Reporting season: All the latest news from companies releasing financial results to the ASX today

Lindian Resources is on a tear after the Perth-based miner announced it had bought out the other half of its Sareco mixed rare earths carbonate joint venture from Japanese giant Sumitomo.

Lindian picked up 51 per cent of the project in northern Kazakhstan in March but said this morning it would acquire the other 51 per cent for $US20 million.

The deal also includes two additional warehouses totalling about 15,500sqm and further land and associated assets that it said would provide substantial capacity for future expansion.

Sareco’s hydrometallurgical processing facility will start converting monazite concentrate into higher-value MREC from later this year. It will be the only processing facility of commercial scale outside of China, MP Materials, Serra Verde and Lynas Rare Earths.

“Sareco gives Lindian a highly capital-efficient pathway into downstream rare earth processing, together with the land and infrastructure to support further expansion over time,” said executive chair Robert Martin.

Lindian also holds the Kanganjunde rare earths project in Malawi, with first production also due later this year.

Shares in the company were up 14.3 per cent at 10.30am to 80c.

Australia’s financial crimes watchdog has suspended a cryptocurrency automatic teller machines network from trading after the outfit failed to meet basic reporting obligations.

AUSTRAC chief executive Brendan Thomas said on Monday that Cryptolink Pty Ltd’s registration had been suspended for three months amid ongoing concerns about its compliance with anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.

The digital currency exchange provider operates 96 ATMs around Australia, allowing customers to exchange cash for 10 types of cryptocurrency including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin.

Read more here

Shares in Treasury Wine Estates jumped to an eight-month high after announcing a $558.4 million post-tax writedown to tackle supply chain problems in its US market.

The winemaker behind the iconic Penfolds brand said it would reduce the size of its US North Coast vintages from 2026, as well as writing down some inventory that would be sold into bulk wine markets.

Treasury Wine said the move was designed to deal with a softening demand outlook and “accelerate an improvement in the Americas region profitability over the medium-term”.

Shares in the company jumped by as much as 7.9 per cent after the announcement, reaching the highest since December.

“Supply chain rebalancing efforts are a necessary action to re-establish market equilibrium against a challenging demand backdrop,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Michael Toner said in a note.

The Australian winemaker has long struggled with problems in its US operations, with chief executive Sam Fischer saying the company’s American results “aren’t what I would’ve expected from the capital we’ve got in the market.”

Ahead of the release of its full-year results on Thursday, the company said its unaudited earnings before interest, tax and a measure to smooth the volatility of agricultural valuations would come in at $492.3 million, slightly ahead of guidance.

Iconic Australian activewear brand Stax has been saved after the fashion retailer was bought out of receivership.

On Monday, it was announced the business was bought out by an Australian investor group led by Justin Truong and Sandy Li-Truong – who are entrepreneurs behind e-commerce marketplace Pushas.

Under the deal, the investor group acquired the brand’s trademarks, design intellectual property, Nandex fabric technology and digital assets.

Mr Truong has been named as the new chair and will install a new chief executive for the day-to-day operations of the business.

Activewear brand Stax collapsed in June and entered administration on July 10, with Brian Silvia and Michael Hird of Cascap Advisory as joint liquidators.

Documents released in late July revealed Stax’s precarious financial position has been revealed with the retailer owing more than $6.7m to staff, creditors and the Australian Taxation Office.

Read more here ...

Shares in Car Group have zoomed 10 per cent higher in early trade after the carsales.com.au operator reported pro-forma revenue for the full year of $1.25 billion.

That was up 10 per cent on the previous year’s $1.14b and delivered net profit of $314 million, up 14 per cent.

Revenue in Australia soared 7 per cent as carsales.com.au maintained its market leadership “while AI-led improvements in search, personalisation and workflow tools enhanced the experience for consumers and dealers”.

Its North America, Latin America and Asia business units all recorded double-digit growth.

“We continued to move beyond traditional classifieds, building connected automotive ecosystems that support customers across more of the vehicle ownership journey,” said Car Group MD William Elliott.

“These ecosystems strengthen customer relationships, create new opportunities to deliver value and capture revenue and embed Car Group more deeply in the markets we serve.”

Mr Elliott also noted the shift towards electric vehicles as crippling petrol prices force drivers to seek alternatives.

“The shift towards electric vehicles and the emergence of new EV entrants into our markets are already contributing to our performance and represent an ongoing opportunity,” he said.

Car Group declared an improved final dividend of 43.5, up 2c from last year. That took the full-year payout to 86c, up from 80c in FY25.

The company;s shares were 9.8 per cent higher $29.65.

Australia’s leading market index has fallen into the red at the start of a big reporting week for the nation’s top 200 companies.

The S&P/ASX200 has slipped 24 points, or 0.3 per cent, after the first 20 minutes of trade to 9236.7, despite a strong lead from Wall Sreet at the end of last week.

The lack of progress on a peace deal in the Middle East saw oil extended its gains in early trading as Iran rejected talks with the US and an agreement to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz remained elusive.

Global benchmark Brent crude rose 0.8 per cent to trade above $US84 a barrel after rising more than 5 per cent over the previous three sessions.

Among the best performers on the local market were Car Group (up 8 per cent), Treasury Wine Estates (up 5.7 per cent) and WA gold miners Resolute Mining, Ora Banda Mining and Pantoro Gold, all up about 5 per cent.

Westpac, which earlier reported loan applications had slid 20 per cent, was off 3.6 per cent.

Tabcorp has agreed to acquire wagering technology provider BetMakers Technology Group at an enterprise value of about $267 million, as the Australian betting company seeks to accelerate an overhaul of its technology platform amid growing scrutiny of the industry’s digital practices and protections for gamblers.

Tabcorp will pay 24c a share for BetMakers.

The Melbourne-based company said the deal will accelerate the modernisation of its wagering technology stack, building on a two-year transformation at BetMakers.

“BetMakers has undergone a significant transformation over the past two years and built impressive wagering technology,” Tabcorp chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.

“Accessing those advantages will uplift our own tech capability.”

The push to upgrade wagering technology comes as Australia’s online betting industry faces heightened scrutiny over the safeguards designed to protect problem gamblers.

Earlier this year, the Federal Government introduced long-awaited curbs on gambling advertising, preventing companies from promoting themselves at sports venues. Still, that fell short of the full ban on betting ads that had been recommended by a parliamentary inquiry.

Australians lose about $25 billion on legal forms of gambling each year, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

Online gambling is the fastest-growing segment, with digital technology making betting increasingly accessible, while Australia has the highest gambling losses per capita of any country, according to Parliament.

Embattled Treasury Wine Estates has warned it will cop a $558.4 million hit to its books as it looks to rebalnce its troubled US supply chain.

The blow relates to the non-cash writedown of US based assets and a further impairment of brands DAOU, Frank Family Vineyards and Beaulieu Vineyard

TWE announced it June that it would pursue a strategic and operational review of its Americas business, focused on a “structural misalignment” within its US supply chain which left it with excess capacity as demand fell.

It will now reduce North Coast vintage sizes, including through the fallowing of vineyards to reduce annual grape intake.

“The underlying momentum in our business remains positive, with our key brands delivering depletions growth ahead of their categories, led by Penfolds, DAOU and Frank Family Vineyards, and we expect to report F26 EBITS ahead of the guidance we shared in June,” said chief executive Sam Fischer.

The number of businesses slapped with restrictions or disqualifications from the corporate watchdog has reached a five-year high.

Fresh figures from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission revealed it removed 150 rogue operators following investigations in the past financial year.

Data for 2025/2026 revealed the watchdog removed or restricted 87 individuals and businesses from providing financial services, while bans or restrictions were placed on a further 27 from credit services.

There were 36 people who were disqualified from managing corporations during the financial year.

It represents a 42 per cent increase from 2024/25 for the total number of enforcement actions taken by the watchdog.

Among the highest profile actions included a permanent ban for former financial adviser Barry King for misappropriating funds from clients and falsifying documents.

The watchdog also banned 15 advisers linked to the failure of the Shield Master Fund or First Guardian Master Fund.

Data from the financial year showed 61 per cent of all actions for financial services and 89 per cent of credit outcomes led to a permanent banning order or the cancellation of a licence.

ASIC chair Sarah Court said those in significant financial management positions needed to meet requirements.

“ASIC will continue to take decisive action against individuals and businesses that fail to meet their legal obligations,” she said.

The Aussie share market is set to climb higher after the S&P in the US closes at a record high to cap off a strong week of gains for the major indexes on Friday.

The leap came after data showed the US economy unexpectedly shed jobs last month and dampened expectations the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its September meeting.

Market expectations for a rate hike from the Fed at its next meeting dropped to about 44 per cent, according to CME FedWatch, down from 55 per cent in the prior session and 67 per cent a week ago.

Signs of progress for a potential peace deal in the Iran war have helped cool oil prices and, in turn, have eased inflation worries that could prompt a Fed rate hike and pushed Treasury yields lower.

A strong earnings season has also tempered concerns about the massive spending by AI-related companies, sending each of the three major indexes to their biggest weekly percentage gains since mid-April.

“You probably have to lower rates to kind of stimulate job growth, but if you lower rates, you’re going to also stimulate inflation. So you’re kind of in a pickle at this point, and yet the market’s just taken off because earnings have been stellar,” said Tom Siomades, chief market economist at AE Wealth Management in Topeka, Kansas.

“The market should be reacting to weak job numbers and higher inflation and the possibility of a slow-growth economy that may need to have rates raised rather than cut, and yet it’s not. We’re setting records, so go figure.”