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Highlights

  • ORI produces and supplies explosives, blasting systems, geotechnical monitoring, and mining chemicals
  • For the half year ending 31 March 2023, Orica delivered 32% growth in its underlying EBIT to AUD 323 million compared to AUD 244.9 million in the previous corresponding period
  • The top 10 shareholders of the company together hold nearly 41.84% of the total shareholding in the company

Orica Limited (ASX: ORI) is an ASX-listed mining and infrastructure solutions provider. It produces and supplies explosives, blasting systems, geotechnical monitoring, and mining chemicals. The company has been operating for nearly 150 years, and currently, it operates with over 12,000 employees. It is also a leading supplier of sodium cyanide for gold extraction.

For the half year ending 31 March 2023, Orica delivered 32% growth in its underlying EBIT to AUD 323 million compared to AUD 244.9 million in the previous corresponding period (pcp). Meanwhile, its revenue from continuing operations jumped by 31% year-on-year to AUD 3,998.4 million.

The company said commercial discipline, higher utilization of manufacturing plants and increased earnings from digital technology offerings helped it report improved earnings in 1HFY23.

The company's net profit after individually significant items turned positive at AUD 122.6 million compared to negative AUD 84.6 million in 1HFY22.

Orica Limited FY23 Outlook

The company also hopes to report improved financial performance in the second half of FY23. ORI said its EBIT will likely improve in the second half amid an anticipated growth in global commodities demand, continued commercial discipline, increased adoption of advanced technology offerings, and contribution from the recently acquired Axis Mining Technology business.

The company further said capital expenditure is expected to be between AUD 400 million and AUD 420 million, higher than pcp due to sustainability and sustenance projects.

ORI Top 10 Shareholders

The top 10 shareholders of the company together hold nearly 41.84% of the total shareholding in the company. AustralianSuper and Perpetual Investment Management Limited hold the maximum stake in the company at 14.11% and 5.11%, respectively. Here are the other large shareholders in the company:

ORI Share Price Performance

ORI shares closed 0.750% higher at AUD 14.770 apiece on Wednesday (5 July 2023). The stock price has gone down by nearly 2.64% in the last one month, and over the last six months, the stock price is almost flat. The stock has a 52-week low and 52-week high of AUD 12.350 and AUD 17.220, respectively, and is trading near the mid-range of the 52-week-high-low levels.

 Note 1: Past performance is neither an Indicator nor a guarantee of future performance. 

Note 2: The reference date for all price data, currency, is 5 July 2023. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from REFINITIV.