ASX updates: All the latest news from company reporting season on the Australian market

On the mother of all reporting season days, the S&P/ASX200 is treading water and has shifted just 2 points lower to 8958.5 at 11.30am AEST

A massive 11.7 per cent gain by Qantas, a 32 per cent surge from IDP education and 15 pe rcent jump by Eagers Automotive were offset by hefty losses from Telix Pharma, Ramsay Healthcare, Nine Entertainment and IGO.

Only six of the 11 setcor were in the green, with energy, IT and health care stocks the worst performers.

The rare earths miner has emerged from a brief trading halt to reveal a $750 million capital raising and $75m follow-up share purchase plan.

Shares are set to be issued at $13.25, a 10 per cent discount on the company’s last trading price.

The cash will go towards its ‘Towards 2030 Strategy’ in a bid to crank up its downstream capacity at a crucial time for the commodity.

Rare earths have gained huge prominence in the past 12 months as China and the US seek to lock up their own supplies of the material used in magnets.

Chief executive Amanda Lacaze said it would give the company “firepower” to capitalise on the growing market.

Qantas chief Vanessa Hudson says the job is not done to “change the airline for the better” as she apologises for illegally sacking more than 1800 ground workers five years ago.

The national carrier last week was hit with a landmark fine of $90 million, ending a years-long legal battle for the company, which claimed axing and outsourcing 1820 ground operations staff was a necessary financial response as the aviation industry came to a standstill in 2020.

The penalty, handed down by the High Court, was the largest ever in Australian business history under the Fair Work Act.

Speaking at a press conference after Qantas unveiled its full-year results on Thursday, Ms Hudson said it had taken lessons away from the illegal outsourcing and “changing Qantas for the better”.

“I won’t for a second pretend that the job is done. Far from it, but the culture at Qantas has changed. It is changing and it will continue to change,” she said.

“And for me, the most important proof point of that is what I hear from our customers, and it is what I hear from our people who are telling me they are seeing and that they are feeling the difference.”

Improving commodity prices have shot South32 back into the black with a $US213 million ($327.3m) profit off the back of a 17 per cent rise in revenue to $US5.8 billion.

Underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 7 per cent to $US1.9 billion and underlying earnings rose 75 per cent increasing $US666m.

It will pay out a final dividend of US2.6c a share.

“Strong operating performance during the year enabled us to capitalise on improved commodity prices,” said CEO Graham Kerr.

“We increased our production of commodities critical to the global energy transition, delivering annual production growth of 20 per cent in copper and 6 per cent in aluminium.

“Looking ahead, we are focused on maintaining our strong operating momentum and capitalising on our transformed portfolio to deliver growth and returns for shareholders.”

South32 imporved net cash by $US885m to $US123m after reporting a net debt of $US762m at the end of FY24.

Proceeds from the sale of Illawarra Metallurgical Coal ($US938m) helped to offset investment in growth capital at its $3b Hermosa manganese-zinc mine in the US ($US517m).

Qantas has delivered a 15 per cent rise in underlying profit to $2.4 billion, thanks to a standout performance from its budget carrier Jetstar and strong domestic demand.

Statutory profit was almost 3o per cent higher at $1.6b.

Revenue from the domestic division jumped 5 per cent to $7.6 billion while international flights brought in $9.2b - an improvement of 6 per cent on the previous year.

Earnings from domestic travel was down one per cent to $1.06b but international travel earnings rose 7 per cent to $596 million.

For both divisions, Qantas said costs were impacted by wage escalation, engineering and industry costs.

Jetstar increased revenue 16 per cent to $5.7b, with earnings a staggering 55 per cent higher at $769m. Qantas said the record result was driven by strong demand, capacity growth from efficient new fleet, operational improvements and lower fuel costs.

Revenue at Qantas Loyalty was 11 per cent higher at $2.9b.

“Continuing strong demand across all market segments, combined with our dual brand strategy, helped the group grow earnings,” said CEO Vanessa Hudson.

“Qantas and Jetstar carried four million more customers during the year, while our Loyalty business grew as frequent flyers engaged with the program more than ever before.

“Our strong financial performance is enabling significant investment in new aircraft and customer initiatives, helping deliver better operational performance and customer satisfaction across both airlines.”

Qantas will pay a final fully franked dividend of 16.5c a share, plus a special dividend of 9.9c a share.

Lynas Rare Earths has ducked into a trading halt, flagging an announcement regarding a capital raising with an institutional investor to the Australian Securities Exchange.

The Amanda Lacaze-led business is due to hand down its full-year financial results on Thursday.

“The trading halt is necessary as Lynas expects to make an announcement to the ASX in connection with an equity capital raising comprising an institutional placement and share purchase plan,” the company told the market.

Details of the raising are expected to be released on or before August 29.

The lithium nickel and copper miner has posted a $955 million loss after tax, down from a narrow $3m profit the year prior.

The result comes as a result of a huge writedown on the Kwinana lithium hydroxide refinery of $642m, impairment of exploration assets of $115m and increased rehabilitation provision of $58m.

The ailing refinery is owned alongside Tianqi and has been plagued with technical issues and operating in a weak lithium market. The value of asset has been scrapped.

“IGO’s FY25 financial results are disappointing. Both challenging market conditions and asset impairments, as a result of a disciplined portfolio review, impacted our headline results,” chief executive Ivan Vella told investors.

Total revenue slumped 37 per cent to $528m, and total cash on hand was down at $280m.

Its star asset, the Greenbushes lithium operation which it holds a 24.99 per cent stake in, recorded lower revenues and earnings for interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of $1.78b and $1.17b, respectively.

Mineral Resources has finished the 2025 financial year $896 million in the red after a 12-month period plagued by corporate governance scandals, operational issues, weak commodity prices and balance sheet pressure.

The whopping loss for the financial year just gone by compared to a $114m net profit for the 2024 financial year.

Revenue was down 15 per cent to $4.5 billion, while its cash pile declined 55 per cent to $412m by June 30. Its net debt rose 21 per cent to $5.3b.

MinRes’ future hinges on the success of its Onslow Iron project. The company on Thursday said it expects Onslow Iron to reach nameplate capacity during the current quarter.

Wesfarmers will shower investors with an improved dividend after Bunnings once again proved the jewel in the WA-based conglomerate’s crown.

Full-year revenue of $45.7 billion - up 3.4 per cent on the previous year - was also boosted by solid sales growth at Kmart Groupm which includes Target.

The board will pay out a fully franked final dividend of $1.11 a share, bringing total fully-franked ordinary dividends for the year to $2.06 a share - an increase of 4 per cent on a year earlier.

It is also handing out a special distribution of $1.50 a share.

Wesfarmers CEO Rob Scott said its retail offerings - which includes Bunnings, Officeworks, Kmart and Target - delivered value for customers “in a year when many retail and business customers faced cost-of-living and cost-of-doing business pressures”.

“The group’s largest divisions continued to perform well, with Bunnings and Kmart Group’s everyday low prices and market-leading offers driving sales and earnings growth,” he said.

“The retail divisions also benefited from new and expanded ranges and offerings that helped grow their addressable markets.”

Earnings before interest and tax rose 11.9 per cent for the 12 months, up from $3.99b to $4.47b.

Profit excluding significant items soared 14.4 per cent to $2.93b. Factoring in those items, profit came in at $2.65b - up 3.8 per cent.

Wesfarmers said its businesses remained reslient but it continued to navigate “a complex operating environment”.

“Cost-of-doing business pressures are persisting and weighing on business demand and investment, while geopolitical risks present uncertainties to Australia’s economic outlook,” it said.

“Despite these challenges, the Australian economy remains resilient, supported by a strong labour market and moderating inflation, which are contributing to a modest improvement in consumer demand.

“The recent easing of interest rates is expected to provide further relief for many consumers and businesses, supporting consumer sentiment and business confidence.”

Here’s what happened on US markets overnight.

The S&P 500 has notched a record high close ahead of quarterly results from Nvidia, Wall Street’s most closely watched event this week, which will test the rally that has pushed valuations of AI-related companies to levels that some investors view as too high.

Shares of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company and the leading supplier of cutting-edge AI processors, bounced between gains and losses before ending down 0.1 per cent ahead of the report, due after the market closes.

With Nvidia making up about 8 per cent of the S&P 500, its financial results affect vast numbers of people in the United States who use index investment funds to save for retirement.

“Nvidia is going to produce humongous revenue gains over the next nine months, on top of an already humongous revenue base,” said Jed Ellerbroek, portfolio manager at Argent Capital.

“Investors should prepare themselves for a world where Nvidia is a double-digit percentage of the S&P 500.”

Shares in tech and AI heavyweights were mixed, with Microsoft gaining nearly 1.0 per cent and Meta Platforms dipping almost 1.0 per cent.

They, along with Alphabet and Amazon, are among Nvidia’s biggest customers.

Enthusiasm for companies related to AI has fuelled big gains in technology stocks.

The S&P 500 now trades at more than 22 times expected earnings, its highest price-to-earnings ratio in four years, according to LSEG.

Read the full market wrap-up here.