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2w ago

BlueScope Lifts Profit and Outlook as Investment Drive Enters Final Phase

The update complicates a $13.2 billion bid the board has already rejected.

A furnace operates at the BlueScope steelworks, Port Kembla, Australia February 9, 2024. REUTERS/Lewis Jackson
File picture of BlueScope. Picture by Robert Peet
BlueScope Steel's bottom-line net profit for the first half of 2025/26 is up 118 per cent. (Dean Lewins/AAP PHOTOS)

Overview

  • Net profit for the half year rose 118% to $390.8 million, with revenue up 4% to $8.2 billion and underlying EBIT at $557.5 million.
  • Management guided to second‑half underlying EBIT of A$620 million to A$700 million, signalling stronger earnings ahead.
  • Directors declared a 65 cent interim dividend, and the company outlined plans to return a total of A$3 per share to investors in 2026, including a previously announced A$1 special dividend.
  • The company cited stronger U.S. spreads, higher volumes and cost control, while noting portfolio resilience during a period of low Asian steel spreads.
  • BlueScope reaffirmed it had rejected a A$13.2 billion approach from SGH and Steel Dynamics, with bidders indicating the effective offer slipped to about $29 per share after a A$438 million capital return and shares last noted at $29.16.