Ansell shares soar as full-year margins beat estimates
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More news: Ansell was the top performer on the ASX 200 in morning trade after its full-year result and FY26 guidance broadly exceeded market forecasts.
Shares were up 11.6% to $34.94 at 11:15am AEST, taking gains to 18.7% over the last 12 months.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Craig Wong-Pan said Ansell's full-year earnings per share came towards the top end of its upgraded guidance range. While revenue missed consensus estimates — both at a group level and across its key industrial and healthcare divisions — group and divisional margins were better than expected.
What they said: "We expect the stock to slightly outperform the market today with a stronger than expected FY26 guidance and improving divisional margins, being somewhat offset by the softer revenue growth that was achieved in FY25," said Wong-Pan.
Ansell posts 33% jump in full-year profit, unveils US$200m buyback
The news: Healthcare equipment manufacturer Ansell reported a 32.8% jump in full-year net profit to USD101.6 million ($158.1 million) as the company cited strong sales and margin growth across its industrial and healthcare segments.
The numbers: The result was up from last year's USD76.5 million but lower than market estimates of USD135.78 million, according to Visible Alpha data.
Sales hit USD2 billion, up 23.7% year on year but just shy of average forecasts of USD2.06 billion.
The company declared a final dividend of 28 US cents per share, taking total dividends to 50.2 US cents per share. This was up from last year's payout of 38.4 US cents per share but below consensus estimates of 52 cents per share.
Ansell also announced an on-market share buyback of up to USD200 million in fiscal 2026.
The context: Ansell said it endured "challenging trading conditions" throughout the year, but was boosted by better-than-expected results from its KBU business, which it acquired last year. The company has now upgraded its FY27 target for net cost synergies with KBU from $10 million to $15 million.
Managing director and CEO Neil Salmon noted that the company implemented price increases in June in response to the announcement of reciprocal tariffs in the US. Further increases are now being implemented following new changes to tariff rates, announced last month.
Ansell guided for adjusted earnings per share between USD1.33 and USD1.45, up from $1.26 in FY25. This compares to consensus estimates of $1.35 for FY26 guidance.
What they said: "While the the economic effects of higher tariffs remain unclear, we believe we are well positioned to adapt to this new environment due to the essential nature of our products, the significant value they provide to our customers, and our diversified and flexible manufacturing and sourcing network," Salmon said.
The sources: ASX, RBC Capital Markets research
