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Key to the ACCC nod, the watchdog said on Thursday, was that “Suncorp, Allianz, QBE, and newer entrants like Youi would continue to compete” with IAG.

Also relevant was the fact that RACQ has fallen away from its competition since 2019.

(That is, of course, one of the reasons it said yes to the $855M buy-up.)

The RACQ will still be sticking around, though, with IAG Managing Director Nick Hawkins confirming it will “maintain brand and customer relationships.”

“This is a great first step in the regulatory process and recognises the benefits that would come from the two organisations working together as part of a 25-year strategic partnership agreement,” RACQ CEO David Carter said.

“We are just as confident today as we were when we first announced the partnership in the benefits that will come from our two organisations working together.”

The 25-year strategic partnership is exclusive, HotCopper understands, and will soon see IAG acquire 90% of RACQ’s current insurance underwriting business — focused entirely in Queensland for the time being.

IAG will be able to pick up the last 10% once the deal has been live for two years. At this stage, that’s looking like it will be sometime around mid-2027 at the earliest.

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To that end, IAG will make an up-front payment of $333 million to enter the distribution agreement. The buyer will also make a payment of shares equivalent to the expected net tangible asset value at the time of completion.

IAG has opened Thursday’s early morning trade up 2.1% at $8.70/sh.

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Also higher were operating income – up 1%, and underpinned by growth in lending volume and higher trading income – and operating performance, which was 1% higher than the first half quarterly average, and 6% higher the prior comparative quarter.

CBA was also buoyed by stronger data for business loans, which rose 9.1% to $3.7 billion from the previous quarter.

But the bank also underscored a 1% rise in operating expenses during the period, as a result of higher spending on technology and frontline staff, and partly offset by two less days in the quarter and the benefit of ongoing productivity initiatives.

CEO Matt Comyn said the bank was navigating successfully through a period which he acknowledged was ‘challenging’ for many Australian households and businesses as a result of cost-of-living pressures.

“Our focus on supporting our customers, investing in our franchise to deliver superior customer experiences and executing our strategy with consistency and discipline has delivered solid results for our shareholders,” he said.

“Our balance sheet settings remain strong. We have maintained strong capital and provisioning levels, and have successfully completed our FY25 funding task during the March quarter.

“Our deliberate and long-term conservative approach to key balance sheet settings enables us to support our customers, the economy and our shareholders through a range of macroeconomic scenarios.”

CBA shares have been $166.14.

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The financial services provider reported a net profit of A$3.715 billion for the year ended 31 March (FY25), this being a 5% increase from the prior comparable period (FY24).

Macquarie told investors that its profit performance in the second half of FY25 had also been stronger, coming in at $2.10 billion: a rise of 30% compared to the first half of FY25.

The business was also bolstered by a rise of 2% in net operating income for FY25, which was $17.208 billion, while operating expenses were also strong, at $12,140 billion: close to what had been reported for the prior reporting period.

Its final ordinary dividend was reported as $3.90 per share – of which 35% was franked – with the ordinary dividend for FY25 being $6.50 per share (also 35% franked), this representing a 2H25 payout ratio of 71% and FY25 payout ratio of 67%.

Also in FY25, Macquarie reported a net operating income of $A17.208 billion: this being up 2% per cent on FY24, while operating expenses of $A12.140 billion were close to the numbers for FY24. International income accounted for 66 per cent of Macquarie’s total income.

Managing director and CEO Shemara Wikramanayake said these figures showed the company in a strong position despite external headwinds.

“Against a backdrop of ongoing market and economic uncertainty, Macquarie’s client franchises remained resilient over the past year, delivering new business origination and underlying income growth, contributing to our history of unbroken profitability,” she said.

Macquarie Group has been trading at $195.89.

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The Australian sharemarket looks set to fall, tracking losses on Wall Street overnight, but losses may prove shortlived on news that China and the US are meeting this week for trade talks.

ASX futures were down 31 points, or by 0.4 per cent, predicting the S&P/ASX 200 index would extend losses for a third session as investors await further market updates from companies during the Macquarie Australia conference in Sydney.

That follows Wall Street’s guidance, with the US markets falling overnight and the S&P500 closed down around 0.8%.

In ASX news: NAB has booked a $3.58 billion profit, 1% higher than the prior period, JB Hi-Fi has report growth across all segments of its business, and ASIC has announced further restrictions on Macquarie’s licence.

On the markets:

All eyes are on the US Fed Reserve in the lead up to its rates decision early tomorrow morning Australian time.

That’s Market Open, have a great day.

The $17.5 billion asset has an expansion capacity up to 27.6 Mtpa, and is set to position Woodside as a global LNG powerhouse, delivering around 24 Mtpa from its portfolio in the 2030s—representing over 5% of global LNG supply.

The company expects the project to book around $2 billion in revenue at full capacity, contributing $8 billion to coffers over the next decade.

The investment has an internal rate of return above 13% and am expected payback period of seven years.

Stonepeak will invest $5.7 billion toward the project, accelerating funding through 2025 and 2026, while Woodside’s share of total capital expenditure is estimated at $11.8 billion.

Woodside emphasised that its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets remain unchanged following the decision.

CEO Meg O’Neill says Louisiana LNG is a “game-changer” that bolsters Woodside’s portfolio by adding US low-cost gas assets to its Australian base, offering marketing opportunities across the Pacific and Atlantic basins.

The project, the largest single foreign direct investment in Louisiana’s history, is anticipated to support around 15,000 jobs during construction and highlights the project as the first greenfield US LNG project final investment decision since July 2023.

Woodside has been trading at $20.40 at the time of writing.

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Ms McCann’s appointment is an internal one, as she is currently Group Executive, Customer & Corporate Services, and will take on the leadership mantle of the Consumer division from 12 May 2025.

Westpac CEO Anthony Miller said this was a wise appointment, given Ms McCann’s achievements thus far.

“Carolyn is an outstanding executive who has overhauled the operations of thebank in her current role,” he said.

“Under Carolyn’s leadership, our broker time to decision has more than halved, scam losses have been reduced by 40% and our customer complaints process has been dramatically simplified.

“Carolyn is a customer-focused leader who empowers her people to act. She will bring this focus to the Consumer division while we continue the search for a permanent chief executive.”

While Ms McCann is acting in this role, Carolyn Hoy – who is current General Manager, Property, Procurement and Resilience – will take on an acting role as Group Executive, Customer & Corporate Services.

This augments Ms Hoy’s 20-year experience with Westpac, in roles across Legal, Compliance and Risk.

Westpac shares have been trading at $32.30.

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The deal with US decking company Azek, has seen a swift and heated backlash from major investors, including AustralianSuper and UniSuper, after James Hardie issued 35% more shares and raised the prospect of migrating its primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange.

The crisis was exacerbated amid a weakened US housing market, elevating investor concerns about the timing and extraordinary price which was set at a 37% premium to Azek’s share price.

Analysts and fund managers lashed James Hardie for paying too much and ratcheting up its exposure to excessive financial risk amid a slowing US economy.

The ASX says its decision aligned wth established legal frameworks, aimed at reducing deal costs and execution risks.

But amid escalating pressure from investors like Aware Super, HESTA, and Fidelity Australia, ASX CEO Helen Lofthouse says the exchange would review the appropriateness of such waivers.

The review will update a 2017 analysis of shareholder approval thresholds for mergers and acquisitions, with further consultation planned.

Notwithstanding the review, James Hardie’s merger will close under existing waivers.

Investors reactions highlight their view that the acquisition unnecessarily exposes shareholders to significant cyclical risks, with US homebuilders reporting declining demand and rising construction costs.

Fund managers underscored James Hardie may be subject to additional earnings downgrades and potential capital raisings in the event the US housing market deteriorates.

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The bank entered a court-enforceable undertaking with the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) following conversations with the former about non-financial risk management practices and risk culture.

The EU is also connected to the appearance of issues in ANZ’s Global Markets Business, which had promoted the regulator to express concern about an uplift in the bank’s non-financial risk work program.

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Chairman Paul O’Sullivan said the bank was working towards improving its practices around non-financial risk, but had more to do. “We are disappointed that we have not met APRA’s expectations about how the bank manages non-financial risk and its non-financial risk culture,” he said.

“A strong non-financial risk regime is critical to protecting our bank and our customers.”

ANZ has been trading at $29.66.

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And it looks like Australia’s supermarket duopoly is simply going to walk away with a slap on the wrist. Thus the price action.

Coles’ (ASX:COL) share price was up +4.6% at the same time. If ALDI was listed on the ASX, you could bet it would be too.

So what did the ACCC end up saying about the supermarkets?

The regulator – whose job is to regulate – said not much can be done. There is no “silver bullet,” according to the agency you’d presume are there to manufacture them.

A list of recommendations – of course – came down with ACCC’s report. The regulator was quick to note supermarket profit margins in Australia – for Coles, Woolies, and IGA – are well above many international counterparts.

That’s about as close as the regulator got, in my view, to saying anything of real substance.

Two recommendations in the ACCC’s report stand out to me as good ideas.

The first is a recommendation supermarkets be forced to provide justification for why shelved items are priced the way they are.

Whether this would be little cardboard slips describing the price underneath items on supermarket shelves, or something related to a QR-code-scanning app, would be a choice for Woolies and Coles to make.

Another good recommendation is the supermarkets be forced to give farmers and other producers demand forecasts, presumably over the next six to twelve months.

It’s well known Australia’s supermarket duopoly holds great power over farmers broadly, and often, negotiations are carried out with deliberately manufactured urgency to put producers under pressure.

Of course, these recommendations sound pretty good – some great ideas from the ACCC here – but they’re completely worthless unless they’re legislated.

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And despite a lot of talking in Canberra about how these supermarkets need to be brought into line, right now at least, nobody is meaningfully rushing to table any bills.

So, for now, we can probably expect these defensive stocks to remain just that.

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This included providing customers with lower prices and “deeper” promotions, simplified promotional programs, clearer specials explanations, and greater accessibility to pricing info through the supermarket’s site and app.

Woolworths also confirmed it was following the ACCC’s recommendation in publishing all product prices online.

“We have worked constructively with the ACCC to help it understand our business, the sectors in which we operate, our suppliers and supply chains, and the considerable competition we face,” Amanda Bardwell, Woolies’ CEO, said.

“We play an important role in the lives of millions of Australians, more than 200,000 teammembers, and our suppliers.

“We have taken steps to improve the experiences customers and suppliers have with us, andcontinue to listen carefully to all of them.

“We fully understand customers want us to make it easier to find value, especially as the cost of living remains their major concern.”

In September 2024, the national regulator took both Woolworths and its close competitor Coles to court over claims their respective staple “Prices Dropped” and “Down Down” campaigns had been misleading.

The ACCC claimed some products were sold at regular long-term prices – excluding short-term specials, sometimes for up to a year – before being increased by 15%.

Then, these same products would be included in Woolworths’ “Prices Dropped” and Coles’ “Down Down” promotions, the ACCC said, with new prices less than the previous spike but still higher than the regular long-term price.

The ACCC review that followed – and which Woolies responded to today – aimed at encouraging greater transparency in pricing among Oz supermarkets.

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In its findings reported today, the ACCC noted “ALDI, Coles, and Woolworths are some of the most profitable supermarket businesses among global peers and their average product margins have increased over the past five financial years.”

Woolworths has been higher after the news and at 10:59am the supermarket was trading at $29.68 – a rise of 5.44% since the market opened.

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Or, in other words: Canberra is paying ANZ to stay in the region for the next ten years.

In the background, here, is the fact ANZ CEO Shayne Elliot noted halfway through last year the company’s Pacific region operations had become unprofitable.

Western banks have been leaving the region in recent years – driven by the same economics that make banks abandon country towns – but Canberra’s willingness to provide up to $2B to ANZ over ten years is part of a larger strategy.

And that strategy, between the written lines, is obvious: Soft geopolitical power.

In recent years, Australia’s cabinet representatives have been openly discussing the need to ensure Australian relationships with our Pacific counterparts remain strong to combat what is perceived as growing Chinese influence in the region.

(In fact, this has been of concern since 2015, when the Australian Defence Department released a paper on the issue. Since then, not much has changed.)

But last year, not long after Elliot stated that the Pacific region was unprofitable, concerns have been rising surrounding Chinese banks’ proliferation in the Pacific region.

It’s not hard to see why this could make Canberra twitchy. Banks are the linchpin of any economy – and who you bank with, over time, can easily create relationships.

To put it simply: Australia’s worried if the only ATM on Pacific Islands is branded HSBC and the like, that will eventually build loyalty to Chinese brands instead of Australia’s.

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Another way of putting it is that banks, after all, wield great power over both business and governmental spheres of life.

That the $2B deal confirmed on Friday, March 14, is part of a soft power strategy is evidenced by the fact that part of the deal is to have ANZ continue offering financial literacy services in the region.

“As part of NAZ’s commitment to improving the financial wellbeing of Pacific people and communities, ANZ will continue to promote and encourage financial literacy through its MoneyMinded program,” the bank wrote on Friday.

As for ANZ management, they’re clearly just happy to get something of a bailout, letting them avoid the fallout of any Pacific region exit. For at least ten years. Elliot noted on Friday, however, the guarantee is “not material.”

Without doubt, backroom negotiations were at play on this one.

ANZ last traded at $28.29.sh.

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The Canadian producer had originally eyed Australia as a perfect staging ground for dual-listing and expansion due to the lack of copper names on the bourse.

It wasn’t enough to just join the ranks of the ASX though; Capstone has been building an investment case that’s “compelling and relevant in quality and scale relative to exiting ASX investment opportunities” over the last 12 months – and it looks to have paid off, with investors seemingly liking what they’ve seen.

Today, Capstone is selling at $9.08 a share and has an $8.5 billion market cap.

Heading into this month’s index rebalancing, the company was 237th on the local bourse.

“We’re very pleased to be included in the S&P/ASX 200 index as part of the [upcoming] March rebalance,” Capstone CEO John MacKenzie said.

The inclusion is “recognition” of Capstone’s success with its secondary listing – the Vancouver company has been on the TSX since 2021 – the producer’s boss continued, pointing out its growing CDI market capitalisation and “robust trading liquidity.”

Shorts in the dual-listed company have also dipped as much as 11.7% in recent weeks.

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“We look forward to continuing to engage with analysts, institutional fund managers, and investors in the Asia Pacific region,” Capstone’s Mr MacKenzie added.

On top of its Australian market focus, the Vancouver explorer operates mining projects in Mexico, Chile, and the U.S. Though copper is its titular focus, Capstone also digs for silver, zinc, and other metals across a half-dozen sites.

CSC shares will open at $9.08 today after losing 1.94% on Friday.

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Shareholders will receive $2.15 a share after the company reported sales of 25,390 cochlear units. COH reported solid sales growth across the U.S. and Asia Pacific and lower rates of growth across several Western European countries.

It reported strong growth in the adults and seniors segment, which gained 10% for the half-year, while there was a decline in demand for children. Sales revenue for Cochlear implants jumped 5% to $1,170 million, although services revenue dropped back 12% after a strong 29% growth in the previous half-year.

Cochlear says services revenue is down due to lower upgrade rates, likely because customers were satisfied with the Cochlear Nucleus 7 sound processor.

But, the company also blamed the cost of living pressures.

“In the U.S., cost of living pressures have been a factor delaying the replacement of ageing sound processing technology, as many recipients incur out-of-pocket expenses to fund their new sound processor,” the company reports.

Even with those issues, statutory net profit increased 7%, to $205 million.

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Cochlear is now preparing for the release of new products, including its “next generation cochlear implant and off-the-ear sound processor,” which are expected to be commercially available from mid this year, subject to local regulatory approvals.

For FY25, Cochlear now expects underlying net profit to be at the lower end of the $410-430m guidance range it provided last August, considering a lower contribution from services revenue and higher cloud-related investment.

COH opened at $304.54 today after a 0.7% dip through Thursday trade.

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On top of that, the $28 billion Healthcare company heralded huge wins in U.S. contract pickups, renewals, and upgrades – an “unprecedented success.”

Between several deals, Pro Medicus has teed up as much as $365 million in new contracts over the next decade and re-upped $98 million in extensions with U.S. companies; a further $32 million came from an Aussie radiology provider.

“In the last two months alone, this resulted in contracts with a minimum value of $485 million including University of Kentucky and Bay Care, which were signed in January,” co-founder and CEO Sam Hupert said. “We continue to build the pipeline of opportunities across all market segments… and all client sizes.”

And yet, it wasn’t enough to keep PME in the green on Thursday. The Melbourne-based provider did climb as much as 3% soon after the earnings release but then handed it back (and then some) through to near arvo close.

By 3pm, Pro Medicus had retreated by $12.56 a share, to sell at $275.75. Ten minutes later, it had rebounded somewhat to sell at just 1.4% down.

With some minutes to close, there’s every chance the rollercoaster moves again.

One easy answer to why would simply be profit-taking; considering the 3% jump earlier today ticked the Melbourne imaging company straight into an all-time high some investors may just see it as a good time to bank earnings.

(Then, that ten-minute re-surge may be new faces joining the PME party.)

Others may be looking at growth prospects and questioning whether the company is doing enough to justify its $31B cap. (It’s one spot outside Australia’s top 20 companies.)

No matter what the answer is, one can only imagine the PME team is relatively unphased.

Mr Hupert’s comments suggest as much too: The Pro Medicus boss suggested these results “reinforce just how large an opportunity the U.S. is for us.”

“Roughly 60 cents of every dollar spent on healthcare globally is spent in the U.S.,” he continued. “It is a huge market so there is plenty of runway despite a slew of recent wins.”

For those who’ve been playing a while, it’s easy to recognise this may just be the Pro Medicus trend around results now; the company’s price shaved as much as 20% in the days after its first-half FY24 results. That was a road bump though, because the company then went on to double by the end of the calendar year.

Whether history repeats in 2025 is anyone’s guess. PME is $284.33 right now.

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There were hurdles aplenty along the way, of course, most recently shareholder voting in January – but come this morning, everything’s tucked away.

That leaves many with one big question though: Well, what happens now?

In its simplest sense, Chemist Warehouse is now publicly listed.

Things are a little more complicated than that though. Technically we’re still going to see “SIG” as the ticker on the Aussie trading shelves, with $4.5B Sigma Healthcare now sitting as the home of the chemist outlet chain.

Once this backdoor listing goes through though, the newly-merged ASX titan should leapfrog straight into the top 20 companies on the bourse.

(HotCopper would say SIG lands somewhere between QBE Insurance and REA Group.)

And now for the gritty details – how this backdoor listing came about.

Well, Sigma Healthcare agreed to “acquire” Chemist Warehouse for $700 million in cash back in December 2023. Only, Sigma (who also backed up $300 million more in refinanced debt to see the offer go through) is actually walking away with just 14.25% of the new-look 2025 company investors can buy into.

On the other side of the blockbuster bargain, Chemist Warehouse shareholders, mostly made up of the venture’s franchisees Mario Verrocchi and brothers Jack and Sam Gance, managed to walk away with 85.75% of the entity.

Basically, Sigma’s Chemist Warehouse ‘buy-up’ was a simpler way to get CWG onto the Australian Securities Exchange without running an IPO.

The combo company did have to tick some ASX boxes, but that’s all been long-sorted.

The ACCC too did its due diligence before giving everything the ‘OK.’

Two things will be key for interested HotCopper investors to watch this Thursday as Chemist Warehouse finally becomes available to trade in Week 7.

The Verrocchi and Gance families, who command a large chunk of the company, have agreed not to sell shares until Sigma’s FY25 results in August. They’ll then be allowed to ship as much as 10% away (if they want to).

However – some franchisees have been un-escrowed now that the whole sale process is wrapped up. There have been talks of a “bloodbath” from the Financial Review should they decide to cash in, though that major bloc did only recently rebuff several investment banks wanting to facilitate that sizeable move.

That doesn’t mean it won’t happen, of course, with legal questions and queries may be the biggest stopper for one big shares sell-down. And, with the chock out from under the door, the involved families may still make individual plays.

Numbers-wise, as much as $750 million to $1 billion worth of shares could be sold by the franchisees straight away. Watch the trades column for those.

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The other side of Thursday’s coin is that index-tracking funds have to get in the game.

That means there is definitely going to be buying as indexes do their due diligence and pick up packets in Sigma Healthcare. That could inject a predicted $2.2 billion into the buying side of the market for the merged company.

No matter what, all eyes will most definitely be on the Chemist Warehouse-Sigma Healthcare stock at open on Thursday; expect it to headline everywhere.

As for a starting point, Sigma closed at $2.76 yesterday. It had been down 1.08%.

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In the half year to December 2024, IAG recorded a net profit after tax (NPAT) of $778 million, up from $407 million in 1H FY24.

This included an insurance profit of $957 million – up 55.9% from $614 million.

Managing director and CEO Nick Hawkins said the results showed this half had been a particularly good period for the insurer. “Today’s result was delivered in a period of favourable weather and benefited from a $200 million release from the COVID Business Interruption provision,” he explained.

“Our results reflect the volatility of our sector and the fact we’re often subject to factors outside our control – the good years help us weather the bad and be well positioned to pay future customer claims.

“We continue to focus on customers as we help keep communities safe and support thoseexperiencing cost of living pressures. Storms, floods, and the L.A. fires are a stark reminder of the need to be a well-prepared nation.”

IAG’s interim dividend was set at 12cps – a rise of 20% from 1H24’s 10cps.

IAG has been trading at $8.92.

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This was beyond what analysts had expected, with CBA explaining its core business had experienced volume growth and that this – as well as a lower loan impairment expense – underpinned the NPAT figure.

Within the core business, Commonwealth said the number of home loans had risen 3% while business and corporate loans were up 2%.

Chief executive officer Matt Comyn said the bank’s performance was particularly good, especially considering the wider economic headwinds right now.

“Through supporting our customers and investing in our franchise, we have been able to deliver solid results for our shareholders, despite the weaker economic backdrop,” he said.

“Our consistent financial performance demonstrates our disciplined operational and strategic execution, and the bank’s deep customer relationships that help us understand needs and risks and deliver superior digital experiences.”

Comyn also said inflation was creeping closer to the RBA’s target range, but acknowledged economic conditions had been tough for many Australians.

“The Australian economy has slowed considerably, with cost of living pressures continuing to weigh on consumer demand and younger customers in particular making real sacrifices,” Mr Comyn said.

“Private sector growth is weak, immigration is starting to slow and geopolitical uncertaintiesremain.”

CBA reported an interim dividend of $2.25, up 5% from the first half of FY24.

The ‘big four’ bank’s shares have been trading at $162.16.

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With this last contractual hurdle cleared, Fortescue can now put a bow on its $254 million Red Hawk takeover. The premium approach came in at $1.05 a share.

Everything will now wrap up by March 3, pending any last-gasp changes. It’s more of a ‘finish line’ move than anything too; Twiggy Forest’s mining powerhouse had already picked up as much as 75% of the $253 million smallcap.

FMG will soon control Red Hawk’s valuable Blacksmith project, the Pilbara’s largest direct shipping iron ore operation not already in the hands of the big producers.

The takeover makes sense for Fortescue: Blacksmith is just 30 kilometres from Solomon.

Of particular value at the now-acquired Pilbara project – which expands Fortescue’s 87,000sqkm Western Australian heartland – is the 243 million tonnes of iron ore a mineral resource estimate said is waiting to be dug up.

Fortescue has recently wanted to add more steelmaking ingredients – this fulfils that aim.

Earlier in the process, the takeover was given a tick by BDO Corporate Finance, with the independent expert deeming the offer “fair and reasonable” to shareholders.

Red Hawk’s powerbrokers will be happy everything is now formally tied up; the miner’s board backed the Fortescue takeover bid from the beginning.

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“The board is very proud of the significant work completed by the Red Hawk team to date… and believes that the offer is well-deserved recognition of this hard work and the significant value it has created,” the board said in January.

Red Hawk will open at $1.20 a share (where it’s been since January 28).

Meanwhile, FMG is expected to sell 0.3% higher on this news.

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The $5B market cap company will pay an unfranked dividend of US22.2 cents, after reporting a nearly 30% increase in sales, to USD$1019.7m. This represents 12.5% on an “organic constant currency basis.”

What’s constant currency? Well, that’s comparing the result with the same half last year at constant currency, adjusting for the effects of acquisitions, divestments and businessexits including the company’s ‘household gloves exit’ and KBU acquisition.

KBU was bought from Kimberly-Clark Corporation for $635.1 million and finalised at the start of July last year.

The company has upped its FY25 Earnings Per Share guidance by 10 cents, to US128c.

MD and CEO Neil Salmon said he was encouraged by the momentum in ANN’s underlying business, saying it’s on track to complete integration of KBU within 12 months.

“Good top and bottom-line results in our industrial segment were supported by a significant contribution from new products,” he said.

“[That’s] helping to overcome muted demand conditions in key manufacturing end markets, and our healthcare segment rebounded from the effects of distributor destocking in the prior period.

“Higher sales drove strong earnings growth in both segments, including a contribution from KBU which was ahead of our acquisition business case, and growing savings from APIP.”

Ansell’s APIP, or Accelerated Productivity Investment Program, targets FY26 annualised pre-tax cost savings of $50 million.

Another key metric is the company’s pro forma net debt to EBITDA reduced to 1.6x, reducing interest costs moving forward.

Mr Salmon did warn Ansell may not be immune from changing trade policies.

“Entering the second half we see a path to continued organic constant currency sales growth, despite subdued industrial demand and uncertainty stemming from changing trade policies in various countries,” he said.

Tariffs have been announced on U.S. imports of products from China, Mexico, and Canada.

Ansell reports it has plans to substantially offset tariff increases through pricing, with limited cost impact expected in FY25 H2.

He says strength was underpinned by the “opportunity and flexibility provided by Ansell’s balanced end market exposure and diversified global supply chain.”

KBU sales in the first half were $140.9m, representing growth of 7.4% on an organic constant currency basis.

KBU EBIT in FY25 H1 was $34.8m, representing growth of 22.1% on an organic constant currency basis. Growth was driven by higher sales and margin favourability

The growth was thanks to Kimtech’s (trademark) cleanroom and laboratory products, more than offsetting declines in KleenGuard’s (trademark) industrial safety products.

Sales of KleenGuard industrial safety products were supported by Kimberly-ClarkProfessional sales force in the first half and are being transferred to Ansell, which says it will have “renewed focus and dedicated support to help return this business to growth.”

ANN shares last traded at $34.93.

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Metro, red meat supplier Greenstock, and own-brand business Woolworths Food Company Retail will now become part of Woolworths Retail more broadly.

The latter division will be led by Annette Karantoni, who has previously led Woolworths’ supply chain business Primary Connect, and has 20 years of experience across the company.

Another shift will see Sally Copland return to New Zealand to become managing director of the company’s regional division in that country.

The changes at Woolies have been made in the wake of rising costs and an ACCC investigation into pricing claims also involving Coles (ASX:COL) – with the board saying changes to its Food leadership and structure have been made ‘to allow a greater focus on the areas that have the most impact for customers.’

Woolworths Group CEO Amanda Bardwell said the shifts had been made in consideration of the latter’s needs. “Our Woolworths Retail business is the cornerstone of our group and critical to our success,” she said.

“Getting it right for our customers starts with our team and we are taking the opportunity tosimplify the way we work to create the biggest impact for our customers.

“With Metro, Greenstock and Woolworths Food Company Retail moving into Woolworths Retail under Annette’s leadership, we will be able to enhance the role our retail food stores and own brand play in meeting the needs of our customers.”

Woolworths shares last traded at $30.17 – a rise of 0.43% since the market opened.

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