Key Highlights

• NAC can keep paying quarterly dividends despite a loss-making FY26.

• Payments come from a profit reserve built in earlier years.

• It is a listed Investment company quoted on the ASX.

• The payout does not rely on the latest result.

NAOS Ex-50 Opportunities (ASX:NAC) Company Limited (ASX:NAC) can keep paying a quarterly Dividend because it is distributing from a profit reserve built in earlier years, not from the latest result. The listed investment company reported an after-tax loss of A$3.09 million for the year to 30 June 2026, yet it declared 6.30 cents per share in dividends for the year.

What the company is

NAC is a listed investment company that has been quoted on the ASX since 12 November 2014. Its ordinary shares give investors a concentrated portfolio of Australian and New Zealand emerging companies, excluding resources businesses.

The portfolio is small and unusual. At 31 August 2026 it held nine positions, one of them private, among them Urbanise.com, MaxiPARTS and XRF Scientific.

The FY26 result

In FY26 the investment portfolio returned negative 5.26 per cent, against negative 4.49 per cent for the S&P/ASX 300 Industrials Accumulation Index. That compared with an after-tax profit of A$7.55 million a year earlier.

Managing Director Sebastian Evans described the year as one of consolidation and said the portfolio was materially more de-risked than twelve months earlier.

Dividends for FY26 totalled 6.30 cents per share, up from 6.00 cents in FY25. The final quarterly payment of 1.60 cents was 50 per cent franked.

Reserve and payout

The payout is supported by the profit reserve, which stood at 52.2 cents per share at 30 June 2026. On 28 October 2026 the company declared a further 1.60 cents, fully franked, for the quarter ended 30 September, and said the reserve at that date was 50.6 cents.

That fall of 1.6 cents matches the dividend, which shows how the reserve works. It can smooth distributions through weak years, but it is finite and is replenished only when realised profits are strong. The board says it aims for a sustainable stream of dividends, franked to the maximum extent possible.

The company also bought back 980,082 shares for A$539,422 during FY26, a move that can narrow a discount to asset backing.

Recent portfolio news

The portfolio rebounded in the new financial year. NAOS reported returns of 14.60 per cent in July and 4.73 per cent in August 2026, and 18.81 per cent for the September quarter, before fees, tax and franking. Its benchmark fell 0.94 per cent in that quarter.

The Quarterly Report points to several investee developments. Ares Management Asia withdrew a non-binding, indicative all-cash proposal of A$2.50 per share for MaxiPARTS. The unlisted holding Firmus cancelled its planned IPO after a July 2026 Capital raise that implied a Post-Money Valuation of about A$15.5 billion.

Another investee, Schoolblazer, expects FY26 underlying EBITDA of about A$12 million, below earlier guidance.

Risks to weigh

Concentration is the central risk, since a handful of positions drive results. Earnings are also lumpy, because gains are recognised when holdings are revalued or sold, so reported profit can swing sharply between years. Many holdings are thinly traded micro-caps, so selling a large stake can be slow, and the unlisted Firmus valuation rests on a private round rather than a market price.

A persistent discount is possible, and franking benefits depend on the company paying Australian tax.

For the latest dividend, the ex-dividend date is 9 November 2026 and the Record Date is 10 November. Dividend reinvestment plan elections close at 5.00 pm on 11 November, and payment follows on 30 November 2026.