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

A sharp pick-up in orders hasn’t been enough to prevent an annual loss at supercomputer group DUG Technology.

The WA company on Friday said it recorded a $US4.4m loss for the 12 months to June after a $US3.3m profit for the year earlier.

Revenue was 4 per cent lower at $US62.6m, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation dropped 7 per cent to $US15.4m.

Nonetheless, DUG co-founder and managing director Matt Lamont said the company was “at the beginning of a new phase of growth”.

DUG had launched into the new financial with a record order book of $US52m, driven by $US45.7m of awards in the June half-year, he said.

“Most pleasingly, our new regions, the Middle East and Brazil, have begun winning their own projects and contributing strongly to our record order figure,” Mr Lamont said.

DUG shares were 3.4 per cent lower at $1.37 as at 10am.

Shares in Regis Resources have slumped more than 6 per cent despite the miner reporting a record profit of $54 million and record earnings of $780m.

Gold sales also hit a record $1.65 billion from 375,000 ounces - up 30 per cent on the previous year - as the price of the precious metal hit all-time highs earlier this year. The average price achieved was $4387/oz.

The board also declared a fully franked dividend of 5c a share.

“FY25 demonstrated continued reliable operating performance translating into record cash outcomes,” said MD Jim Beyer.

“We ran to plan, generating record EBITDA of $780m, record $821m of operating cash flow, repaid $300m of debt, and closed the year with a record $517m in cash and bullion.”

Regis is targeting full-year FY26 production of between 350,000 and 380,000oz at all-in costs of between $2610 and $2990/oz.

The miner earlier this week poured cold water on media speculation that it was in “advanced” talks to take full control of the Tropicana gold mine in the northern Goldfields from joint venture partner AngloGold Ashanti.

Regis grabbed a 30 per cent slice of the mine from IGO in a deal worth $903m in 2021.

No mention of the rumoured talks were mentioned in today’s filings.

Investors have been unable to sustain a rally that took the S&P/ASX200 to an all-time high yesterday.

The index fell at the open back under 9000 but has since returned over the milestone barrier to sit at 9009.1 at 11.30am AEST.

Eigth of the 11 sectors were in the red, with consumer staples tumbling 2.2 per cent - led by a near 20 per cent crash in Guzman y Gomez’s stock.

Real estate stocks, consumer discretionary and industrials were also lower.

IT, mining and energy stocks were the only bright spots on the bourse.

Zip Co soared 23 per cent on reports of a booming US market and WA contractor NRW Holdings rocketed 9 per cent.

James Hardie and Vault Minerals were also among the top-five winners so far.

On the flip side, along with GYG, chicken producer Ingham was roasted - down 21 per cent.

Regis Resources was also hammered 6 per cent lower while Coles as down 3.3 pe rcemt.

Guzman Y Gomez’s bosses may have been talking up the Mexican fast food chain’s stellar sales result and its maiden dividend, but it seem investors aren’t buying it.

Its shares crashed to $22.74 in the first few minutes of trade - taking them to their lowest level since listing on June 21 last year.

They had regain some ground after 45 minutes of trade but were still down 18 per cent to $23.80.

GYG had earler touted global sales in excess of $1 billion - the first time it had achieved the milestone - a maiden dividend of 12.6 a share. Profit came in at $14.5 million.

The figures were down on analysts estimates.

Investors may have also been troubled by the company’s sales growth in the first seven weeks of the new financial year, which reached 3.7 per cent.

“GYG expects sales momentum to improve and to deliver strong comparable sales growth in FY26 through menu innovation, daypart expansion, operational excellence, marketing and digital initiatives,” it said.

It seems it wasn’t enough to keep investors holding on.

A booming US market has offset a slip in revenue growth in Australia and New Zealand for buy now, pay later platform Zip Co.

Revenue for FY25 came in at almost $1.1b, up 23.5 per cent from the previous year and driven by a whopping 46 per cent surge in the US.

The market accounted for $657.9 million as revenue in Australia slipped one per cent to $413.7m.

Its success on the US has Zip eyeing a dual listing on the Nasdaq, “supporting the company’s significant growth opportunity and growing investor interest in the US”.

Total transaction volumes for the year came in at $13.1b as Zip brought high-end merchant customers into the fold. The number of total transctions was up 22.1 per cent to 93 million.

Zip said its US business delivered an outstanding performance, with TTV increasing 41.6 per cent year-on-year to $US6b, with credit losses below or at the lower end of the target range of between 1.5 and 2 per cent of TTV.

It is tipping TTV growth in the US of a further 35 per cent this financial year.

“The result was supported by an exceptional holiday trading period over November and December which included the single largest trading day and month in Zip’s history,” it said.

Customer engagement also strengthened, with average spend and average transactions per customer increasing 27.6 per cent and 20.3 per cent, respectively.

The business in Australia and New Zealand returned to year-on-year TTV growth, up 5.5 per cent, driven by growth in Zip Plus and increased customer engagement.

“While the operating environment continues to evolve, particularly in the US, the business is well placed to build on the results achieved in FY25,” Zip said.

Guzman y Gomez will pay out a maiden dividend of 12.6c a share after suprassing full-year sales of $1 billion for the first time.

Global network sales rose a staggering 23 per cent to $1.18b, delivering a profit of $14.5m - up more than 150 on the previous year.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amorisation rose 45.5 per cent to $65m.

Comparable sales across the Australian division, which includes Singapore and japan, were up 9.6 per cent to $1.17b.

GYG co-founder and CEO Steven Marks described it as another “exception year” for the Mexian fast food chain, which now has 256 restaurants across the global and another 39 on the way.

“This performance is a direct result of our guests’ love for our clean, delicious food and the world-class execution from our crew and franchisees,” he said.

“We stayed true to our strategy, stayed obsessed with the guest experience, and proved once again that we’re building something truly special.

“We’ve delivered an incredible performance this past year, but for us, this is just the beginning.

“At GYG, we’re in it for the long haul, building a better, more sustainable way to feed this generation and the next. When we stay true to that mission, we know we’ll keep creating lasting value for our people, our guests, and our shareholders.”

Fonterra has agreed to sell its global consumer and related businesses to French dairy giant Lactalis for $NZ3.85 billion ($3.5b).

Lactalis is also in talks to acquire the the Bega cheese licenses held by Fonterra’s Australian arm, a move that would lift the total value of the transaction to about $NZ4.2 billion, the Auckland-based company said this morning.

Fonterra has been weighing a sale of its consumer division for more than a year as it shifts focus to producing higher-value ingredients from New Zealand milk, supplied to global companies like Nestle, Mars and Coca Cola.

Options under review included a trade sale or IPO for the business, which spans brands such as Anchor, Anlene and Mainland, along with Fonterra Oceania and Fonterra Sri Lanka. The unit generates about a fifth of the co-operative’s revenue.

“The board is confident a sale to Lactalis is the highest value option for the co-op, including over the long-term,” Fonterra chair Peter McBride said.

“Alongside a strong valuation for the businesses being divested, the sale allows for a full divestment of the assets by Fonterra, and a faster return of capital to the co-op’s owners, when compared with an IPO.”

As part of the agreement, Fonterra will continue to supply milk and other products to the divested businesses, he said. The inclusion of the Bega licences would be confirmed once a dispute with Bega Cheese Ltd. is resolved, according to the statement.

“As the world’s largest dairy company, Lactalis has the scale required to take these brands and businesses to the next level,” Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said. “Fonterra farmers will continue to benefit from their success.”

Fonterra shareholders will vote on the proposal, which is recommended by the board, in late October or early November. Payment of any capital return will require a separate meeting at a later date.

Lactalis requires foreign investment approvals in New Zealand, Australia and elsewhere. The antitrust Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has previously said it would not oppose the proposed acquisition.

Subject to satisfaction of all conditions, the transaction is expected to complete in the first half of 2026.

Here’s what happened on US markets overnight ...

Wall Street’s main indexes have fallen as investors feared potentially hawkish remarks by the Federal Reserve chair that could spark volatility, while big-box retailer Walmart’s quarterly results dampened sentiment.

All eyes are on the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to speak on Friday morning.

Traders will closely monitor his speech for any clues on US interest rate cuts in September following recent job market weakness.

“We still have roughly 80 per cent likelihood that the Fed will cut interest rates, but that is now being brought into question. So that is, in a sense, being worked into investors’ forecasts,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.

“Investors are saying, ‘You know what? Let’s take some profits right now.’”

Traders have pared down bets on a 25-basis-point interest rate cut in September to 79 per cent from 99.9 per cent last week, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Read the full report here ...