PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Earnings including GrainCorp, Nissan, SMFG, SoftBank, KEPCO & SK Innovation

AUSTRALIA

ASX (ASX AT) - Co. named Anthony Attia as Managing Director and CEO, effective September 1. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Bank of Queensland (BOQ AT) - Co. named Chris Eigeland as nonexecutive director, effective May 18. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Bapcor (BAP AT) - Co. said trading conditions have materially deteriorated since late March following the Middle East conflict and interest rate rises, which could give rise to a non-cash impairment, while sales rose 0.7% in the two months through April 26 in trade, 3.8% in networks, same-store sales rose 1.6% in retail and sales rose 0.7% in New Zealand. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Charter Hall (CHC AT) - Co. has built a 5.8% stake in Abacus Group (ABG AT) as speculation mounts it is weighing a full takeover of the property company. (The Australian)

GrainCorp (GNC AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) net fell 92% Y/Y to 4.6mln, rev. fell 5.1% Y/Y to 3.88bln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Lendlease (LLC AT) - Co.’s search for its next CEO is nearing a conclusion, with sources suggesting the board has settled on a candidate. (The Australian)

Megaport (MP1 AT) - Co. said its Latitude.sh subsidiary secured three major GPU, CPU, network and storage contracts across two customers, with a combined total contract value of USD 182.9mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Metcash (MTS AT) - Co. settled with finance executives who alleged they were illegally sacked and bullied, with the executives withdrawing their allegations. (AFR)

oOh!media (OML AT) - Co. said Q1 revenue rose 4% Y/Y, including a 7% rise in Australia, with Q2 pacing on a similar trajectory, while headcount was cut by 9% as part of a business overhaul and H1 gross margin is likely softer than expected amid industry-wide billboard pressure. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Worley (WOR AT) - Co. expects to invest AUD 70mln over the next two years in digital and AI, said restructuring costs are expected to be lower in H2 than H1, actioned AUD 95mln of cost savings with a further AUD 25mln in measures underway and will undertake a new on-market share buyback of up to AUD 300mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Xero (XRO AT) - Co. FY (NZD) net 167.4mln (prev. 227.8mln Y/Y), rev. 2.75bln (prev. 2.10bln Y/Y), did not declare a dividend. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

• Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AT) Price target raised 1.6% to AUD 63.00/shr by Jefferies
• Mineral Resources (MIN AT) Price target raised 8.3% to AUD 65.00/shr by Jefferies
• Temple & Webster (TPW AT) Price target cut 38% to AUD 8.95/shr by Jefferies
• Xero (XRO AT) Price target cut 2.3% to AUD 84.80/shr by Jefferies

JAPAN

Mitsui Fudosan (8801 JT) - Co. announced an equity buyback for up to 40mln shares, representing 1.47%, for JPY 40bln. (Newswires)

Nippon Express Holdings (9147 JT) - Co. announced a share repurchase programme for up to 17mln shares, representing 7% of share capital, for JPY 50bln. (Newswires)

Nippon Printing (7912 JT) - Co. announced a share repurchase programme for up to 30mln shares, representing 6.95% of issued share capital, for JPY 50bln. (Newswires)

Nippon Steel (5401 JT) - Co. expects FY net profit to increase sharply to JPY 220bln as the effects of one-off losses fade from its results. (Newswires)

Nissan Motor (7201 JT) - Co. FY25/26 (JPY) net loss 533bln (prev. loss 671bln Y/Y), operating income 58bln (prev. 69.8bln Y/Y), rev. 12tln (prev. 12.6tln Y/Y), will not pay FY26 dividends, projected positive automotive free cash flow in H2, announced JPY 240bln impairment loss and expects its first net profit for three years in FY26/27. (Nikkei)

SMFG (8316 JT) - Co. FY25/26 (JPY) net income 1.58tln (prev. 1.18tln Y/Y), operating profit 2.30tln (prev. 1.72tln Y/Y), rev. 10.78tln (prev. 10.17tln Y/Y), announced JPY 180bln share buyback and guided FY net income at JPY 1.70tln (exp. 1.76tln). (Newswires)

SoftBank (9984 JT) - Co. Q4 (JPY) net income 1.83tln (exp. 295.2bln), rev. 2.08tln (exp. 2.04tln), FY net profit quadrupled to a record JPY 5tln as Vision Fund gains were driven by AI holdings, while Co. said cumulative investment in OpenAI reached USD 34.6bln, cumulative investment gains from OpenAI totalled USD 45bln, Co. and unit Arm (ARM) reportedly tried to buy Cerebras but were rejected. (Newswires/Nikkei)

Other News

Japan is to broaden subsidies for domestic legacy chip production. (Nikkei)

Japan insurers showed a cautious stance on JGBs amid soaring yields, with executives at Dai-ichi Life and Nippon Life wary of unprecedented volatility due to high interest rates, fiscal policy shifts and the Iran war. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

Korea Electric Power (015760 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 6.7% Y/Y to 2.51tln, operating profit rose 0.8% Y/Y to 3.78tln, rev. rose 0.7% Y/Y to 24.39tln. (Yonhap)

SK ie technology (361610 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net loss 81.8bln, operating loss 73.2bln (prev. loss 69.6bln Y/Y), rev. fell 38.4% Y/Y to 35.9bln. (Yonhap)

SK Innovation (096770 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net profit 896.1bln (prev. loss 125.6bln Y/Y), operating income 2.16tln (prev. loss 30.7bln Y/Y), rev. rose 15.2% Y/Y to 24.21tln, swinging to profit on inventory-related gains, higher oil prices and improved refining margins amid the Iran war. (Yonhap)

Other News

South Korean shipbuilders and local banks teamed up to provide more financial support for shipbuilding-related smaller firms, while the government proposed an initiative aimed at boosting the competitiveness of South Korea's shipbuilding industry. (Yonhap)

South Korea National Pension’s stock holdings reportedly exceed target. (Maeil)