ASX reporting season: All the latest news as listed companies report their results to investors
What should have been a gentle start to another week of reporting season turned out to be quite the opposite .... especially if you’ve been following the corporate intrigue surrounding WiseTech Global.
Nothing screams “everything’s fine here” than four independent directors - including the chairman - staging a revolt and walking out over an internal feud about the future of its founder Richard White.
The bombshell move shaved more than $9 billion off the global logistics software company’s market capitalisation and prompted a “please explain” letter from the Australian Securities Exchange.
Good luck to the poor sap who has to distil the past five months of court cases, board investigations and way too many revelations about White’s private life - then push it through a corporate jargon generator - to come up with a ready-made answer to that dog’s breakfast.
We’re hoping for a more restful day, with Domino’s Pizza, Woodside Energy, Nine Entertainment, Zip and G8 Education due to report today.
Stick with us as we bring you all the updates ... and maybe that answer for the ASX from WiseTech.
Key Events
Mader continues growth spurt
Growing WA contractor Mader Group has delivered stronger revenue and profit after the half.
The Luke Mader-led business posted a post-tax profit of $26 million for the half year to December, and revenues of $411.5m.
Staff numbers across its operation continued to rise, hitting 3500. The business provides heavy equipment mechanics welders and electricians for mining, energy and industrials operations.
Mader is pursuing an aggressive expansion into the US.
An interim fully franked dividend of 4 cents per share was declared for the half-year.
ICYMI: MinRes fires back at ASX query over stock rout
The share market operator has taken the unusual step of asking Mineral Resources why it failed to warn investors its half-year financial results would be as bad as they were.
MinRes’ stock lost more than 20 per cent on Wednesday after tabling a dire set of numbers for the final six months of 2024, headlined by a whopping $807 million net loss.
The Australian Securities Exchange issued MinRes with a ‘please explain’ as to whether the market had been adequately informed in the lead up to its half-year results, given the massive share price drop after the release of the results.
Read more here ...
Ahares drop again as Trump talks more tariffs
The local share market has resumed its downtrend, tracking for its sixth day of losses out of the past seven after Donald Trump declared that sweeping US tariffs against Canada and Mexico “will go forward”.
Just after midday AEDT on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX200 index was down 66.9 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 8241.3, while the all ordinaries had fallen 69.4 points, or 0.81 per cent, to 8,490.7.
US President Trump told reporters overnight that his 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada would come into effect next week once a month-long delay on their implementation expires.
“We’re on time with the tariffs, and it seems like that’s moving along very rapidly,” Mr Trump said at a White House press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
He stressed more broadly that US “reciprocal” tariffs were on schedule to begin as soon as April.
Eight of the ASX’s 11 sectors were lower at midday, with energy, consumer staples and utilities higher.
The consumer discretionary sector was down 2.3 per cent as Domino’s Pizza Enterprises plunged 10.9 per cent after announcing its half-year earnings, while Guzman Y Gomez had dropped 4.5 per cent and Wesfarmers had fallen 2.9 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was down 1.1 per cent, Fortescue had dropped 3 per cent and Rio Tinto had dipped 0.9 per cent.
All of the big four banks were lower, with ANZ dropping 1.2 per cent, NAB retreating 2.0 per cent, Westpac dipping 0.5 per cent and CBA falling 1.8 per cent.
Canada, Mexico to cop Trump tariffs after brief reprieve
Donald Trump has vowed to go ahead with imposing tariffs on close neighbours Canada and Mexico, reiterating his complaint that the US had been “taken advantage of” by foreign nations.
On February 1, he signed executive orders to introduce 25 per cent tariffs on products from both countries, plus a 10 per cent tariff on energy from Canada.
Read more here ...
Trump vows tariffs on Canada and Mexico will go ahead
Donald Trump has vowed to go ahead with imposing tariffs on close neighbours Canada and Mexico, reiterating his complaint that the US had been “taken advantage of” by foreign nations.
On February 1, he signed executive orders to introduce 25 per cent tariffs on products from both countries, plus a 10 per cent tariff on energy from Canada.
After a huge outcry, two days later he granted a month-long pause in imposing them after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum promised to step up border security.
But that reprieve is due to end within days and Mr Trump has now confirmed during a White House briefing with reporters that they will proceed.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule. This is an abuse that took place for many, many years. The tariffs will go forward, yes, and we’re going to make up a lot of territory,” he said at a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.
“The tariffs are going forward on time, on schedule.”
The pause is expected to be lifted around March 4.
“Our country will be extremely liquid and rich again,” Mr Trump said.
Canada has warned it will retaliate if tariffs are imposed.
Separately, Mr Trump has signed an order to impose reciprocal tariffs on every country that taxes or charges a tariff on the US and tariffs on certain industries including steel and aluminium.
The president said that under the reciprocal tariff plan, the US will treat other countries’ non-tariff policies as unfair trade practices that warrant tariffs in response.
Those include value-added taxes, or VATs, and other practices that the office of the US trade representative deems to be unfair trade limitations.
Mr Trump also said that foreign countries will not be allowed to send merchandise or other items to the US through another country.
Creasy swoops in as Fed delays kills CZR takeover
Mark Creasy has cleared the way for Fenix Resources to absorb his iron ore junior that was left in the lurch by the Foreign Investment Review Board for more than a year.
Mr Creasy is the major shareholder of CZR Resources, which since early last year had been waiting on the green light from FIRB to sell its majority stake in the Robe Mesa iron ore project for $102m to Miracle Iron.
Read more here ..
Investors take a bite out of Domino’s
Disgruntled shareholders have sliced 11 per cent off Domino’s Pizza’s stock after it delivered a $22.2 million loss for the six months to the end of December owing to heavy restructuring costs related to the closures of 205 loss-making stores.
It’s now down more than 12 per cent over the past five trading days.
Starbucks to dismiss 1100 corporate workers globally
Starbucks plans to lay off 1100 corporate employees globally as new chairman and CEO Brian Niccol streamlines operations.
In a letter to employees released overnight Monday, Niccol said the company will inform employees who are being laid off by midday on Tuesday.
Niccol said Starbucks is also eliminating several hundred open and unfilled positions.
Starbucks has 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide but that includes some employees who are not affected, like roasting and warehouse staff.
Baristas in the company’s stores are not included in the lay-offs.
Niccol said all work must be overseen by someone who can make decisions while the the Seattle coffee giant reduces the complexity of its structure and eliminates silos within the company that slow communication.
He has said he wants to improve service times - especially during the morning rush - and re-establish stores as community gathering places.
Niccol is also cutting items from Starbucks; menu and experimenting with its ordering algorithms to better handle its mix of mobile, drive-through and in-store orders.
Starbucks’ global same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, fell 2 per cent in its 2024 fiscal year, which ended on September 29.
In the United States, customers tired of price increases and growing wait times.
In China, its second-largest market, Starbucks faced growing competition from cheaper rivals.
CBA seeks to reassure customers at ‘challenging time’
The CEO of Australia’s largest retail bank has penned a letter of reassurance to customers amid cost-of-living pressures and a slip in its shares.
“It’s been a challenging time for Australian households and businesses, and we know many customers have been looking forward to lower rates,” Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn said in a letter that hit most patrons’ email inboxes on Monday.
“For our variable home loan rate customers, the full interest rate reduction will hopefully provide some relief.”
CBA shares fell more than eight per cent last week - a fall mirrored by other major Australian banks - but recovered on Monday, rising 2.97 per cent.
Mr Comyn declared in his letter that physical cash was “here to stay,” even if customers’ banking preferences may evolve.
“We’ll continue to distribute more than $4 billion in cash each month through Australia’s largest branch and ATM network, which will also benefit from $100 million in upgrades in 2025,” he said.
“We have extended our promise to keep all our regional CommBank branches open until at least 3 1 J uly 2 027 to support communities and jobs in regional Australia.”
Illegal ciggies take heat out of Viva profits
The illegal cigarette trade continues to smoke out retail returns, with fuel and convenience store operator Viva reporting a $27 million decrease in earnings on tobacco products in its half-year results today.
The company, which reported a 20 per cent decline in full year profit after tax of $254m, called out the impact of the illegal cigarette trade on its retail margins.
Overall sales in the convenience store division declined by 4 per cent for the half, but would have been up by 2 per cent, if cigarette sales were not leaking elsewhere.
Viva acquired the Coles Express fuel and convenience business in 2023, as well as the OTR chain and had been converting Coles Express to OTR branded stores over the year. It has also gained Australian Competition and Consummer Commission approval to buy the Liberty service station chain.
The company reported fuel sales of 16.8 billion litres, up 4 per cent and convenience sales of $1.66b, down 4 per cent.
“Group performance was negatively impacted by lower demand within our convenience business due to cost-of-living pressures and illicit tobacco trade, coupled with high inflation lifting the cost of doing busines,” chief executive Scott Wyatt said.
A standout for the company was continued growth in its commerical and industrial division which saw earning rise 5 per cent thanks to increased demand from aviation, resources, agriculture, and defence sectors.
Viva will pay a divident of 3.87c a share, fully franked, taking total dividends for the year to 10.6c, down 32 per cent on the previous year.
