recurring revenue, and its emerging microservices ecosystem strategy.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

A second ASX dividend share to consider is Super Retail. It is the retail conglomerate responsible for the BCF, Macpac, Rebel, and Super Cheap Auto retail brands.

It was a very strong performer in FY 2021. For example, earlier this month Super Retail released its full year results and revealed a 22% increase in sales to $3.45 billion and a 107% jump in normalised net profit after tax to $306.8 million.

This was underpinned by double digit like for like sales growth across all of its brands. Positively, it also revealed that FY 2022 has started strongly, with sales up 15% year on year for the first seven weeks of the financial year.

In response to the result, analysts at Credit Suisse put an outperform rating and $14.40 price target on its shares.

As for dividends, Credit Suisse is forecasting dividends per share of 51.6 cents in FY 2022 and 50 cents in FY 2023. Based on the current Super Retail share price of $12.07, this will mean fully franked yields of 4.3% and 4.1%, respectively.

The post Analysts name 2 ASX dividend shares to buy now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Since this time last week, the financial technology company's shares have lost 19% of their value.

This means the Bravura share price has given back all its 2021 gains and a touch more.

Why is the Bravura share price falling heavily this week?

Investors have been selling down the Bravura share price this week following the release of its full year results.

Although the company delivered a result largely in line with expectations, its guidance was modestly lower than consensus estimates.

Though, perhaps the biggest drag on the Bravura share price was the surprise and sudden (next week) departure of its CEO, Tony Klim, after a decade at the helm.

Is this a buying opportunity for investors?

According to a note out of Goldman Sachs, its analysts believe the weakness in the Bravura share price is a buying opportunity.

This morning the broker retained its buy rating but trimmed its price target slightly to $3.70.

Based on the latest Bravura share price of $3.10, this implies potential upside of 19% over the next 12 months.

What did the broker say?

Goldman believes the post-results selloff has been overdone and feels it has left the Bravura share price trading at a very attractive level. The broker also has confidence in the company's new CEO, Nick Parsons, who has been with the company for 14 years.

Goldman said: "BVS has guided to solid mid-teen FY22 NPAT growth; seasonality should be slightly 2H weighted but far less pronounced than FY21. In our view the share price reaction today (-16%) may be overdone. The mid-point of guidance implies only 2% downgrade to consensus NPAT (Bloomberg); we downgrade our FY22/FY23E EPS by -1.9%/-5.5%."

"The departure of CEO Mr. Tony Klim may have come as a surprise; he has been CEO for 10 years and has been replaced by Mr. Nick Parsons. Mr. Parsons has been with BVS since 2007, appointed as CTO. He has undertaken a range of senior leadership roles in the business, most recently as Global COO."

"Our updated forecasts imply +12% 3-yr EPS CAGR. The stock is trading at a 29% discount to the FY22 Small Industrials Index, which we think makes the stock a compelling investment in the current environment," it concluded.

Overall, this could make it worth considering when the market reopens on Friday.

The post Broker says Bravura (ASX:BVS) share price selloff is a buying opportunity appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Another day of reporting on the ASX has drawn to a close. That means it is time for us to summarise some of the big-name results you might have missed on the ASX today.

We'll quickly unpack today's results and then wrap things back up for tomorrow:

Those that reported on the ASX today

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

Shares in WiseTech had an eventful day after the logistics software company reported its FY21 full-year results. A blockbuster result pushed the share price to an all-time high of $57.31 before entering a trading halt following an ASX price query. After resuming trade, the share price lost its momentum to settle the day up 26% to $45.60.

The takeaway points:

• Total revenue up 18% (or 24% in constant currency) to $507.5 million
• CargoWise revenue increased 26% to $331.6 million
• Acquisition revenue rose 6% to $175.9 million
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) jumped 63% to $206.7 million
• Net profit after tax doubled to $105.8 million
• Free cash flow up 149% to $139.2 million, underpinning a 141% increase in its final dividend to 3.85 cents per share

Bravura Solutions Ltd (ASX: BVS)

The Bravura share price suffered a dramatic fall following its reporting of full-year results for FY21. Shares in the financial software solutions provider sank 15.96% lower after reporting a reduction in revenue and earnings.

The takeaway points:

• $243 million of revenue –11% less than that of FY20
• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation (EBIDTA) down 15% to $49.3 million
• Operating cash flow of $52.7 million
• Net profit after tax of $34.6 million – down 14% on that of FY20
• 6-cent per share final dividend (unfranked)

Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW)

Lastly, the Seven Group share price stumbled on the ASX today despite reporting a reasonable performance in its FY21 result. The news of Kerry Stokes retiring after the annual general meeting in November may have influenced the 7.56% fall in shares on Wednesday.

The takeaway points:

• $4.8 billion on trading revenue – 6.1% more than that of FY20
• Underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $792.1 million, up 7.3%
• Operating cash flow of $622.4 million, up 15.6%
• Fully franked final dividend of 23 cents per share (10% more than FY20). That brings the company's full year dividends to 46 cents

ASX shares reporting next week

It was another busy day on the ASX for reporting. However, tomorrow can lay claim to its own set of exciting companies that are slated to release full-year results.

Some of the big-name companies set to release their financials tomorrow include The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX), Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT), Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC), Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW), and Tyro Payments Ltd (ASX: TYR).

To see the full line-up, check out our ASX Reporting Season Calendar.

The post The ASX reporting wrap-up: WiseTech, Bravura, Seven Group appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.