Azzet Unpacked: Delving into the business week that was

Mark Story

Senior Business Writer and Financial Reviewer

Mark Story

Senior Business Writer and Financial Reviewer

Azzet Unpacked: Delving into the business week that was — Credit: Pexels / Pixabay

Azzet's editorial team has reported on and analysed all the major news from Australia, and around the world, and packed it into one concise feed so that you don't have to.

It's all right here in your weekly business wrap every Friday (21 March, 2025).

Australian companies update

Reporting season may be over, but several ASX and unlisted stocks posted noteworthy updates earlier this week.

Unlisted stock John Holland, formerly part of Leighton Holdings, posted a $55.5 million annual loss following major cost blowouts on two Melbourne infrastructure projects. In the last 14 years, the cost of building transport infrastructure projects is now 53% more expensive.

The mining giant, now owned by a major China government-backed builder, is attributing the loss - following a net profit of $94.8 million in 2023 - to cost blowouts on Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel rail project and West Gate Tunnel motorway.

John Holland's losses follow revelations by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission that 3217 Australian construction firms entered into administration in 2024 including major builder, Roberts Co.

Like John Holland, most of these firms have found themselves in hot water when spiralling costs exceed fixed prices.

Stating with unlisted companies, Village Roadshow Group moved quickly to remind Aussie consumers that the major theme park owner - which operates Sea World, Movie World and Wet'n'Wild on the Gold Coast tourist strip - has nothing to do with U.S.-based film producer and financier Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s (VREG) which filed for bankruptcy last week.

Garry West, part of Azzet's senior writing team, provides all the details here.

Turning to their listed counterparts, fellow senior writer Cam Drummond updated on recent antics within WiseTech Global (ASX : WTC) with the board absolving exec chair and founder Richard White of complaints of misconduct and conflicts of interest. Interestingly, while White has been cleared of any wrongdoing by his counterparts, the market has voted with its feet. The stock share price is still trading at around $83, well down from the $130-$140 range before the scandal surfaced.

You can find Cam's market update here.

Then there was Brickworks (ASX: BKW) which earlier this week announced a 141% surge in statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) including significant items to $21 million (US$13.2 million) in the first half of the 2025 financial year (H1 FY25).

Garry has all the details here.

Major Brickworks shareholder, Washington H. Soul Pattinson (ASX: SOL) was also in the news this week after posting 1H FY25 a statutory net profit of $326.9 million, up 8% on the previous period. Despite current market uncertainty managing director and CEO Todd Barlow reminded investors that since 2000, the company has delivered a total shareholder return (TSR) of 13.0%, outperforming the All Ords Accumulation index by 4.5%.

See our more definitive update here.

Speculation was also rife during the week, following revelations that Hanwha Group has sought regulatory approval to increase its recently acquired ($183 million) 9.9% holding in Austal (ASX: ASB) to 19.9%. This manoeuvre has triggered talk that the South Korean conglomerate may be about to bid again to take the Perth-based boatbuilder out.

While Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles has said the government had no problems with the bid, the Forrest family’s 19.9% stake in Austal, through its private company Tattarang, may prevent this from happening.

There's also growing speculation that Hanwha's interests in Austal may bring former suitors back to the bidding table.

These included New York’s JF Lehman & Company (with Morgan Stanley), Cerberus Capital Partners (Citi) and Arlington Capital Partners.

You can read Azzet's complete article on recent developments here.

Sticking with market speculation, the market expects Virgin Australia to take another crack at listing on the ASX later this year.

However, while market conditions for a float appear better than they've been for a while, those conditions appear to have deteriorated somewhat since President Donald Trump took office.

It's understood that Dave Emerson who took over from former fellow consultant with private equity U.S. firm Bain Capital, Jayne Hrdlicka, has been tasked with convincing local fund managers to support the airline’s re-listing on the ASX.

Read all about Virgin Australia's likely float and IPO here.

Global stocks

There was no shortage of global stocks in the news this week.

Azzet's gun reporter Frankie Reid updated the market on recent developments at Klarna.

The company has scored a deal to become the exclusive provider of buy now, pay later loans for United States retail chain Walmart.

The move was a key victory for the Swedish company, taking the coveted partnership away from rival Affirm. This is ahead of its public launch in the U.S. where it will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Affirm and Klarna are both key players in the buy now pay later sector, with Klarna focusing on a more global audience while Affirm has a focus on home soil in the U.S.

For a complete picture, read Frankie's article here.

Staying in the U.S., Garry reported that multinational food and beverage company PepsiCo is following its arch rival The Coca-Cola Company into the fast-growing prebiotic soda market by purchasing the poppi brand for US$1.95 billion ($3.1 billion).

PepsiCo's acquisition follows Coca-Cola’s recent launch of the Simply Pop prebiotic soda brand and Pepsico’s reported cancellation of the Soulboost functional soda brand. It can be seen against the backdrop of declining sales of traditional soda (soft) drinks over the last two decades.

Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said PepsiCo had evolved its food and beverage portfolio for many years. This included innovating in new spaces and making disciplined, strategic acquisitions that offered more positive choices to consumers.

Want to know more? Check out Garry's article here.

During the week, Azzet's young gun reporter, Harlan Ockey reported on the decision by Nvidia and Elon Musk’s xAI to join a Microsoft-backed group to expand the United States’ artificial intelligence infrastructure, as energy demand for AI data centres increases.

It's understood that the group, known as the AI Infrastructure Partnership, is also supported by BlackRock and Emirati investment firm MGX. Nvidia will act as a technical adviser to the group, as well as a full member.

Learn more by clicking here.

Harlan also reported on the decision by Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner to resigned, after reportedly being asked to do so by the White House.

Fellow Azzet reporter, Chloe Jaenicke rounded the week off with a soupçon of market updates. Fedex reported US$22.2 billion in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, while Nike reported a 32% slump in net income.

Then there was Micron (NASDAQ: MU) which exceeded expectations with results driven by soaring demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips used in artificial intelligence applications.

Read Chloe's extensive earnings wrap here.

Resource stocks

Turning to resource stocks, Cam Drummond wrote an article on Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS) expanding into the Murchison gold district of WA by taking over Spartan Resources (ASX: SPR) and its nearby Dalgaranga project to become a $4.2 billion gold mining heavyweight.

Dalgaranga includes the standout, high-grade Never Never and Pepper deposits - which aim to offset recently announced lower production levels at Ramelius’ Mt Magnet operations - news that tanked its share price almost 20% in a day.

The binding takeover agreement sees Ramelius acquire each Spartan share it doesn’t already own for 25c in cash and 0.6957 new Ramelius shares. This gives the explorer an implied value of $2.4 billion at $1.78 per share.

Update on Cam's full article here.

Then there was Australian tin miner Metals X (ASX: MLX) which saw its share price rally 22% last week to a three-year high following revelations that the suspension of Mauritius-based Alphamin Resources’ Bisie mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will further tighten global supply.

In response to supply issues, Macquarie estimates a supply shortage of 13,000 tonnes this year and tin usage for solder to grow an average of 2.5% annually from 2024 to 2028.

Commodities

Within his Mission Critical column, Cam Drummond updates the market in critical minerals, such as copper, lithium and cobalt.

Cam noted that copper is one such pain point firmly within Trump's sights - which adds an extra layer of demand as the red metal is disrupted right across the value chain - yet spot prices will certainly benefit.

Meanwhile, Cam notes the Russia-Ukraine war has the potential to impact long-term lithium access to the West as it has the largest lithium reserves in Europe, estimated at around 500kt, or 1-2% of global reserves according to the United States Geological Survey.

Turning to cobalt, Cam also notes that after benchmark prices for standard-grade cobalt fell to US$20,350/t, their lowest level in a century in real terms, the world's biggest producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which contributes ~70% of the global supply, announced a four-month halt on all exports to stop the prolonged price slide.

Read Cam's latest Mission Critical coulmn here.

Markets

Within his market coverage this week, Azzet's financial journalist, Oliver Gray reported that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) remains more cautious than the market regarding the likelihood of further interest rate cuts, despite expectations for additional easing.

RBA Assistant Governor Sarah Hunter reaffirmed this stance on Tuesday during a speech at the Australian Financial Review Banking Summit, following the central bank’s first rate cut in over four years at its February meeting.

Find out more here.

Staying in Australia, Oliver reported that Australia’s unemployment rate held steady at 4.1% in February. This was as a decline in labour force participation offset a sharp drop in employment, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Find out more here.

Turning his attention to China, Oliver reported that China's economy showed signs of resilience in the first two months of 2024. This was due to retail sales and industrial production exceeding expectations, according to data released Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics.

The figures come after Beijing reiterated its commitment to stimulating domestic consumption over the weekend.

Retail sales grew 4.0% year-on-year in January-February, up from December's 3.7% and in line with market expectations.

Turning his attention to the U.S., Oliver reported that the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday. This kept the target range at 4.25%-4.5% while maintaining its outlook for two rate cuts later in the year. The decision was widely expected, with markets pricing in almost no chance of an immediate move.

The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, keeping the target range at 4.25%-4.5% while maintaining its outlook for two rate cuts later in the year. The decision was widely expected, with markets pricing in almost no chance of an immediate move.

In addition to keeping rates unchanged, the Fed announced a further slowdown in its quantitative tightening programme, gradually reducing its balance sheet bonds.

Policymakers also downgraded U.S. economic growth forecasts while raising inflation projections.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell acknowledged that tariffs contribute to inflationary pressures.

Oliver's full update can be found here.

Politics

Garry reported on the growing animosity between China and the European Union (E.U.) over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, spilling over into the decision of Chinese President Xi Jinping not to attend a special summit in Brussels, according to the Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

It's understood Xi snubbed an invitation to attend a summit to mark the 50th anniversary of E.U.-China diplomatic ties, the FT wrote in an article on Sunday.