ASX 200 weekly wrap: Afterpay's massive gains, Cimic Group & more

Shares in ‘buy now, pay later’ fintech company Afterpay Touch soared 31% last week, following a trading update which showed strong sales and customer growth.

Afterpay’s update showed sales through the platform hit more than $2.18 billion in the 2018 financial year, which was nearly four times the prior year’s revenue.

According to Afterpay, the platform increased its retailers from 6,000 at the end of the 2017 financial year to 16,500, and with an average of 3,600 new customers a day.

Following the release of this data, Afterpay’s share price increased 31% during the week with it closing at $14.39 a share on Friday.

This is despite critics warning consumers about the risks of the ‘buy now, pay later’ provider, claiming the lack of regulation when it comes to responsible lending obligations could lead to a growing cycle of debt.

Afterpay said it strengthened its procedures to help customers avoid falling into debt, including capping late fees.

For the full list of the biggest share price gains last week, see the table below.

Cimic Group shares impress, BHP slides

Cimic Group saw its share price increase 13.1% and its market value gain more than $1.8 billion last week.

The company reported a 12% growth in net profit after tax to $363 million, but a fall of $1.28 billion in total equity, or 38%.

Three of the four major banks also experienced some of the biggest market value increases last week, with Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac each gaining more than 1%.

BHP’s share price rallied mid-last week following reports the miner produced more iron ore than analysts were expecting, increasing its iron ore production in the June quarter by 10% from the previous quarter.

BHP’s share price ended the week in the red, shedding over $1.3 billion in market value.

Mining and exploration companies closed with some of the biggest losses on the ASX 200 last week, following declines in commodity prices.