The S&P/ASX 200 Index (INDEXASX: XJO) regained some lost ground today after many ASX companies suffered heavy share price losses over the past 2 weeks.
With today's rise, let's take a look at two ASX shares that performed better than most and see what was driving their share prices higher today.
Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD)
The Elders share price closed an impressive 8.46% higher today at $8.59. There doesn't appear to be any announcements to account for this sharp increase today. However, the rise could be due to the more defensive nature of Elders' operations, which doesn't have any direct links to the coronavirus outbreak, combined with waning market concern about the impact of the recent bushfires now that the fires in Australia are winding down.
Elders' most recent ASX announcement came earlier this year on January 9 when the company provided an update regarding the impact of bushfires. With this, Elders stated it was too early to assess the full magnitude of the bushfires but expected livestock commissions to be negatively impacted.
However, Elders noted it anticipates the losses to be offset by increased demand in farm supplies once the rebuilding efforts begin. Therefore, the company accordingly notified the ASX that trading in the first quarter of FY20 was in line expectations and maintained its full-year guidance.
Now that Australia appears to be over the worst of the bushfire season, it is quite likely that ASX investors are viewing the company in a more favourable light.
Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)
The Blackmores share price closed 3.77% higher today. Blackmores shares have been under a lot of pressure for a few weeks now, well before the ASX correction gained traction last week.
I believe today's increase is likely due to bargain hunters coming into the market after a very harsh correction to the Blackmores share price since early February.
The sell-off of Blackmores shares has been mainly driven by underperformance in the company's Chinese operations. On February 12, 2020, the company announced a guidance downgrade which, at one stage, sent Blackmores shares 23% lower on the day.
Following this, there has been a mixed reaction to the company's half-year results which were released last week. Blackmores delivered revenue in its Australia and New Zealand segment of $115 million, which was a 20% drop on the prior corresponding period (pcp). In addition, the company's China segment saw a revenue decline of 6% during the half. On a more positive note, Blackmores reported overall revenue in its 'Other Asia' market segment was up by 29%, with Malaysia and Indonesia, in particular, achieving growth of 9% and 45% respectively.
Blackmores commented that it currently has plans underway to strengthen its Australian business. Additionally, the company has made a decision to step up investments in China, focus on Indonesia and enter the Indian market within 12 months.
Blackmores expects its overall revenues in the second half of FY20 to be similar to that achieved in the first half. However, the company noted that higher manufacturing costs, as well as other factors including the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, are likely to have a very significant impact on its overall FY20 result.
