Xero added to ASX 100, Vocus removed from list

Cloud accounting firm Xero has been added to the list of top 100 companies on the ASX, while Vocus was dropped.

The ASX 100 is a benchmark index curated by the S&P Dow Jones Indices of the top 100 companies by market capitalisation listed on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Xero's inclusion comes four months after the company consolidated its shares onto the ASX, delisting from the New Zealand Stock Exchange in the process. Xero's shares were trading at $32.23 each at the time of writing.

“We’re pleased about Xero’s inclusion in the S&P/ASX 100 index and with the positive support we’ve received following our consolidation on the ASX," said Xero COO and CFO Sankar Narayan.

"This is another key step in our journey as we continue to broaden our shareholder base and deliver on our long-term strategy to drive diversified global growth.”

Vocus was admitted to the ASX 100 in 2016 after merging with consumer telco M2 Group. That year, the company's share price hit a high of $9.29 each, but has since nosedived to $2.38 at time of writing.

Vocus revised its full-year earnings guidance for the second subsequent time last month – the first revision in 2017 is currently subject to a class action over allegedly “misleading and deceptive conduct” from shareholders.

S&P Dow Jones also updated its ASX 300 and All Ordinaries indices – the latter of which benchmarks the 500 largest companies on the ASX – as part of its quarterly review, which comes into effect on 19 March.

Melbourne IT was added to the ASX 300, while major Telstra partner Vita Group was removed. Vita's shares have more than halved in value in the past year following numerous announcements from its master licensee partner Telstra cutting its remuneration fees.

Vita's shares were trading at $1.51 each at time of writing.

As for the All Ordinaries, troubled startup GetSwift was added to the index, while CSG and RXP were removed.

GetSwift was also hit with class action from shareholders over allegations that its directors misled investors over arrangements of major price-sensitive contracts.