ASX closes flat; Reece, EVT plunge
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: The Australian sharemarket closed flat as a gold and iron ore mining rally offset losses by the banking sector, with a number of companies posting sharp share price increases and decreases after reporting full-year earnings.
The benchmark ASX 200 rose 0.06% to end at 8,972.4 despite five out of the 11 sectors finishing in green. It also hit an intraday high of 9,054.5.
The materials sector (+2.7%) rallied after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell signalled that the central bank is on course to cut interest rates in September, which could potentially reduce the cost of US-denominated metals for foreign buyers.
BHP (+2.7%), Fortescue (+2.6%) and Rio Tinto (+2.4%) all finished higher, tracking a higher iron ore index futures prices, as did gold miners Northern Star Resources (+2.8%) and Regis Resources (+9.3%), tracking the gold spot price which retained gains from the previous trading session. Gold miner Ramelius Resources (+7%) also finished higher after posting a 119% lift in full-year profit.
Meanwhile, the finance sector (-1.2%) was the worst performing as Commonwealth Bank (-1.5%), NAB (-1.8%), Westpac (-1.8%) and ANZ (-1.4%).
Biggest movers:
- Southern Cross Austereo (+26.5%) – Posted a lift in full-year profit and declared a fully franked dividend of 4 cents per share.
- Aussie Broadband (+20.2%) – The telco grew its full-year net profit by 24.5% to $32.8 million in fiscal 2025, and delivered underlying earnings at the top end of its upgraded guidance.
- Ansell (+10.3%) – The healthcare equipment manufacturer reported a 32.8% jump in full-year net profit amid strong sales and margin growth across industrial and healthcare sectors.
- Regis Healthcare (+9.3%) – Swung to full-year net profit after tax, with the figure coming in ahead of market consensus estimates.
- PolyNovo (+9.1%) – Tissue regeneration medical device manufacturer delivered full-year net profit that was twice as large as analysts expected.
- Reece Group (-16.4%) – Posted a 24% drop in full-year net profit to $317 million, as earnings fell year on year to within its downgraded guidance range.
- EVT (-14.7%) – The cinema and hospitality group posted FY25 net profit after tax below market consensus estimates and analysts were disappointed by the cinemas business.
- Stanmore Resources (-5.5%) – Swung to a first-half loss of USD50.5 million ($79.6 million) as the average sales price of coal dropped by nearly 25%.
- Nuix (-5.1%) – Reported a net loss for its full financial year of $9.2 million, down from a $5 million profit last year, despite annualised revenue rising 8% to $228.4 million.
Other earnings news:
- Kogan (+3.5%) – Posted a full-year loss after tax of around $39 million as subsidiary MIght Ape faced a “challenging year”. Also appointed three new board directors and said its chair would retire next year.
- Santos (+0.6%) – Granted a prospective takeover consortium led by Abu Dhabi’s XRG another extension to its exclusive due diligence period, which will now expire on 19 September. The fossil fuel company also posted a first-half net profit of USD439 million ($677.3 million).
Other companies that reported earnings were Regal (-3%), Endeavour (-1.4%), Infomedia (+0.3%), NIB (+2.3%), Data#3 (+3.4%), Pilbara Minerals (+2.4%), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (+1.1%), IMDEX (+1.8%), and Chorus (+1.5%).
Other news:
- Ark Mines (92%) – The state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) has invested $4.5 million in small-cap prospective rare earth elements miner Ark Mines through its critical minerals and battery technology fund.
- PointsBet (ended flat) – Online bookmaker Betr (+1.7%) has denied rival takeover suitor and Japanese entertainment company MIXI’s proposal to increase its all-cash off-market takeover offer for PointsBet, which was conditional on Betr’s support.
What’s ahead:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia will release minutes from its monetary policy meeting earlier this month tomorrow at 11:30am AEST.
