SGH CEO Ryan Stokes warns Australia faces domestic gas shortages in 2026

SGH chief executive Ryan Stokes has warned Australia’s southern states face gas shortfalls as soon as the third quarter of 2026 as tight regulations and price controls limit domestic supply.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the SGH industrial and media conglomerate in Sydney on Thursday, Mr Stokes called on the Government to shift policies to lower energy bills for Australian households and businesses.

“Only investment in new supply can meet Australia’s need for reliable and affordable energy,” Mr Stokes said. “Reform is needed to reduce regulatory complexity, streamline approval and unlock prospective acreage.”

SGH owns a 30 per cent interest in ASX-listed gas producer Beach Energy, which supplied about 19 per cent of the gas required to meet eastern Australia’s demand last financial year.

Mr Stokes said the predictions of a domestic gas shortfall are based on Australian Energy Market Authority’s (AEMO) warnings that gas reserves needed to meet domestic demand for the next decade are yet to be developed due to a combination of policy, technical, and commercial factors.

Future of Boral

At the meeting, SGH confirmed the company expects to increase earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) in the low-to-mid-single percentage digits this financial year due to robust performances by its core Boral, Westrac and Coates equipment hire businesses.

In the 12 months ended June 30, 2025, SGH posted a net profit up 9 per cent to $924 million on revenue up 1 per cent to $10.74 billion.

SGH shares dropped 3.3 per cent to $44.30 on Thursday morning, but have still more than doubled over the past five years to an $18 billion valuation, helped by the 2024 acquisition of building materials group Boral.

Mr Stokes told shareholders SGH has identified that Boral has around 4,500 acres of industrial use property in Victoria and New South Wales that could be used for housing, industrial and commercial use.

“Historically, Boral has made decisions to divest surplus properties, but we want to look at what’s the best use and we’re comfortable to own and co-develop where it makes sense financially,” he said.

“The value creation for us through that is significant in terms of the difference between selling it today versus participating in redevelopment, but we don’t mind longer investment time frames [of 20 years or more].”

Boral chief executive Vik Bansal will leave the building materials giant in 2026 to join the board of SGH.

SGH chairman Terry Davis revealed he plans to retire from the role in 2026. A successor is yet to be named.

Mr Stokes said SGH is always prepared to look at more acquisitions while being cognisant of demands to return surplus capital to income-hungry shareholders.

“We need to strike the balance on total shareholder return, so we want to see share price growth, we’re not a yield stock, as we want that balance between dividend and growth which is backed by our strong cashflows,” he said.

Cricket coverage

The Sydney-based son of media mogul Kerry Stokes backed the planned acquisition of Seven West Media by Southern Cross Media in a deal that will see SGH’s stake in the combined television, radio and publishing business reduced to 20 per cent.

“Scale is important in media in audience and reach is valuable so we see a lot of opportunities to cross-promote,” he said.

Sports should remain a big part of the combined media division’s strategy ahead of its Ashes series broadcast from November 21, Mr Stokes added.

“Aussies will win and I’m looking forward to watching that personally,” he said. “But putting my Seven hat on, we hope it’s a close series.”

SGH is a major shareholder in both Beach Energy and Seven West Media, which owns West Australian Newspapers Ltd, publisher of The West Australian and The Nightly.