PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Austal received an indicative, non-binding AUD 1.05-1.20bln offer from Hanwha for its US operations, Japanese markets are closed
AUSTRALIA
Austal (ASB AT) - Co. received an indicative, non-binding AUD 1.05-1.20bln offer from Hanwha for its US operations, subject to due diligence, while expecting an FY26 US EBIT loss of AUD 175mln, Australasia EBIT of AUD 62mln and Group EBIT loss of AUD 113mln following a non-cash provision relating to legacy contracts. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Centuria Industrial REIT (CIP AT) - Co. FY (AUD) net rose 21% Y/Y to 160.4mln, funds from operations rose 2.9% Y/Y to 114.1mln, rev. rose 15% Y/Y to 328.8mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Coronado Global Resources (CRN AT) - Co. H1 (USD) net loss 418.0mln, adjusted EBITDA loss 83mln, rev. 981.3mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Helia (HLI AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) net fell 25% Y/Y to 100.0mln, underlying net fell 16% Y/Y to 106.3mln, rev. fell 25% Y/Y to 215.6mln, to launch an on-market share buyback of up to AUD 75mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Life360 (360 AT) - Co. Q2 (USD) net 5.1mln (prev. 7.0mln Y/Y), adjusted EBITDA 31.1mln (prev. 20.3mln Y/Y), rev. 159.0mln (prev. 115.4mln Y/Y), maintains FY adjusted EBITDA guidance and expects revenue growth to accelerate in H2. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Macquarie Group (MQG AT) - Co.’s Macquarie Asset Management has partnered with Anthropic and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC to develop data centres for Anthropic’s Claude AI platform. (AFR)
National Australia Bank (NAB AT) - Co. said Group Executive Technology Patrick Wright and Group COO Les Matheson will retire, with both stepping down on September 30 and their responsibilities reallocated elsewhere. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
SGH (SGH AT) - Co. FY (AUD) net rose 32% Y/Y to 689.2mln, EBIT rose 1% Y/Y to 1.55bln, rev. from cont. ops fell 1.4% Y/Y to 10.59bln, dividend 0.32/shr, guides FY27 EBIT growth to flat-to-low-single-digits and will commence an on-market share buyback following the FY26 result. (Dow Jones Newsplus)
Southern Cross Media Group (SXL AT) - Co. FY (AUD) net fell 57.6% Y/Y to 9.9mln, EBITDA fell 15.8% Y/Y to 191.9mln, rev. fell 4.5% Y/Y to 1.87bln. (Motley Fool)
Broker Ratings/Price Target
- Arena REIT (ARF AT) downgraded to Hold from Buy by Jefferies, price target cut 24% to AUD 2.74/shr.
- Bank of Queensland (BOQ AT) price target raised 0.7% to AUD 5.68/shr by Jefferies.
- Nick Scali (NCK AT) price target cut 4.5% to AUD 21.00/shr by Bell Potter.
- Perenti (PRN AT) price target raised 5.6% to AUD 2.85/shr by Macquarie.
- Tabcorp (TAH AT) price target raised 5.6% to AUD 0.95/shr by Jefferies.
- Treasury Wine Estates (TWE AT) price target raised 4% to AUD 5.20/shr by Jefferies.
- Westpac (WBC AT) price target cut 0.7% to AUD 34.71/shr by Jefferies.
SOUTH KOREA
Hanssem (009240 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net fell 85.2% Y/Y to 4.8bln, operating profit rose to 11.3bln (prev. 2.3bln Y/Y), rev. fell 9.2% Y/Y to 417.2bln. (Yonhap)
NHN (181710 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) operating profit rose 164.1% Y/Y to 57.9bln, rev. rose 25.3% Y/Y to 757.9bln, with both reaching record quarterly highs amid growth across games, payments, AI and cloud. (ChosunBiz)
Other News
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged the government to make every effort, including through deregulation, to accelerate implementation of large-scale investment in AI-related facilities. (Yonhap)
The Austal approach is the tradable item in an otherwise routine pre-market wrap. Indicative, non-binding offers at this stage of contact have a well-worn sequence: board response, a period of exclusivity or due diligence, and then either a revised proposal or quiet withdrawal, with the spread between the indicative range and the share price typically reflecting the market's assessment of completion probability. Hanwha has prior form here, having circled Austal before and been turned back, and approaches for this asset have historically run into the political and regulatory sensitivity that attaches to foreign ownership of a contractor building vessels for the US Navy; carve-out structures and government comfort have been the recurring sticking points in comparable defense-adjacent deals. The concurrent disclosure of a loss-making US EBIT outlook reframes the offer as a potential exit from the problem division rather than a control premium story, which changes how the range should be read. The tell to watch is the board's characterisation of the proposal, since prior rebuffs set the baseline, alongside any commentary from Washington or Canberra on the strategic asset question. The balance of the wrap is earnings season noise, with buybacks at Helia and SGH the only other items with a mechanical flow angle.