Daily Roundup

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Kip McGrath Education Centres is making moves to strengthen its position as the leading K-12 tutoring operator across ANZ and the UK. The company wrapped up FY26 with revenue of $30.1 million and an impressive 25% EBITDA margin, representing a solid 9% five-year growth rate. With a refreshed leadership team now in place, the company is pursuing an operational reset while exploring mergers and acquisitions to add scale and capability. The KipLearn platform, a cloud-based center management system, is enhancing service delivery and supporting the company's expansion efforts.

Acrow Limited has cleared a major regulatory hurdle. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission granted Phase 1 clearance for Acrow's acquisition of AusGroup Industrial Services (AGIS), with completion expected around August 31. CEO Steven Boland highlighted how the deal will strengthen the company's industrial services platform and boost its presence in North Queensland's resources and infrastructure markets. This acquisition follows Acrow's earlier purchase of the Prestons Superdeck business in July, signaling an aggressive growth strategy. Boland indicated that significant growth is expected across key performance indicators in FY27, with more details to come when the company releases its FY26 results on August 24.

Chrysos Corporation delivered a standout performance in FY26, crushing expectations across the board. Revenue surged 33% to $88.1 million, while EBITDA jumped 68% to $27.2 million, translating to a healthy 31% EBITDA margin. The company processed 11.3 million samples—a 67% jump year-on-year—and signed 24 new lease agreements, bringing its total contracted units to 87. The strong momentum reflects growing global adoption of its PhotonAssay technology. Looking ahead, Chrysos is guiding for FY27 revenue between $100 million and $120 million, with EBITDA expected to land between $35 million and $42 million. The company maintains a solid financial footing with $25.9 million in cash and $140 million in undrawn debt.

Austal Limited faces a more complicated picture. While its Australasia business is performing well with an expected FY26 EBIT of around $62 million, Austal USA is dragging down results with a non-cash EBIT loss of approximately $175 million due to reassessed recoverability of contractual claims. This results in an expected group EBIT loss of roughly $113 million for FY26. However, there's a potential lifeline: Hanwha Defence USA has made a non-binding conditional offer to acquire Austal USA for an enterprise value of US$1.05 to US$1.20 billion, subject to due diligence and regulatory approvals. The proposal doesn't include Austal's core Australasia operations, which remain the company's strength.

Dicker Data is rewarding shareholders with a fully franked dividend of 0.115 cents per share. The ex-dividend date is August 14, with payment scheduled for September 1. Shareholders have until August 18 to elect into the Dividend Reinvestment Plan, which offers a 1% discount to the reinvestment price.