Australasian Equities

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Australasian Equities

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Speculative

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Why Northern Star is a medium-term play We are moving Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) from Buy to Hold. The decision reflects a deliberate shift in the House view on the near-term gold price outlook, and a closer read that reveals a Q4 production window more exposed than the headline result suggests. The long-term investment thesis – new mill, production step-change, structural cost reset – remains intact. What has changed is the risk/reward calculus between now and that delivery. Our House view

BWP Trust

Core

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First Share Raise in 13 Years BWP Trust (ASX: BWP), which owns a portfolio of large-format retail properties, including Bunnings warehouses, has raised $228 million from shareholders. The funds are earmarked for a clearly identified pipeline of property development and upgrade projects worth $163 million, where completed values are expected to exceed construction costs. The offer price represented a modest 4.3% discount to the prevailing market price. Full-year distributions of 19.41 cents per unit, up 4.1%, were reaffirmed. Wesfarmers, which holds

Qantas

Core

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Middle East Conflict Forces a Reroute Qantas (ASX: QAN) is trimming lower-margin routes and redirecting aircraft to high-demand European destinations as a sharp rise in fuel costs, driven by Middle East conflict, pushes its second-half fuel bill up by around $800 million. Domestic capacity has been cut 5% through September and some routes suspended. Despite these pressures, travel demand remains strong, brand value has recovered to its best level since 2019, and fleet renewal continues as planned. The business is in

SGH

Core

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Two Big Bets Running at Once Seven Group (ASX: SGH) is pursuing two significant opportunities simultaneously. First, their consortium bid to acquire BlueScope Steel at $32.35 per share, valuing the company at around $15 billion, remains active despite the BlueScope Board rejecting the offer as insufficient. Seven Group has clarified that it will not raise its offer price without good reason. Second, the building materials subsidiary Boral has agreed to convert 630 hectares of former quarry land near Melbourne into what

Westpac

Core

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Business Banking Surging as the Core Franchise Strengthens Westpac’s (ASX: WBC) 1H26 profit came in slightly below market expectations, held back by higher-than-anticipated provisions set aside for potential bad debts and softer income from financial markets operations. The underlying business, however, showed genuine progress. Lending and deposits both grew 7% year-on-year, business lending rose 16%, and the home loan book grew faster than the broader market. Costs fell 6%. The dividend of 77 cents per share was maintained. Management flagged that

ANZ Banking Group

Core

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Expectations Beat as Simplification Programme Pays Off ANZ’s (ASX: ANZ) 1H26 cash profit of $3.78 billion came in ahead of market expectations, rising 14% once prior-period one-off items are excluded. The result was driven by tighter cost control and lower bad debt charges. The ratio of costs to income fell sharply from 65.5% to 49.4% as the bank continues to shed a lot of staff. Technology and AI will see this trend continue. Meanwhile, ANZ’s capital position strengthened further. The interim dividend of 83c

National Australia Bank

Core

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A One-Off Write-Down Clouds Solid Results National Australia Bank (ASX: NAB) 1H26 result was weighed down by a one-off $949 million after-tax write-down on software assets, pulling headline profit below market expectations. Strip that out, and the underlying banking business grew profit by 6.4%, with their corporate lending division up +9.9%. The net interest margin, the difference between what the bank earns on loans and pays on deposits, widened slightly to 1.81%. Capital levels remain healthy, and the interim dividend of 85

Austal

Core

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A $17.7 Billion Order Book That Stretches Well Past 2030 Austal (ASX: ASB) secured a contract to build two additional patrol vessels for the Australian Border Force. The shipbuilder holds a work pipeline worth more than $17.7 billion, covering over 76 vessels either under construction or scheduled for delivery out to 2038. A new $150.3 million contract to build two additional patrol boats for the Australian Border Force adds to an already full order book. First-half earnings rose 41% to $60.3

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