Australian Shares Rise; Viva Energy Group's H1 Sales Volume Rises, EBITDA Expected to More Than Double
Australian shares rose further on Tuesday, as oil prices fell further after the US and Iran engaged in diplomacy in order to end the conflict in the Middle East.The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.6%, or 53.80 points, to close at 8,947.80.Brent crude oil futures fell a further 1% to trade around $87 per barrel. US President Donald Trump said the US and Iran were engaged in talks to end the ongoing conflict.On the domestic front, the ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence fell 4.4 points to 71.2 in the week of July 20 to July 26. The four-week moving average fell 1.2 points to 74.2.Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock said the monetary policy board is prepared to act as required to achieve its mandate, including by increasing the cash rate further if needed as it assesses how higher input costs and geopolitical tensions will affect inflation.In company news, Viva Energy Group (ASX:VEA) reported a first-half sales volume of 8.49 billion liters, up 1.5% from about 8.37 billion liters in the year-ago period. It expects first-half earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization on a replacement cost basis of AU$770 million to AU$780 million, up from AU$305 million a year earlier.DroneShield (ASX:DRO) secured two contracts totaling AU$23.2 million from a reseller for the supply of vehicle-mountable counter-drone products. It expects first-half revenue of AU$125.8 million, an increase of 74% from the prior corresponding period. The company's first-half gross margin is estimated at 60%, down from 65% a year earlier.Lastly, Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) Chief Executive Frank Calabria said the firm had completed the initial phase of its ongoing review into a recent customer data security incident, which indicated that the information of around 900,000 current and former customers was accessed.
