Azzet reports on three stocks with price moving updates today.
Myer jumps on 1H FY26 result ~
Due to financial underperformance, Myer (ASX: MYR) has been an outlier within Solomon Lew's highly profitable retail portfolio.
However, the department store operator’s largest individual shareholder, Solomon Lew’s private investment vehicle, Century Plaza Investments - which holds around 26.8% to 29.7%, had lots to think about following the company’s 1H FY26 update.
Shares in Myer opened around 9% higher, before retracing gains to trade 3.5% lower by 1:50 pm AEDT (2:50 am GMT) after the retailer lifted first-half profit by 32.8% to $40.3 million.
While underlying growth slowed amid investment in its turnaround strategy, much of today’s earnings boost is being attributed to the integration of its apparel brands – with Lew’s Premier Investments (ASX: MYR), which saw total sales jump 24.5% to $2.28 billion.
Newly acquired Just Jeans stores, bought along with four other brands from Lew - Portmans, Dotti, Jacqui E and Jay Jays - were star performers within the 1H FY26 result.
While growth in womenswear, home, concessions and Just Jeans underpinned 1H FY26 growth, management also flagged a record Black Friday performance.
While underlying earnings before interest and tax increased 10.5% to $112.8 million, they fell 17.2% on a comparable basis as the company stepped up spending on strategic initiatives.
Myer declared a fully franked interim dividend of 1.5¢ per share.
The company said trading in the first seven weeks of the second half remained modest, with group sales up 1.7% and retail sales rising 2.2%.
Commenting on today’s update, Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth told the market that given the current volatility in the wider macroeconomic environment and the ongoing pressures on discretionary spending, the retailer is more focused than ever on delivering value for customers.
The retailer recently added La Mer, TOPSHOP and GAP and more brand announcements are expected this year.
“Looking to the second half, we are excited about building on the Myer Exclusive Brands relaunch, introducing ongoing improvements and enhancements to our MYER one loyalty program, and continuing activities to integrate Myer Apparel Brands, as well as resetting our fashion and beauty offerings,” she said.
Other key 1H FY26 numbers announced today:
- Underlying net profit after tax of $51.7 million, up 21.7%.
- $287 million in cash.
- Pro forma revenue of $2.28 billion, up 24.5%.
- Apparel brands arm 0.4% rise in sales.
- Just Jeans posted sales gains of 9.8%.
Myer has a market cap of $540 million; the share price is down 54% in one year and up 11% in the last week.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
Orica steady after downplaying ammonia disruption impact
Shares in Orica (ASX: ORI) were trading 0.3% lower after the explosives maker told the market not to expect any material impact from supply disruptions at its ammonia plant in WA.
In addition to confirming media reports of an outage at its ammonia plant, management also flagged an unplanned outage at its Kooragang Island plant in NSW.
Management reassured the market that it is actively managing the potential impact of the WA event by working to secure alternative supply through existing inventory and its global manufacturing network to minimise disruption to customers.
Orica’s share price rose 2.5% to $22.18 immediately following the update on 10 March, as investors cheered a positive earnings outlook and a new cost-reduction plan.
However, a day later, the stock fell 2.46% to $20.40, despite the update being described by some analysts as "better than expected".
Driven by 20% growth in Digital Solutions and 15% growth in Specialty Mining Chemicals, Orica expected H1 FY26 EBIT to be slightly higher than the previous period.
Last week, Orica's settlement with CF Industries heralded an end to litigation that began in October 2023, with no admission of liability by either party.
This move removes a significant source of uncertainty for Orica's shareholders and customers.
Meanwhile, Orica is scheduled to announce its 1H FY26 half-year results on Thursday, 7 May 2026.
To further bolster its financial position, Orica has initiated a company-wide cost reduction program targeting at least $100 million in annualised savings over the next three years.
This initiative aims to prepare the company for its next phase of growth.
However, Orica anticipates lower net operating cash flow for both the half-year and full year compared to 2023.
While the company’s products are generally not transported through the Straits of Hormuz or neighbouring regions, Orica acknowledges the potential for future impacts on energy or raw material costs and continues to monitor the situation closely.
Orica has a market cap of $8.8 billion; the share price is up 8% over one year and down 21% in the last month.
The stock’s shares are in a downtrend confirmed within multiple periods.
Consensus is Strong Buy.
KMD Brands Rallies after rejecting takeover offer
Shares in KMD Brands (ASX: KMD) were trading 3.2% higher after the management told the market that the Kiwi outdoor and sporting wear retailer has spurned a takeover approach from U.S. surfwear group Stokehouse.
Management does not believe the Stokehouse offer would create value for shareholders and expected the proposal to have resulted in Rip Curl being spun off into a separate NZX and ASX-listed entity, which would dilute shareholder value.
Under the proposal, KMD would have demerged its Rip Curl business into a separately listed entity before merging it with Stokehouse, with the U.S. surfwear group’s shareholders owning 22% of the combined group.
Under the Stokehouse proposal, Paul Naude, the current CEO - a onetime executive of Billabong - would have become CEO of the combined business and planned to have run the business from California.
KMD said the ownership split was “misaligned” with earnings contributions, pointing to Stokehouse’s limited scale and profitability and its “immaterial” contribution to combined earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation.
The board told shareholders that the proposed structure was misaligned and also flagged concerns over dilution, funding uncertainty and execution risk.
The board also reminded the market that the transaction would rely on a large capital raising by the demerged entity and create two smaller, less profitable businesses.
In summary, KMD concluded that separating Rip Curl would generate significant dis-synergies, incur one-off costs and consume management resources, while also removing the diversification benefits of its existing brand portfolio.
“The combination of multiple surf brands that directly compete with each other is not a strategy that has proven effective,” KMD chairman David Kirk told investors.
Meanwhile, KMD Brands remains focused on executing its Next Level strategy which is aiming at a full cost reset of at least $25 million.
KMD Brands is expected to release its audited half-year results tomorrow.
Within its February trading update, the retailer noted that Rip Curl recorded a 5.6% lift in sales for the five months to December 2025, while Kathmandu sales were up 12.9% over the same time frame.
However, despite the sales jump, group gross margin in those same five months was down by around 100 basis points to 56.7%.
Since mid-October last year, the share price has virtually halved to $0.163.
KMD Brands has a market cap of $115 million; the share price is down 50% in one year and is down 22% in the last month.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend, confirmed by multiple indicators.
Consensus is Hold.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
