Aurizon shares tumble on earnings miss
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More news: Aurizon shares dived after the rail operator's full-year earnings failed to meet analysts' expectations.
Shares were down 6.2% to $3.40 by 10:50am AEST.
Jarden analysts flagged that Aurizon's core earnings per share in FY24 came in 11% below consensus.
Meanwhile, the company's FY25 capital management guidance "will likely be in focus", the analysts said, with capital expenditure guidance for the upcoming year expected to total $830 million at the midpoint, compared to consensus forecasts of $747 million.
The company's FY25 EBITDA guidance also implies a downgrade to consensus of 3% at the midpoint, the analysts noted.
Aurizon posts 25% profit lift, announces $150m buyback
The news: Aurizon posted an increase to full-year profit and met its earnings guidance, as the freight rail operator unveiled a $150 million on-market buyback.
The numbers: Aurizon reported a 25% lift in statutory profit year on year, totalling $406 million in FY24. Full-year EBITDA rose 14% to $1.62 billion, meeting guidance of $1.59 billion to $1.68 billion. Revenue was up 9% to $3.8 billion.
The company declared a final dividend of 7.3 cents per share, 60% franked, contributing to a total dividend of 17 cents per share, up 13% year on year.
Aurizon set group EBITDA guidance for FY25 of between $1.66 billion and $1.74 billion. The group expects sustaining capital expenditure in the range of $640 million and $720 million, with growth capital expenditure between $125 million and $175 million.
The group also announced an on-market buyback of up to $150 million
The context: Aurizon said the key growth drivers during the year was a 16% lift in coal EBITDA, boosted by higher volumes and elevated revenue yield.
Growth in bulk EBITDA was up 7% but haulage volumes dipped 2% due to customer production issues in Queensland, lower grain volumes and the cessation of a rail maintenence contract.
In FY25, Aurizon expects coal EBITDA to be "broadly consistent" with FY24, while EBITDA from its bulk and network segments is set to be higher.
What they said: Aurizon managing director and CEO Andrew Harding said: "The business continues to be resilient, operationally and commercially, as we diversity our customer base and extend our customer service offering along the supply chain".
"The cash-generative coal and network business units continue to provide the platform for investment in emerging markets for our bulk and containerised freight businesses," he said.
The source: ASX announcement
