PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Japan returns from holiday closure, Woolsworth reports Q3 earnings, Samsung Electronics earnings ahead

Australia

Australian Clinical Labs (ACL AT) – An external IT service provider for SunDoctors, a Co. subsidiary, has experienced a cyber incident. (Newswires)

Cedar Woods Properties (CWP AT) - Co. said it remains on track for FY 2026 guidance of 30-35% net profit growth, recorded 442 gross sales in Q3, reported record presales of over AUD 788mln supporting confidence in FY 2027 profit growth, said more than 80% of forecast FY 2027 revenue is presold and expects FY 2027 earnings to be weighted toward H1. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Champion Iron (CIA AT) - Co. quarterly production rose 8% Y/Y to 3.4mln wet metric tonnes of 66.2% Iron concentrate, while sales were 3.5mln dry metric tonnes, stable Y/Y despite rail and weather disruptions. (Motley Fool)

Mineral Resources (MIN AT) - Co. said Onslow Iron production totaled 7.8mln tons in Q3, upgraded FY 2026 mining services output volume to 320mln-330mln tons, maintained FY 2026 Pilbara Hub volume guidance and expects FY 2026 Pilbara Hub free-on-board cost at the upper end of guidance. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Qantas Airways (QAN AT) - Co. launched a second airfare sale within a week, discounting more than 125k seats in a week-long Asia sale as it faces mounting financial pressure from rising fuel costs. (The Australian)

South32 (S32 AT) - Co. said development of the Taylor deposit at its Hermosa project will take longer and cost more due to contractor underperformance, productivity challenges, scope changes, higher inflation and US tariffs, now expects project cost of about USD 3.30bln vs initial USD 2.16bln and first production in H2 FY 2028 vs prior estimate. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Super Retail Group (SUL AT) - Co. appointed Sarah Hunter as Chief Financial Officer, Jenny Child as Managing Director of Rebel and Ben McConnell as Managing Director of Supercheap Auto. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Woolworths Group (WOW AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) sales rose 4.5% Y/Y to 18.1bln, Australian Food sales rose 5.9% Y/Y, New Zealand Food sales rose 1.4% Y/Y and Big W sales rose 3.9% Y/Y. Co. expects increasing inflationary impact through 2026 due to Middle East conflict. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Japan

Eneos (5020 JT) – Co. is reportedly the final bidder for some of the Asian assets of Chevron (CVX). (Market Source)

Honda Motor (7267 JT) – Co. is to scrap plan to switch all new car sales to electrified by 2040, according to NHK. (NHK)

Kao (4452 JT), Ajinomoto (2802 JT) – Cos are stepping up the material of semiconductor materials. (Nikkei)

Komatsu Ltd. (6301 JT) - Co. expects FY net profit to fall 16% to JPY 318bln as earnings are hit by the Middle East conflict and US tariffs. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (6503 JT) - Co. FY (JPY) net rose 25.8% Y/Y to 407.76bln, operating profit rose 10.6% Y/Y to 433.10bln, rev. rose 6.7% Y/Y to 5.89tln, guides FY net 475.0bln, adjusted operating profit 590.0bln, rev. 6.20tln. (Mitsubishi Electric)

Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (5711 JT) - Co. will more than triple prices on some tungsten products used in hardened cutting tools as Chinese export restrictions continue to limit supply. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi Motors (7211 JT) - Co. plans to begin producing and selling hybrid vehicles in Japan as early as 2028 to tap into strong demand amid sluggish electric and plug-in hybrid sales. (Nikkei)

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (8031 JT) - Co. entered an USD 850mln cobalt offtake agreement with Evelution Energy to support critical minerals supply chains. (Newswire)

ROHM (6963 JT) - Co. developed a wireless power supply IC chipset including receiver ML7670 and transmitter ML7671 compatible with NFC technology for compact wearables and peripheral devices. (ROHM)

Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063 JT) – Co. withholds FY guidance due to the situation around the Middle East. (Shin-Etsu Chemical)

Softbank (9984 JT) – Co. is planning to list new Robotics and AI company, Roze, in the US as early as this year, according to the FT. (FT)

TDK Corp. (6762 JT) - Co. FY (JPY) net 195.66bln (prev. 167.16bln Y/Y), operating profit 272.42bln (prev. 224.19bln Y/Y), rev. 2.50tln (prev. 2.20tln Y/Y). (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Terra Drone Corp. (278A JT) - Co. will make a strategic investment in a Ukrainian fixed-wing drone maker, its second investment in a Ukrainian company. (Nikkei)

Tokyo Electron Ltd. (8035 JT) - Co. faces potential strain in its relationship with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. after a Taiwanese court found a former employee leaked confidential data. (Nikkei)

Toyota Motor Corp. (7203 JT) - Co. suppliers are facing supply chain disruptions from the Iran conflict, creating chokepoints across Japan’s auto industry and raising risks of parts shortages. (Bloomberg)

Other Japanese News:

• USD/JPY has regained the 160.00 handle and reached levels not seen since July 2024, further extending into intervention territory.

South Korea

Doosan (000150 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 798.2% Y/Y to 101.5bln, operating profit rose 71.7% Y/Y to 340.8bln, rev. rose 17.7% Y/Y to 5.06tln. (Yonhap)

Doosan Enerbility (034020 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net to 60.2bln from loss Y/Y, operating profit rose 63.9% Y/Y to 233.5bln, rev. rose 13.7% Y/Y to 4.26tln. (Yonhap)

HL Mando (204320 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 53.2% Y/Y to 53.1bln, operating profit rose 18.2% Y/Y to 93.6bln, rev. rose 1.8% Y/Y to 2.31tln. (Yonhap)

HS Hyosung (487570 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net to 7.4bln from loss Y/Y, operating profit rose 3.8% Y/Y to 12.5bln, rev. fell 0.7% Y/Y to 367bln. (Yonhap)

HYBE (352820 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net to loss 156.7bln from profit Y/Y, operating profit to loss 196.6bln from profit Y/Y, rev. rose 39.5% Y/Y to 698.3bln. (Yonhap)

LG Electronics (066570 KS) - Q1 2026 (KRW): Net 815.7bln (exp. 801.1bln), Operating profit 1.67tln, Revenue 23.7tln. Co. expects Q2 pressure from oil price fluctuations, raw material costs, and supply chain disruptions amid geopolitical risks, including Middle East conflict. In other news, the Co. is reportedly said to be working with NVIDIA (NVDA) on humanoid robots. (LG Electronics)

LS Electric (010120 KS) - Co. secured a KRW 319bln contract to supply power distribution systems to Bloom Energy for a large-scale data centre project. (Yonhap)

Naver (035420 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) operating profit rose 7.2% Y/Y to 541.8bln, rev. rose 16.3% Y/Y to 3.241tln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Nongshim (004370 KS) - Co. partnered with a Chinese company to launch collagen-based dietary supplements in H2. (Yonhap)

Samsung C&T (028260 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 15.9% Y/Y to 1.08tln, operating profit fell 0.6% Y/Y to 720.4bln, rev. rose 7.5% Y/Y to 10.46tln. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) – Co. has reportedly raised the idea of a spin-off with the Korean government, MT reports citing sources. The plan would be to carve out the semiconductor unit from the home appliance unit. (MT)

Other South Korean news:

• South Korean Industrial Production MoM (Mar) M/M 0.3% vs. Exp. 0.2% (Prev. 5.4%)
• South Korean Industrial Production YoY (Mar) Y/Y 3.6% vs. Exp. 3.8% (Prev. -2.2%)