PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: CBA (CBA AT) Q3 unaudited cash profit rose 4% Y/Y to AUD 2.7bln, but fell 1% vs H1 quarterly average, while it raised bad debt provisions

AUSTRALIA

Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) net from continuing operations rose 56% Y/Y to 798.5mln, net from discontinued operations was 7.0mln, normalised pretax profit rose 9.4% Y/Y to 997.3mln, rev. from continuing operations fell 0.2% Y/Y to 3.03bln, dividend AUD 0.50/security, and Co. increased its on-market share buyback by AUD 1bln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) unaudited net was 2.6bln, unaudited cash profit rose 4% Y/Y to 2.7bln but fell 1% vs H1 quarterly average, operating income was flat in the March quarter, lending and deposit volume growth offset the impact of two fewer days, and Co. lifted bad debt buffers as quarterly profit rose. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Healius (HLS AT) - Co. now expects FY underlying EBITDA of AUD 259mln-264mln and underlying EBIT of AUD 30mln-35mln, pathology volumes fell 0.4% in the 10 months through April after growing 1.2% in H1, pathology revenue rose 2.4% in the 10 months through April after growth slowed from 3.5% in H1, pathology costs rose 1.1% in the 10 months through April, and Co. is exploring a sale of Agilex Biolabs. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Temple & Webster (TPW AT) - Co. expects FY revenue of AUD 665mln-675mln and EBITDA of AUD 20mln-22mln, reported April EBITDA of AUD 2.5mln, said its buyback programme remains in place, implemented a margin-optimisation programme, is rebalancing profit and growth in the short term, and is responding to low consumer confidence. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Other News

Australian Treasurer Chalmers unveiled billions in net tax increases, with a hit on housing investments and trusts easily outweighing the cost of a new AUD 5-a-week tax cut. Furthermore, Australia limits negative gearing to new homes and cuts tax breaks for landlords to help young people own a home, while it is to scrap the 50% capital gains tax discount. (Newswires/The Australian)

JAPAN

H2O Retailing (8242 JT) - Co. will buy back up to 6.0mln shares, or 5.22% of outstanding shares. (Newswires)

Hitachi (6501 JT) - Co. is looking to offload about 8% of Hitachi Construction Machinery (6305 JT) shares in block trades. (Newswires)

Idemitsu Kosan (5019 JT) - Co. expects the Hormuz crisis to subside in July. (Nikkei)

KDDI (9433 JT) - Co. FY (JPY) profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 7.9% Y/Y to 707.1bln, operating revenue rose 4.1% Y/Y to 6.07tln, EPS rose to JPY 183.55 from JPY 161.81, will begin preparations to list au Financial Holdings on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, and will buy back up to 146mln shares worth JPY 300bln. (Newswires)

Mazda Motor (7261 JT) - Co. plans to cut vehicle electrification investment by 20% to JPY 1.2tln through 2030 as slowing US EV demand weighs, while it forecasts a net profit gain after a carefully timed move. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011 JT) - Co. FY (JPY) profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 35% Y/Y to 332.1bln, revenue rose 14% Y/Y to 4.97tln, EPS rose to JPY 98.84 from JPY 73.02, and Co. expects FY net profit to surge as Japan eases arms export rules. (Newswires/Nikkei)

Nidec (6594 JT) - Co. is suspected of over 1,000 cases of quality tampering. (Nikkei)

NSK (6471 JT) - Co. agreed to merge operations with NTN (6472 JT) to create the world’s top bearing maker. (Nikkei)

Sumitomo Electric Industries (5802 JT) - Co. FY (JPY) profit attributable to owners of the parent rose 91% Y/Y to 369.5bln, net sales rose 9.2% Y/Y to 5.11tln, and EPS rose to JPY 473.78 from JPY 248.47. (Newswires)

SOUTH KOREA

Cosmax (192820 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 312.1% Y/Y to 43.8bln, operating profit rose to 53.0bln from 51.3bln Y/Y, rev. rose 15.9% Y/Y to 682.0bln. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. faces a looming strike after failing to reach a pay deal. (Nikkei)

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Co. CEO Kwak Noh-jung is expected to meet Microsoft (MSFT) co-founder Bill Gates and CEO Satya Nadella in the US, according to industry sources. (Yonhap)

SKC (011790 KS) - Co. will issue new shares worth KRW 1.16tln to invest in its glass substrate business and improve its financial structure. (Yonhap)