Why Is FBR (ASX:FBR) Trading Higher Today?

Sonal Goyal

26 October 2026 12:56 PM AEDT

Why Is FBR (ASX:FBR) Trading Higher Today?

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Key Highlights

FBR (ASX:FBR) shares traded at $0.051, up 13.33%, during the 26 October 2026 session.
The company announced on 26 October 2026 that it demonstrated its Mantis welding robot to a Samsung Heavy Industries delegation.
The first Mantis unit is due to be shipped to a new owner in the United States.

FBR Limited (ASX:FBR) shares traded at $0.051, up 13.33%, during the trading session on 26 October 2026, while the S&P/ASX 200 index (XJO) stood at 8,768.80, down 0.30% or 26.40 points, at 12:10 pm. On the same day, the company released an ASX announcement dated 26 October 2026 stating that it had demonstrated its Mantis welding robot to a delegation from Samsung Heavy Industries.

FBR is a Western Australian robotics company that designs and builds dynamically stabilised robots for outdoor use, and the announcement describes the demonstration, the technology involved and the company's next steps.

Mantis demonstration for Samsung Heavy Industries (26 October 2026)

FBR said four representatives from Samsung Heavy Industries, described as one of the world's largest shipbuilding companies, travelled from Korea to its premises. The delegation covered technical leadership in robotics, welding and production. The demonstration took place on the previous Friday, and Mantis welded several workpieces representative of shipbuilding applications.

The visitors observed the full workflow, from FBR's own AI-based Weld Creator programming software through part set-up, welding and inspection of the completed welds. FBR said Mantis offers new capability to shipbuilders and was well received, and that Samsung Heavy Industries will work with the FBR team to examine integrating more automation into its production workflows.

About the Mantis robot and next steps

Mantis is a long-reach industrial welding robot powered by FBR's Dynamic Stabilisation Technology (DST) with high deposition welding capability. FBR described the start of Mantis demonstrations to international prospects as a milestone and said it expects to conduct many more demonstrations before the first Mantis unit is shipped to its new owner in the United States. The announcement also noted FBR has been working with Samsung Heavy Industries on a separate shipbuilding automation project for some time.

What the announcement does not disclose

The release did not include contract values, order timing or pricing for Mantis, and it did not say how many units the company expects to place. It also did not give revenue or earnings information. The Samsung Heavy Industries team said Mantis could automate many tasks currently done by people across its shipyard and that it would work with FBR to examine integrating more automation, which is a statement of intent rather than a commercial agreement.

FBR said it expects to host further demonstrations to international prospects. The company is based at 88 Sultana Road West, High Wycombe, Western Australia, and its OTC ticker is FBRKF.

About FBR

FBR Limited (ASX:FBR; OTC: FBRKF) is based in High Wycombe, Western Australia. Its Dynamic Stabilisation Technology underpins three products: Hadrian, a bricklaying robot offered through a Wall as a Service model or available for purchase; Mantis, a high deposition welding robot for large-scale metal fabrication industries such as mining, shipbuilding and defence manufacture; and Firehawk, an autonomous refractory lining robot used on ladles in steel production.

Related sector context

Welding automation is relevant to shipbuilding, mining and defence manufacturing, industries that handle large fabricated structures. Samsung Heavy Industries indicated that Mantis could automate tasks currently carried out by people across its shipyard. Industrial robotics companies commonly progress through demonstrations, trials and customer orders before revenue builds. On the day, the XJO was down 0.30% at 12:10 pm.

FBR's own release describes shipbuilding as central to global trade, and positions Mantis as a general-purpose large welding robot with applications across shipyards. Korea and Australia were referred to as potential partners in the industry. Large-scale fabrication, including mining equipment and defence manufacture, is also named as a market for the technology.

Risks to weigh in

A demonstration does not constitute an order, and the announcement does not state any contract value, commercial terms or timeline for a purchase by Samsung Heavy Industries. The first Mantis shipment relates to a customer in the United States, not the Korean delegation. Technology scale-up, manufacturing and customer adoption carry execution risks, and FBR's shares trade at low prices where moves can be sharp in either direction.

The announcement is forward-looking in tone and does not contain a formal statement of risks, so factors such as competition from other automation suppliers, the time it takes to qualify new equipment in a shipyard and the cost of manufacturing large robots are general considerations for companies in this field rather than items raised by FBR.

Catalysts on watch

Items to follow include further Mantis demonstrations to international prospects, the shipment of the first unit to its owner in the United States, progress on the shipbuilding automation project with Samsung Heavy Industries and updates on Hadrian and Firehawk deployments.

Summing up

FBR (ASX:FBR) traded 13.33% higher during the 26 October 2026 session on the day it announced the Mantis demonstration for Samsung Heavy Industries.

FAQs

Q: How did FBR (ASX:FBR) shares trade on 26 October 2026?

A: Shares traded at $0.051, up 13.33%, during the trading session, while the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.30% at 12:10 pm.

Q: What did FBR announce on 26 October 2026?

A: FBR announced it had demonstrated its Mantis welding robot to a four-person Samsung Heavy Industries delegation at its Western Australian premises.

Q: Did the announcement include a sales contract?

A: No contract value or purchase order was disclosed; the announcement said the first Mantis unit will be shipped to a new owner in the United States.

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