BN30 stocks end year on high

An improved performance by some of the state’s miners boosted the Business News index of listed Western Australian companies, the BN30, to finish almost 19 per cent higher over the year (2016).

The composite index of 30 handpicked WA-focused or headquartered stocks closed the year at 118.6 points, well up on its opening base level of 100. 

The index is designed to offer a snapshot of the state’s economic fortunes and provides a clear comparison with the national benchmark ASX200, which lifted 7 per cent for the year.

Fortescue Metals Group and Mineral Resources led the way in WA, with shares in both companies more than doubling in value (see table).

Both had been punished in the previous two years thanks to the collapse in the iron ore price, but benefited from its near-doubling in 2016.

Best performers
Fortescue Metals Group +215%
Mineral Resources +201.5%
Independence Group +67.4%
Monadelphous Group +63%
Fleetwood Corporation +58.9%

Worst performers
Empired -38.5%
Alexium International Group -28.2%
Buru Energy -14.6%
Automotive Holdings Group -12.4%
Finbar Group -8.9%

Third-best performer was gold and base metal miner Independence Group, which soared 67.4 per cent across the year, while two further resources companies – nickel miner Western Areas (35.2 per cent) and gold-focused Northern Star Resources (29.7 per cent) – also had a good run.

Onshore gas hopeful Buru Energy was 14.6 per cent lower as the company continued work on its tenements in the Kimberley without any significant breakthroughs.

Contractors did well, with Monadelphous Group (up 63 per cent) the best performer in that field.

Westrac owner Seven Group Holdings gained 41.3 per cent and maritime operator MMA Offshore moved 8 per cent higher, with both significantly exposed to conditions in the resources sector.

A number of property plays were towards the bottom of the pack, including Finbar Group (-8.9 per cent), Peet (-8.5 per cent) and BWP Trust (-5.4 per cent), at a time when the state’s property prices have been under pressure.

Cedar Woods Properties bucked that trend, finishing the year up 20.8 per cent.

Of the 30 companies on the list, 21 finished the year in positive territory.