Lunch Wrap: ASX bounces back as big boys Coles, Qantas and Ramsay lead the charge

After a tough run, the ASX has made a comeback, with Coles and Qantas leading the charge driven by solid earnings reports.

Coles, Ramsay, Qantas lead ASX rebound. Picture via Getty Images

• ASX bounces back after rough patch

• Coles and Qantas lead the charge with solid earnings

• Eagers, Neuren and Ramsay deliver strong results

The ASX bounced back on Thursday morning, having moving up 0.35% at the time of writing, after taking a hit for seven out of the last eight sessions.

Big names led the charge as ASX earnings season really kicked into gear.

Meanwhile overnight in the US, the S&P 500 closed flat, while the Nasdaq saw a small lift of 0.25%.

Nvidia was the big talking point as the chipmaker reported solid but not spectacular earnings.

For Q4, Nvidia posted revenue of $11 billion, driven largely by its Blackwell chips, which it described as having the “fastest product ramp” in the company’s history.

Despite this, its earnings weren't as mind blowing as investors expected, causing the stock to swing between gains and losses in after-hours trading.

Elsewhere, Bitcoin fell to around US$84k, dropping more than 20% from its peak last month, as outflows from ETFs intensified selling.

Investors across asset classes were also left jittery after comments from President Trump caused some confusion.

“The tariffs go on, not all of them, but a lot of them,” Trump said of the April deadline for Mexico and Canada.

“And I think you’re going to see something that’s going to be amazing.”

ASX earnings season highlights

But here is where the action’s at closer to home.

Coles Group (ASX:COL) jumped 5.5% after reporting a 3.7% increase in sales in the half, hitting $23.04 billion. Its net profit rose 6.4% to $666 million, and it’s paying a 37-cent dividend, up 2.8%. E-commerce sales were strong, growing by 22.6%.

Coles chairman James Graham is also stepping down, with Peter Allen set to take over on May 1. Graham’s been at the helm since 2018, when Coles listed on the ASX after being spun off from Wesfarmers.

Qantas (ASX:QAN) also shot up 4% after it posted strong results, with a profit before tax of $1.39 billion for the half, up 11%. The airline carried nearly 10% more customers and saw good demand across both Qantas and Jetstar. The company also announced $400 million in dividends for shareholders.

Hospitals network Ramsay Health Care (ASX:RHC) surged 14% after reporting strong performance in its Aussie and UK hospitals during the half. Aussie EBIT was up 6.2% and UK EBIT up 31.4%. However, cost pressure is still an issue, the company said. Ramsay’s dividend is staying at 40 cents per share.

Eagers Automotive (ASX:APE) reported a 25% drop in net profit for the full year of FY24 to $222.9 million. But despite that, the stock jumped 25%, mainly because its secondhand car business, easyauto123, smashed records. CEO Keith Thornton reckons the company’s still doing better than the overall market, and with over 200 showrooms in the ANZ, size is giving Eagers a leg up in the industry, he said.

Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU) surged 7% after it posted a massive jump in sales for its Rett syndrome drug Daybue in 2024. The company reported US sales hitting US$348.4 million, up 97% from last year, with a record fourth-quarter sales of US$96.7 million. Neuren expects royalties to hit US$56.2 million in 2024, a 110% increase. Neuren also said most diagnosed Rett patients haven't tried Daybue yet.

Meanwhile, IDP Education (ASX:IEL) plunged by 12% after reporting a 16% drop in H1 revenue to $475.4 million, mainly due to lower student placement and English language testing volumes. Despite this, IDP kept costs in check, reducing direct costs by 9% and overheads by 14%.

This is where things stood at around lunch time, AEDT:

Source: Market Index

Source: Market Index

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for February 27 :

Code	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
FFF	Forbidden Foods	0.008	60%	20,212,634	$3,560,510
HTM	High-Tech Metals Ltd	0.270	59%	912,946	$5,582,802
ADD	Adavale Resource Ltd	0.003	50%	204,000	$4,546,558
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	50%	500,000	$3,253,779
OLY	Olympio Metals Ltd	0.059	48%	6,106,392	$3,479,059
WOA	Wide Open Agricultur	0.018	46%	32,572,108	$6,404,239
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.005	43%	59,414,961	$15,852,877
RLL	Rapid Lithium Ltd	0.004	33%	22,361,992	$3,097,334
WYX	Western Yilgarn NL	0.034	31%	100,000	$3,219,048
PBH	Pointsbet Holdings	1.080	30%	6,249,041	$275,331,976
ZMI	Zinc of Ireland NL	0.014	27%	7,860,467	$6,237,118
ALV	Alvomin	0.059	26%	219,720	$5,506,468
PER	Percheron	0.015	25%	3,419,156	$13,049,252
1TT	Thrive Tribe Tech	0.003	25%	14,167	$4,063,446
ERA	Energy Resources	0.003	25%	11,821,205	$810,792,482
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.003	25%	35,399	$4,887,272
ENV	Enova Mining Limited	0.008	23%	4,486,313	$7,999,184
AMS	Atomos	0.006	20%	4,003,331	$6,075,092
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.003	20%	1,900,000	$5,932,817
EVR	Ev Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	15,000	$9,662,517
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.006	20%	270,313	$1,981,089
WBE	Whitebark Energy	0.006	20%	162,698	$1,541,046
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.024	18%	23,129,395	$101,197,175
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.007	17%	15,050,141	$16,169,312
MGU	Magnum Mining & Exp	0.007	17%	1,142,857	$4,856,168

Matsa Resources (ASX:MAT) has struck a deal with AngloGold Ashanti where the mining giant has the option to buy the majority of the Lake Carey gold project for $101 million. Matsa will be keeping some key assets though, like the Devon Pit Gold Mine and Fortitude North project. The deal includes a non-refundable $8 million upfront, with the bulk of it based on gold price fluctuations, plus a deferred payment of up to $20 million depending on future gold discoveries.

Fund manager Australian Ethical Investment (ASX:AEF) had a cracking first half of FY25, with profits and revenue all up. Funds Under Management (FUM) hit a record $13.26 billion, up 27% from June 2024, and NPAT jumped 50% to $9.3 million. The company’s growth strategy is clearly paying off, all while expanding through the acquisition of Altius Asset Management.

Non-bank lender Pepper Money (ASX:PPM) reported a 16% increase in originations in the second half of 2024, with mortgage originations up 27% and asset finance a bit slower. PepperMoney posted a 9% increase in pre-tax profit, reaching $209.2 million, though NPAT was down 10%. The company maintained a healthy dividend yield of 8.6%, up from 6.4% last year.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for February 27 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
AXP	AXP Energy Ltd	0.001	-50%	5,510,526	$13,149,361
OVT	Ovanti Limited	0.008	-38%	93,263,524	$27,978,574
ALA	Arovella Therapeutic	0.125	-36%	6,958,457	$207,509,941
VPR	Voltgroupltd	0.001	-33%	16,584	$16,074,312
IDX	Integral Diagnostics	1.970	-31%	7,148,867	$1,063,402,254
APX	Appen Limited	2.060	-28%	24,315,930	$752,131,172
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	-25%	2,418,329	$57,867,624
TIG	Tigers Realm Coal	0.003	-25%	124,949	$52,266,809
PTM	Platinum Asset	0.595	-21%	6,549,592	$436,625,337
ATV	Activeportgroupltd	0.012	-20%	8,819,849	$10,274,656
HLO	Helloworld Travl Ltd	1.640	-20%	1,835,474	$333,776,129
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.004	-20%	187,998	$9,476,880
CAV	Carnavale Resources	0.004	-20%	42,666	$20,451,092
HFY	Hubify Ltd	0.008	-20%	900,000	$5,111,363
PRX	Prodigy Gold NL	0.002	-20%	125	$7,937,639
VFX	Visionflex Group Ltd	0.002	-20%	900,000	$8,419,651
ACL	Au Clinical Labs	3.040	-18%	1,945,956	$742,130,604
KLS	Kelsian Group Ltd	2.990	-17%	2,252,962	$981,526,586
1AI	Algorae Pharma	0.005	-17%	20,000	$10,124,368
BPP	Babylon Pump	0.005	-17%	4,952,001	$14,997,294
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.005	-17%	8,301,772	$3,588,333
RNX	Renegade Exploration	0.005	-17%	2,000,000	$7,704,021
TEG	Triangle Energy Ltd	0.005	-17%	800,001	$12,535,404
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.105	-16%	30,103	$9,932,996

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Riversgold (ASX:RGL) is adding another rig to kick off its 2025 drill season at the Kalgoorlie East gold project in WA. The aircore rig will drill 2000 metres to test shallow mineralisation, while a newly added RC rig from Topdrill will complete 1280 metres at depths of 100 to 120 metres, targeting extensions of previous high-grade shallow intercepts.

After executing binding toll milling agreements, Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL)has appointed veteran mining engineer Ubirata (Bira) De Oliveira as general manager of operations for its Hualilan gold project in San Juan, Argentina.Oliveira will lead the operational readiness phase for toll milling, managing the transition from development to full-scale production and overseeing daily mining activities.

European Lithium (ASX: EUR)has announced that Critical Metals Corp has appointed Michael C. Ryan as an independent director to its board. Ryan will also serve as chairman of the Audit Committee, bringing the total number of directors on Critical Metals Corp’s board to five.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Riversgold, Challenger Gold, and European Lithium are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Lunch Wrap: ASX bounces back as big boys Coles, Qantas and Ramsay lead the charge