BN30 outperforms ASX200 stocks

A group of 30 Western Australian stocks selected by Business News has significantly outperformed the ASX200 in the March quarter, indicating stock investors are optimistic about the state’s economic future.

For the three months to March 31, also the first three months since BNiQ began tracking the BN30, the index lifted just 0.2 points.

The BN30 was selected to reflect the fortunes of a cross-section of the state’s biggest companies, spanning industries from resources and mining, to property development, media and education.

In contrast, the ASX200 fell 4.5 per cent to 5,082.8 at the close of the quarter.

Top performers

Marine services player MMA Offshore has undergone a recent period of recovery after a major fall, from a high of nearly $4 per share in 2013 to slightly above 25 cents at the end of 2015.

After winning a contract for platform supply services at Bayu Undan with ConocoPhillips in February in the Timor Sea, MMA finished the quarter at 39 cents.

Mineral Resources gained some ground after a bad period, too, as iron ore prices recovered in February.

Northern Star Resources and Independence Group both put in good showings as gold continued to be the best-performing commodity in global markets.

Austal put in a middling performance, after announcing David Singleton would takeover as chief executive and winning further US navy contracts.

Towards the bottom of the pack were Woodside Petroleum and Buru Energy, with pessimism continuing in global energy markets.

IT services provider Empired fell after solid surge from 2013 through to 2015, reporting lower-than-anticipated results for the first half of the financial year, a net loss after tax of $3.7 million. That included a $2.3 million asset write-off.

Diversified services provider Decmil fell nearly 30 per cent, although it won a $30.6 million contract to build a warehouse hub for BHP Billiton and spent $1.68 million buying the business assets of West Perth-based Scope Australia.

Property plays were mixed, with BWP Trust and Cedar Woods Properties in positive territory and Finbar Group and Peet falling.