Boral chief executive Vik Bansal to step down, join SGH board
Bansal has been a high-profile chief executive for a decade, having run Cleanaway Waste Management and InfraBuild, the steel distribution and manufacturing business owned by British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta. He was hired to run Boral, the country's largest ASX-listed construction materials company, by SGH chief executive Ryan Stokes in 2022.
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West Australian
14 hours ago
- West Australian
BSA hatches a new Bantam
Plenty of motorcyclists learnt to ride in the 1970s in Britain on a BSA Bantam. I'm one of them. It was ubiquitous for British riders — a two-stroke single. The 125cc or, if you were lucky (like me), a black and chrome 175cc. And the renewed Birmingham Small Arms Company has drawn on the famous Bantam name for its new, affordable, entry-level, single-cylinder roadster. The BSA Bantam is back in Britain, but as a 350cc single, for $7200 (£3499). The bike's Euro5+ compliant, liquid-cooled, double overhead cam engine produces a claimed 28.8bhp. It has a six-speed gearbox, dual-channel ABS, telescopic forks and twin shock absorbers. Aesthetically, there's a nod to the past with a classic round headlight, 13-litre teardrop fuel tank and curved rear fender. Minimalist styling has a touch of retro about it, right down to the pair of 'Bantam 350' side panels beneath the flat bench seat. The dials come with the option of either analogue or digital. The engine itself is black, on all of the five colour options available. The bike has an easygoing riding upright, a wet weight of 185kg and an 800mm seat height. This looks like a forgiving, usable bike. Just like Royal Enfield, BSA is now based in India, having been resurrected in 2016 by Classic Legends, a subsidiary of the massive Mahindra Group. BSA's roots trace back to 1861 and it was once the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer, but it collapsed in the 1970s. A BSA spokesperson says: 'The original BSA Bantam was credited with getting post-war Britain moving again during the 1940s, and being the UK's bestselling bike of all time with three iterations of engine: the 125cc, 148cc and 175cc.' It was first produced in 1948 — the start of a 500,000 run. 'Much like the original, the new BSA Bantam 350 is for all ages, levels of experience, and attainable for new bikers who can ride it on an A2 licence, providing accessible mobility and more independence for the masses,' says the spokesperson. In the UK, an A2 motorcycle licence is a 'standard' motorcycle licence, allowing riders aged 19 or over to ride a bike with a power output up to 35kW (46.6 bhp) — typically a bike with an engine size up to 500cc or a restricted version of a bigger bike. PRIDE & AUDACIOUS HOPE In unveiling the new BSA Bantam, Anupam Thareja, co-founder of Classic Legends, said: 'With pride, gratitude and a bit of audacious hope, I present not just a motorcycle, but a movement: the return of the BSA Bantam. 'What is the new Bantam 350? It's not a relic, and it's certainly not an imitation. It's a vibrant, modern classic — built on the principles that made the original legendary — simplicity and pure riding joy at an attractive price. 'In a digital, distracted world, the spirit of motorcycling is shrinking and BSA is here to change that. The new BSA Bantam 350 is built to reignite that passion, especially in the next generation. With a price that invites everyone to start their own two-wheeled story, it's more than a motorcycle — it's a movement.' 'Our promise to you: every BSA will honour the craftsmanship, character and 'built-to-last' beauty that made this brand famous from Birmingham to every corner of the world. Look closely at what we've built, ride it, feel its heartbeat. 'We're not here to borrow heritage for a quick headline — we are here to build the next chapter of a living story with all of you. Let's ride into the future — with the heart of the past, and the eyes wide open to new horizons. The Bantam is back.'
Herald Sun
a day ago
- Herald Sun
Arika's search for golden game changer
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. 'Garimpeiro' columnist Barry FitzGerald has covered the resources industry for 35 years. Now he's sharing the benefits of his experience with Stockhead readers. In a $5100/oz-plus Aussie gold market there is nothing quite like a big targeted exploration program in a prodigious gold region to get the interest up. And so it is with Arika Resources (ASX:ARI), which has been attracting followers of late on the strength of its 10,000m drilling program at two projects in the Leonora-Laverton district. It is funded for the hunt after a $5 million capital raise in May and at a share price of 3.9c for a market cap of $33.5 million, Arika has plenty of leverage to exploration success. Investors won't die wondering with this one, as there will be a steady flow of exploration results over the next 6-12 months. Both of the company's projects – Yundamindra and Kookynie – are surrounded by the region's big name producers like Genesis, Northern Star and Gold Fields, among others. As recent activity in the region has demonstrated, there are plenty of options around toll treatment/ore purchase/acquisitions should Arika work up a deposit that is measured in the hundreds of thousands of ounces rather than the millions of ounces category. Arika is after the big discovery for sure. It's just that in this gold price environment there is plenty of value to be had with smaller finds. Think of it as a potential value backstop while Arika continues the hunt for the game changing discovery. Where is the game changer? Both of Arika's projects are peppered with historic workings which are obvious drilling targets. But there are also a bunch of targets hidden from oldtimers by cover. Geophysics and geochemical work leading up to the drilling program has taken what could be called high-priority targets to more than 50. Arika reported first results from drilling at the F1 Fault at the Landed at Last prospect at Yundamindra on Monday. The best intercepts included 4m at 41.56g/t from 52m and 27m at 2.45g/t from 61m, and they've served to rev up interest in the stock. F1is one of several north-east trending structures which cross-cut Landed at Last's mineralisation towards the northern end of what Arika, without blushing, calls the Yellow Brick Road. It is a mineralised structural corridor than extends for more than 16km along the western flank of the Yundamindra syncline. A 10km section of the Yellow Brick Road is dotted with historical workings. Despite its location and history of gold mining, the Yundamindra area has only ever been lightly explored. What modern era drilling was conducted by previous owners was mostly shallow at less than 50m. Before the latest drilling Arika tested for depth extensions, with the deepest hole to date at the prospect returning a super encouraging 14.8m grading 3.1g/t from 87m. More where that came from Arika boss Justin Barton said on Monday that it was important to remember that F1 was just one of the many under-explored prospects along the Yellow Brick Road. Garimpeiro reckons Dorothy most likely agrees. The drill rig motored on from F1 to another highly ranked prospect called Bonaparte (assays pending) and is now testing the Banjo's Camp prospect. As indicated earlier, assay results from the drilling campaign will be rolled out on a regular basis. Over at Kookynie, Arika shares tenement boundaries with Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) . An aeromagnetic survey has been completed at the Ithaca prospect, which sits immediately along strike from Genesis' Ulysses gold mine. Like the prospective areas at Yundamindra much of the prospective ground at Kookynie is on mining leases, which means if there is a near-term opportunity to monetise a smallish discovery while the search for the big one goes on, Arika will be able to act quickly. Originally published as Barry FitzGerald: Prodigious gold region a yellow brick road for Arika
Herald Sun
a day ago
- Herald Sun
Beyond Telstra, small cap telcos ring up the profits
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Telstra's full year earnings soared 31%, but the nation's leading telco lacks the 'wow' factor Smaller rivals arguably have better growth prospects Tua's proposed $1.66 billion takeover of a Singapore rival will turbocharge its growth Telstra's (ASX:TLS) internal repair efforts are cracking along at a pace that would even leave self-help gurus such as Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey in the dust. While the telco stalwart's full-year revenue edged up less than one per cent, earnings bounced 31%. Measures such as paring thousands of staff aside, Telco has been aided by a rare sector-wide outbreak of rational mobile plan pricing. Still, Thursday's result left investors nonplussed, even though they met market expectations. One concern is that customer growth in mobiles – Telstra's most important division – slowed in the second half. Telstra has a commanding 40% share of the sector. But overall growth looks elusive, as evidenced by the board's decision to launch a $1 billion share buyback. While Telstra will grab the headlines courtesy of its 1.14 million, yield-hungry shareholders, it's not the only telco stock to watch as the reporting season unfolded. Arguably there's better value elsewhere, especially given Telstra shares have gained 25% over the last year. Tuas can play at the M&A game How about a Singapore Fling instead? On Tuesday, Tuas (ASX:TUA) stole Telstra's limelight with a surprise S$1.4 billion ($1.66 billion) buyout of Singaporean rival M1. The proposed purchase shapes as transformative the $2.6 billion market cap Tuas, funded and led by TPG's creator, David Teoh. How much of a game changer for the owner of the Lion City's Simba Telecom? Citi models combined revenue of S$984 million in the current year, compared with S$178 million for the stand-alone Tua. Earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization (ebitda) soars to S$275 million, from S$79 million on a stand-alone basis. Still the consumers' Buddy Aussie Broadband (ASX:ABB) is expected to ring up some rosy numbers when it reports later this month. On the back of market share gains. On consensus numbers, Aussie should report revenue of $1.187 billion, 17% higher than previously. The telco's underlying earnings are expected to be $137 million, 13% higher. While Aussie lifted prices across its own brand, left its low-cost Buddy Telco's rates pricing unchanged. Citi says: 'Aussie Broadband's value proposition, solid user experience and superior customer experience continue to be differentiating factors compared to both incumbents and most of the challengers'. Super profits for Superloop The market expects internet provider Superloop's (ASX:SLC) full-year revenue to come in at $550 million, 33% better. The company in late June upgraded its guidance underlying ebitda at or above $91 million, 67% higher year on year. As with Telstra, the company's doing more bottom line with not so much top line. Citi says Superloop has 'set the tone for the rest of the industry' in terms of pushing through National Broadband Network (NBN) price increases. As part of a six-year a six-year wholesale agreement, Origin Energy is migrating its NBN customers to Superloop. Superloop's results next Wednesday should shed light on the pace of this transition. TPG has cash to spare Most of the intrigue around TPG Telecom (ASX:TPG) is what the owner of Vodafone Australia will do with the $5.3 billion of proceeds from the sale of its fixed-asset business to Vocus. S&P Global Ratings says TPG's capital needs are tapering because of an end to 5G investment and 'initiatives such as IT modernisation and business simplification that reduce fixed costs.' Once again, TPG should benefit from mobile price rises, but at the risk of higher churn and promotional costs. TPG has guided to flat ebitda of around $1.66 billion. Dipping into data centres Macquarie Technology Group (ASX:MAQ) is mentioned as an emerging force in the data centre game, having acquired land at Sydney's Macquarie Park to bolster its capacity threefold. But in the December half Macquarie still derived 31% of revenue ($56 million) and 22% of ebitda ($12.3 million) from its traditional telco business. Morgan Stanley tips total revenue of $382 million for the 2024-25 year, up 5% with ebitda edging up 4% to $113 million. Powered by data centre (and cloud) growth, turnover should climb to $419 million in the current year, up 10%. Ebitda should rise 11.5% to $126 million. Macquarie has been an outlier share price wise, falling 22% over the past year. Should the data centre sector wobble, the telco stuff is a nice hedge. Originally published as Criterion: Telstra rings up profit growth, but it may be time to look for better value elsewhere
