The Australian CleanTech Index outperformed the S&P ASX200 and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries for the month of June and for the full 2013-14 financial year, with mixed results for the fourth quarter and second half of the year.
The Australian CleanTech Index fell from 37.2 to 37.0 over the month of June recording a 0.4 per cent loss. This compared to the S&P ASX200 loss of 1.8 per cent and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries Index loss of 1.4 per cent. The Australian CleanTech 20 recorded a loss of 0.2 per cent for the month.
Over the fourth quarter of the 2014 fiscal year, the Australian CleanTech Index recorded a loss of 2.3 per cent compared to the S&P ASX200's no change and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries' 2.7 per cent loss.
Over the second half of the 2014 fiscal year, the Australian CleanTech Index recorded a loss of 7.2 per cent compared with the 0.8 per cent gain by the S&P ASX200 and the 2.8 per cent loss by the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries.
Finally, over the full 2014 fiscal year, the Australian CleanTech Index recorded a strong gain of 19.6 per cent, well ahead of the S&P ASX200’s gain of 12.3 per cent and the S&P ASX Small Ordinaries’ gain of 9.6 per cent.
The market capitalisation of the 65 stocks in the Australian CleanTech Index is $14.6 billion, after its rebalance, falling from its peak of $16.3 billion in July 2007 but a long way up from its trough of $6.2 billion in July 2012.
The largest falls in market capitalisation over the month were recorded by Transpacific Industries, Sylex Systems, Tox Free Solutions and Galaxy Resources with the greatest gains recorded by Meridian Energy, Mighty River Power, Infigen Energy and Reece Australia Holdings.
The best and worst performers in terms of share price performance over the previous year are shown in the table below.
Index rebalance
The ACT Australian CleanTech Index underwent its quarterly rebalancing at the end of June which took account of recent share issues and other corporate activity.
The changes that were made to the index constituents at this rebalancing were:
Additions to the index
– Beacon Lighting Corporation Ltd (BLX): Beacon Lighting completed a $67 million IPO in April 2014. Its shares jumped 60 per cent in its first day of trade showing strong demand for the stock. Beacon Lighting is Australia’s largest retailer of residential lighting and ceiling fans. The business has two revenue streams, as it has 71 company owned stores and a further 14 franchise stores. Its vision is to be the leading national and international provider of innovative, technologically advanced lighting solutions and energy efficient products that enhance its customers’ environments.
No companies were removed from the index this quarter.
During the quarter the CO2 Group was renamed to the Commodities Group to better reflect its widening operations. After a review, these extended operations were still considered to have a majority of revenue generated from cleantech activities and so the company was retained in the index.
A watching brief is being maintained on the following companies in the Index:
– Petratherm Ltd (PTR) following its award of Petroleum Exploration Licence (EL3/2013) covering approximately 3900 sq km, north of Hobart in central Tasmania to explore for shale oil and gas.
– Novarise Renewable Resources International (NOE) which continues to negotiate a privatisation proposal from its majority shareholder.
– Wasabi Energy (WAS) which is currently in administration and undergoing a major financial restructure.
3. Component sub-indices
To provide an analysis of the Australian CleanTech Index, eight sub-indices have been developed. The performance of each of these sub-indices over the last five financial years is shown in the table and charts below.
The ACT Biofuels Index has been discontinued from 1 July 2014 due to the ongoing poor performance and reducing number of credible companies qualifying for inclusion.
The best performing sectors for the three months to June 2014 were ACT Water Index and the ACT Waste Index. The worst performer was the ACT Solar Index.
Over the 2013-14 financial year, the best performing indices have been the ACT Environmental Index and the ACT Water Index with the ACT Solar Index and ACT Geothermal Index showing the weakest performance.
The ACT Australian Cleantech Index is published each month on the Australian CleanTech website at www.auscleantech.com.au, in the Ethical Investor magazine, WME’s Environmental Management News, the Clean Energy Council website, the SIM Venture Securities Exchange website and the London-based Cleantech Investor.
Monthly results can be emailed directly to interested parties by signing up to the distribution list at http://www.auscleantech.com.au/Pages/cleantech.html.
