Woodside’s half-year profit surges, WiseTech responds to media speculation and A2 Milk rebuilds Chinese daigou community

Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) unveiled a 417% surge in its first-half profit (H1 FY2022), on the back of strong operational performance, surging oil and gas prices, and its acquisition of BHP Group’s (ASX: BHP) petroleum business.

The gas producing giant’s underlying net profit after tax hit US$1.82 billion for the six months to 30 June – up from US$354 million in the previous corresponding period.

Woodside’s strong H1 FY2022 led to an interim dividend of US$1.09 per share – more than three times last year’s payout of US$0.30 per share.

Fund manager VanEck deputy head of investments Jamie Hannah said the dividend was larger than anticipated for most.

“Most investors will be satisfied that they’ve delivered on their dividend promise,” he said.

Underpinning the record results were liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices soared exponentially during the period, driven by sanctions on Russia, in an already tight market. Sanctions benefited Woodside as buyers from Asia and Europe shifted their attention towards alternative suppliers.

Through merging with BHP’s petroleum division, Woodside obtained 100% of the Scarborough gas project, which is valued at $5.6 billion.

The company is looking for a bidder to sell a stake in the project and chief executive Meg O’Neill said the company would only sell if it gets fair value for “an extraordinarily important asset for the future of Woodside”, which is set to commence operations in 2026.

“But again, we’re not going to fire sale this critical asset,” she said.

WiseTech Global

Software giant WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) has responded to media speculation early this week surrounding a potential acquisition of US company Envase Technologies.

WiseTech released a statement on Tuesday addressing the media reports.

“As stated in the recent results announcement on 24 August 2022, part of the company’s strategy is to continue to expand through tuck-in acquisitions and potential strategically significant acquisition opportunities,” it said.

“Consistent with this strategy, WiseTech continues to evaluate a number of opportunities.”

The company confirmed it would keep the market, all shareholders and interested parties informed in due course when a decision has been made.

WiseTech Global’s shares rose 5% following the company’s response to the news headlines and closed 3% higher on Tuesday, trading at $58.38 per share.

A2 Milk

Australia-owned A2 Milk (ASX: A2M) has shifted its attention to rebuilding its pandemic-battered Chinese daigou community, announcing a share buyback of up to NZ$150 million (A$133.6 million) on the back of reporting increased revenue figures for FY2022.

The company’s revenue in FY2022 rose 19.8% to nearly NZ$1.5 billion and net profit after tax was 42.3% higher to NZ$114.7 million.

Despite posting the strong figures, A2 Milk’s daigou channel revenue slid in FY2022.

A2 Milk remains optimistic in rebuilding its daigou channel, and is accelerating marketing content and sales events in an effort to regain the market share.

Chief executive officer David Bortolussi said despite the decline in that particular revenue area, he remains hopeful the pandemic-disrupted channel can return to its norm.

“The daigou channel, through one-to-one word of mouth recommendation, is a really powerful form of new user recruitment and communicating our brand messaging through the market more generally,” he said.

“So, it’s a really important and effective channel we want to support.”

A2 Milk’s share buyback is expected to commence at the end of September and run for 12 months across the ASX and NSX.

Pro Medicus

Pro Medicus’ (ASX: PME) subsidiary Visage Imaging has secured three new contracts worth $16.5 million in the US for its cloud-deployed medical imaging platform, plus a seven-year renewal with the University of Florida for $15.5 million.

The combined $16.5 million contracts are with the Montage Health System in Monterey, California; Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; and San Francisco-based Bay Imaging Consultants. They are expected to be rolled out within six months.

Pro Medicus chief executive officer Dr Sam Hupert the awarding of the contracts highlights the company’s versatility to offer across a range of diagnostic imaging market segments.

“From a product perspective, our total addressable market ranges from a private imaging practice in Melbourne to some of North America’s and the world’s top academic centres and anything in between,” he said.

Santos

Energy giant Santos (ASX: STO) announced on Monday its spending an additional $311 million to build a new pipeline to transport gas from its offshore Barossa field to its Darwin LNG plant in the Northern Territory.

The additional funds will also go towards the repurposing of Bayu-Undan to Darwin pipeline, which will facilitate carbon capture and storage (CCS) options.

The company aims for first production at its Darwin LNG plant using Barossa gas in the first half of 2025.

Santos managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Gallagher said the company’s recent efforts promote sustainable development and jobs growth within the region, whilst also endorsing a carbon reduction solution.

“Taking FID (final investment decision) on the Darwin pipeline duplication project will allow for the Barossa project to be CCS (carbon capture and storage) ready,” he said.

“The Bayu-Undan CCS project has the potential to capture and store up to 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.”

Work is expected to start on the Darwin pipeline duplication project in 2023, after Commonwealth and NT regulatory approvals have been checked off.