Daily Roundup

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Flight Centre Faces Middle East Headwinds but Presses Ahead with Buy-Back

Flight Centre Travel Group has trimmed its FY26 profit guidance to $275m-$295m underlying profit before tax, down from earlier expectations. The culprit? The Middle East conflict, which is expected to wipe roughly $50m off leisure earnings as international travel demand softens. Despite the disruption, the company's corporate travel business remains on track for strong growth, and the revised midpoint sits broadly in line with FY25's $286m result.

Confidence in the recovery appears intact, though. Flight Centre announced an up to $200m on-market buy-back of issued capital, signaling management's belief that current valuations don't reflect the company's underlying strength once travel patterns normalize.

Stealth Group Hits Record Sales as HBT Acquisition Pays Dividends

Australia's leading hardware and industrial distributor, Stealth Group Holdings, is posting record preliminary results for FY26 with sales hitting $165 million, up 13.7% year-on-year. The real standout is net profit after tax, which surged 87.1% to $5.8 million, while EBITDA jumped 44.4% to $14.3 million.

The company's November 2025 acquisition of Hardware & Building Traders for $22 million has already started delivering. Beyond the immediate revenue boost, Stealth has expanded its supplier network, broadened product categories, and secured two new exclusive distribution agreements with global brands. The company also launched products on Woolworths and Amazon, tapping into new customer channels. With these moves in place, Stealth remains on track for its FY28 target of $500 million in annual sales and an EBITDA margin of 8-12%.

RocketDNA Consolidates Ownership of WA Arm

RocketDNA is moving to acquire the remaining 40% of its Western Australian subsidiary, bringing full ownership in-house. The deal won't disrupt operations, customer relationships, or revenue—it's purely a structural play. The consideration of $1.0 million will be satisfied entirely in new shares, with no cash changing hands. Those shares will sit in escrow for 12 months, keeping the original founders' interests aligned with RocketDNA shareholders.

Symal Bulks Up Defence Credentials with Shamrock Civil Takeover

Symal Group has struck a conditional agreement to acquire Shamrock Civil, a Queensland-based defence and resources contractor with over 30 years in the game and a 200-strong workforce. The $51.0 million upfront price comprises $40.8 million in cash and $10.2 million in Symal shares, with potential earn-outs tied to FY26 and FY27 EBITDA performance.

Shamrock brings serious firepower to Symal's platform. The contractor generates roughly $220 million in annual revenue, with over $100 million flowing from defence work and a 70% defence pipeline. That positions Symal to capitalize on Australia's $425 billion defence spend pipeline over the next decade. Shamrock's 20-year track record in major gas projects also adds valuable resources sector exposure, with established relationships across QGC, Arrow Energy, Santos, and Origin Energy. The deal is expected to be earnings per share accretive in Symal's first full year of ownership, and Shamrock's founders will stay on to lead day-to-day operations.

Aerometrex Lands AI Data Deals Worth $1.07 Million

Aerometrex has inked two off-the-shelf data licensing agreements with AI innovators, totaling $1.07 million. US-based Zeromatter Technologies will license 3D datasets from Aerometrex's US and ANZ catalogues to train its autonomous simulation engine, while Sydney-based Neara will tap into Aerometrex's LiDAR imagery to power its digital twin platform for utilities.

The deals underscore growing demand from AI companies hunting for mass real-world spatial data to train and validate their models. Aerometrex's unique combination of data volume, spatial accuracy, and geographic breadth positions it as a go-to partner for this emerging market. Both contracts will be invoiced and paid before the end of FY26.