It certainly has been a positive end to the week for the Australian share market. In afternoon trade the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) is up a sizeable 0.8% to 6,295.8 points.
Four shares that have climbed more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are ending the week with a bang:
The BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) share price is up 2% to $34.30 after the mining giant announced the sale of its onshore assets in the United States for a total consideration of US$10.8 billion (A$14.6 billion) in cash. The market appears pleased with the price received and management advising that it expects to return the net proceeds from the transactions to shareholders. It intends to update the market on how it will do this when the transactions complete in October.
The Fleetwood Corporation Limited (ASX: FWD) share price has zoomed almost 11.5% higher to $2.27 after successfully completing the institutional component of its capital raising. Fleetwood raised approximately $43 million through a placement and entitlement offer to fund the acquisitions of Modular Building Systems and Northern RV. Although the funds were raised at a significant discount of $1.80 per share, investors appear to be overlooking this due to management's belief that the acquisitions will be highly accretive to earnings.
The OceanaGold Corp (ASX: OGC) share price is up 3% to $4.03 following the release of its second-quarter results. The gold miner reported a 21% increase in revenue, a 45% lift in net profit, and a 45% improvement in its cash balance. It also increased its FY 2018 gold production guidance to between 500,000 ounces and 540,000 ounces. Previous guidance had been for production between 480,000 ounces and 530,000 ounces in FY 2018.
The Retail Food Group Limited (ASX: RFG) share price has climbed 9% to 44.2 cents. Investors have responded positively to news that it has cut its distributors from 16 to just 2. It has done this by tendering its entire distribution business, which is estimated to be worth between $100 million and $200 million a year. This appears to be part of the company's plan to cut costs and simplify its business. A good start, but there's still a long way to go.
