Hottest stocks are homegrown here in WA
Sean Smith
The West Australian
Monday, 11 March 2019- 5:01 AM
A WA Spanish-focused uranium play and a Perth-founded aerial mapping company making waves in the US are set to take out starting honours as this year’s hottest stocks.
With the end of the first quarter just a couple of weeks away, shares in Berkeley Energia and Nearmap have gained 165 per cent and 90 per cent respectively to top the Australian Securities Exchange’s list of biggest risers. Berkeley’s rise has come off a low base after a sharp slump last year, but Nearmap is on a blitz, punching through the $1 billion value barrier after surging from 60¢ at the opening of 2018 to a record $2.85 on Friday.The run has recapitalised the aerial imaging company at $1.27 billion, valuing the 10.8 per cent holding of biggest shareholder, founding chairman and former Arthur Andersen Perth partner Ross Norgard, at $137 million.Nearmap’s high resolutions maps and images, refreshed up to six times a year, are proving popular with a range of industries seeking to better monitor assets or plan projects.Last month, the company announced a 45 per cent increase in first-half sales to $35.5 million — on record growth in the US — with a reduced loss of just under $2 million.And it has plenty of financial muscle to chase further growth in the $US7 billion ($10 billion) global aerial imaging market, having raised $70 million from investors in September at just $1.60 a share.Berkeley Energia, chaired by WA company promoter Ian Middlemas, is pursuing development of a mine over the Salamanca uranium deposit in Spain.The company’s shares spiked in early January on news of an endorsement by the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council, but its project still needs broader approvals from bodies including the local government.The early market success of Berkeley and Nearmap contrasts with base metals explorer Artemis Resources and printing company Ovato, the market’s biggest losers of the year after falling 51 per cent to 5.9¢ and 46 per cent to 10¢ respectively, according to Bloomberg data for the 1500-member all ordinaries index.The top-10 worst performing stocks include WA mining house Metals X (down 31 per cent), Retail Food Group (32 per cent), AVZ Minerals (36 per cent) and software company Getswift (44 per cent), the subject of legal action by the corporate regulator over allegedly misleading announcements.In the S&P-ASX200, the biggest gainers include Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals Group at No. 4 with a rise of 55 per cent. At Friday’s close of $6.50, FMG was up 85 per cent on its 12-month low of $3.53 in mid-September.
https://thewest.com.au/business/markets/hottest-stocks-are-homegrown-here-in-wa-ng-b881130559z
