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

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to invest in Perplexity as part of an equity funding round that would value the AI startup at more than $US30 billion ($42b).

The funding round would increase Perplexity’s valuation by more than 50 per cent from its previous financing a year ago, according to The Information, which cited people with knowledge of the discussion.

Perplexity’s annualised revenue has risen to more than $US750 million from less than $US250m at the start of the year, the report said.

Part of the revenue growth has been driven by Perplexity Computer, a cloud-based AI agent used by professionals to automate computer-based tasks, the report added, citing people familiar with the matter.

Perplexity declined to comment on the Information report, while Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Information reported in September last year that Perplexity had finalised a $US20b valuation.

Earlier this year, Perplexity signed a $US750m agreement with Microsoft to use its Azure cloud service, according to a Bloomberg News report.

Perplexity is planning to go public in 2028 regardless of how the market receives the listings of Anthropic and OpenAI, CEO Aravind Srinivas told CNBC in an interview in June.

The startup’s high-profile backers, along with Nvidia, include Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Japan’s SoftBank Group.

Scandal-plagued Monash IVF has pushed back the date to release its full-year results.

It was due to report today but told investors this monring that completion of the audit of its FY26 financial statements “is taking longer than anticipated”.

“The company will therefore be postponing the release of its FY2026 results while management works closely with the company’s auditor to complete the remaining audit procedures,” it said.

It is now due to release its earnings on August 31.

Two embryo implant mix-ups in Victoria and Queensland sent Monash shares tumbling last year.

The first incident emerged in April 2025 and involved a woman giving birth to a stranger’s child. Then in June, a woman had her own embryo implanted, not her partner’s embryo as planned.

The company refused to publicly release an independent review into the incidents, only saying: “Both cases involved non-standard IVF treatments and circumstances that would not arise in the vast majority of IVF procedures”.

Michael Knaap resigned as chief executive two days after the second scandal was revealed. His permanent replacement, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Atkinson, took the helm in January.

Monash pioneered the world’s first IVF pregnancy in the 1970s.

News of the delayed financial sent Monash’s shares down 4.7 per cent as investors sweat on the setback.

The stock now sits at 71c, still well off the $1.11 they were at before the mix-ups were reported.

GR Engineering is rattling the tin for $110 million to shore up its books as it chases more work and pursue potential acquisitions.

It marks the first round of raising since the contractor hit the trading boards in 2011.

MD Tony Patrizi said the outlook was strong, with $1 billion of new contracts booked since April.

“FY27 revenue guidance is expected to be in the range of $825m to $850m (67 per cent to 72 per cent increase on FY26 revenue of $493m),” he said.

“The high end of the FY27 revenue guidance is over 90 per cent secured based on projects that are contracted, with the remaining revenue expected from studies, minor works and other new work consistent with prior years.

“To support this growth, the group is undertaking strategic capital initiatives to ensure that it is well-positioned to deliver on the contracted and near-term pipeline of work.

“These strategic capital initiatives will also provide the group with added flexibility to pursue potential acquisition opportunities.”

The raising will consist of a $6.10-a-share institutional placement - a discount of 3.3 per cent from Friday’s closing price - to raise $100m and a $10m share purchase plan, also priced at $6.10 a share.

News of the raising came the same day GR reported a small lift in full-year revenue to $493.2m, up from $479m a year earlier.

Earnings were also slightly higher at $63.1m. Net profit rose from $34.2m to $39m.

GR will lift its final dividend to 10c a share, pushing the full-year payout to 25c, up from the previous year’s 22c.

It ended the year with cash of $87.9m and no external debt.

Macmahon will keep plugging away at the Telfer gold mine in WA’s north after securing a 42-month contract extension from Andrew Forrest-back Greatland Gold.

The contractor, which started mining services on site at Telfer in 2015 when it was owned by Newmont, will collect $485 million for the extra work.

It said the Telfer represented a significant expansion of mining operations within Telfer’s West Dome stage 7, including increased mining volumes and the delivery of full mining services, including drill and blast, load and haul, and associated operational activities.

“This extension represents an important milestone in our partnership with Greatland and reinforces the strategic importance of Telfer to our business and reflects our proven track record of operational performance on site for over a decade,” said Macmahon MD Michael Finnegan.

The comapny’s shares were up 2.4 per cent in morning trade to $1.06.

Perth residential developer Peet has entered a trading halt on speculation a deal could be in the works.

The company said the pause would last until the start of trade on Wednesday, or earlier if it releases an update.

“Peet requests the trading halt pending the release of an announcement to the market in response to media speculation of a corporate transaction involving Peet and is required to ensure Peet securities are not trading on a misinformed basis,” it said.

As reported in The West Australian last month, Peet revealed it was in talks about a $1 billion bid that would deliver its large land bank to retirement living business Ingenia Communities amid soaring demand in Australia for homes.

Peet, with a market cap of $820 million, and Sydney-based Ingenia, which develops and operates holiday and rental estates largely targeting downsizing baby boomers, broke cover on Friday, July 10 after months of speculation to confirm they were discussing “corporate opportunities”.

The WA group, shares in which hit a record high in February, has effectively been on the market since it pulled in Goldman Sachs 11 months ago to undertake a strategic review.

Peet’s shares last changed hands at $1.81, off from its 2026 high of $2.19 reached in early March

Adore Beauty of tipping a “material step-up” in revenue this financial year desipite what it concedes is a challenging economic environment.

The lift could come from five new locations that are set to open by December to grow its retail network to 25.

Adore Beauty grew revenue 4.3 per cent in the year to June 30 to $207.3 million, driven by a $18.6m contribution from its stores, strong retail media growth and owned brands.

Those owned brands, including IKOU, delivered double-digit growth to account for 5.8 per cent of total group product.

CEO Sacha Laing said FY26 was a “transitional year for earnings” as the group accelerated its omnichannel strategy, more than doubling its retail footprint.

“In a challenging market, Adore Beauty’s omnichannel strategy has demonstrated the underlying potential of this business,” she said.

“We delivered record group revenue and double-digit new customer growth whilst significantly reducing our marketing spend.

“Our integrated retail stores are enabling us to cost-effectively acquire new customers, improve share-of-wallet, and grow revenues.

“ More than half our retail network is less than a year old with meaningful revenue contribution expected in FY27 as transaction conversion steps-up and the halo benefits of the omnichannel strategy are realised.”

The group’s 538,000 active Adore Rewards loyalty members contributed 81 per cent of sales in the year, up from 70 per cent in FY25, while the Adore Beauty app accounted for 36 per cent of online sales during the period, 2 1 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Shein is seeking to raise as much as $HK13.9 billion ($2.5b) in its Hong Kong initial public offering, as it enters the final stretch of an arduous journey to go public.

The fast-fashion retailer is offering 280 million shares at $HK47.60 to $HK49.50 each, according to a filing to the stock exchange Monday. Shein will debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange September 1.

Cornerstone investors include Boyu Capital, Tiger Global, General Atlantic, Tencent Holdings and UBS AM Singapore.

Founded in mainland China but now headquartered in Singapore, Shein has been attempting to list for several years. Initial plans to debut in the US and then London foundered as the company came under scrutiny and was entangled in wider tensions between China and the US and others.

After waiting about a year for Beijing to give its blessing since filing for an IPO in Hong Kong, Shein is going public as it is being buffeted by tariffs, competition from PDD Holdings’ Temu and regulatory pressure. Its valuation has sunk as a result.

The IPO prospectus shows Shein swung to a loss of $US99 million ($138m) in the first quarter of 2026 from a $US395m profit a year earlier, while revenue has also been declining.

Shein plans to use the IPO proceeds to enhance technology such as inventory management systems, invest in marketing to improve its image globally, and strengthen its supply chain governance and decarbonization efforts.

Bloomberg

Health insurer nib has booked a near 6 per cent dip in full-year net profit to $186.9 million but says the result beat expectations even as its total number of policyholders barely lifted in a competitive market.

The company had 1.133 million total policy holders at June 30, up less than one per cent from 1.124 million at the end of the previous financial year.

But insurance revenue jumped by 6.5 per cent as more Australian resident customers switched to higher-value Silver level cover.

“We are now deliberately shifting growth towards high-value and more sustainable segments,” chief executive Ed Close said.

“We also see increased customer churn through broker channels, elevated by high promotional activity from competitors.”

Mr Close’s remarks come after Medibank Private chief executive David Koczkar last week said aggregators - private health insurance comparison websites - were pushing churn between different providers, as their chase of lucrative commissions drove up premiums.

nib declared a 21.¢ per share final dividend, including a 5¢ special dividend, saying it had further optionality as cash from the sale of most of its travel insurance business to a subsidiary of Allianz Group flowed through.

The deal was announced in June, for a consideration of up to $50m.

The insurer increased its target dividend payout ratio by 5 per cent to 65-75 per cent, crediting group balance sheet strength and free cash flow.

The owner of two of the nation’s best-known bottle shop chains continues to lift sales in its flagship retail business after cutting prices to draw in more customers.

But the outlook for consumer spending remains uncertain as higher interest rates, cost of living pressures and the conflict in the Middle East weigh on sentiment.

Endeavour Group, which owns the Dan Murphy’s and BWS networks, made a bottom line net profit of $52 million for the year ended June 28, a fall of almost 90 per cent.

But the 2025/26 result was skewed by a one-off $311m post-tax expense related to the writedown of certain assets and costs related to its strategy review.

If that’s taken out, its profit came to $363m, a fall of almost 15 per cent, on sales of $12.2 billion, up 1.3 per cent.

“Our retail business is consistently gaining share, delivering 10 consecutive months of sales growth,” chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka said

That growth followed the introduction of lower shelf prices in Dan Murphy’s at the end of the first quarter of financial year 2026.

It also increased promotional activity across both Dan Murphy’s and BWS.

“Sales momentum in retail is building with customers responding positively to our renewed focus on value and price leadership,” the booze boss said.

Retail sales totalled $10b in the year, up 0.7 per cent, with Dan Murphy’s contributing to most of that with a gain of one per cent.

Endeavour’s hotel business, made up of hundreds of pubs across Australia, generated $2.2b in sales, up 4.2 per cent.

Looking ahead, retail sales for the first seven weeks of 2026/27 are positive.

Read more here ...

Soaring petrol prices fuelled by the lingering war between the US and Iran has driven up profit for oil refiner and fuel retailer Ampol almost five-fold.

Half-year replacement cost operating profit - which excludes the impact of oil prices on inventories - rocketed to $857.2 million, a staggering 376 per cent jump from $180.2m a year earlier.

Statutory net profit rose from a $25.3m loss the previous financial yeat to $1.36 billion.

“While the market dislocation provided a benefit to our financial results, our supply responsiveness, trading capabilities, refinery reliability, customer and supplier relationships as well as the progress of our retail segmentation strategy all enabled Ampol to meet its customers’ needs,” said MD Matt Halliday.

“In short, the underlying business performance improved across multiple segments as Ampol’s supply chain remained resilient, when less robust supply chains faltered.”

Ampol said crude oil and energy product markets have continued to be volatile into the second half due to the war, although that was also helping regional refining margins.

“Overall, July 2026 earnings are ahead of the prior corresponding period, underpinned by strong refinery earnings,” it said.

Ampol is Australia’s largest transport fuel provider, accounting for about 15 to 20 per cent of total refined fuel needs.

Ampol declared an interim dividend of $1.85, up from 40c the year before.