Shareholders in the fruit giant Costa Group (ASX code CGC) are used to a wild ride.
The latest lurch saw them drop so suddenly last week that the ASX sent the company a "please explain".
The company replied that it didn't know why the shares had dropped from $2.80 to $2.55 on Tuesday last week or why turnover in the shares had soared over the previous three days.
The company noted that it had issued a market update on Monday, July 11, which said that it expected results for the first half of 2022 to be ahead of the corresponding period last year.
Ignoring changes in the value of biological assets, and before allowing for interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, its unaudited figures point to a 10 to 15 per cent increase in gross earnings.
Which sounds pretty good.
However, this is the second time that the shares have suddenly slumped this year. They are now down 30pc from their peak in April. Which is pretty bad.
The Punter is glad he sold his holding for $3.10 in May, even though he locked in a small loss.
He has put CGC back on his watchlist but will not be rushing in to buy at a time when interest rates are rising.
Significant investment and expansion over the past couple of years mean it has net debt of around $300 million, while statutory net profit after tax was $41 million in the calendar year 2021.
Meanwhile, the latest slump in the market has seen his 51 cents a share order for the regenerative farming and health food group Wide Open Agriculture (WOA) quickly filled.
Even gold, once a traditional safe haven, has been a disappointment this year.
The relative weakness of the Aussie dollar has softened the blow, but even in our money, the yellow metal has melted from around $2800 in April to $2540.
It seems there is nowhere for investors to hide.
- The Punter has no financial qualifications and no links to the financial services industry. He owns shares in a number of companies featured in this column.
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