The Kina Securities Ltd (ASX: KSL) share price made moves today after the company posted a 4% lift in net profit after tax (NPAT) for the first half of 2026, along with a 13% increase in its interim dividend in PGK terms.

What did Kina Securities report?

• Statutory NPAT rose 4% year on year to PGK59.7 million
• Revenue increased 2% to PGK254.8 million
• Net interest income grew 5% to PGK119.3 million
• Interim dividend up 13% in PGK at 14.2 toea (AUD 4.5 cents, stable year on year)
• Capital adequacy ratio strengthened to 26.0% (+870 bps), boosted by PNG’s first listed corporate bond
• Operating costs rose 7% to PGK159.6 million
• Non-interest income represented 53% of total revenue, declining slightly by 2%

What else do investors need to know?

Kina Securities made history this half by issuing PNG’s first listed corporate bond, raising PGK235 million. This has significantly fortified its capital position and supports the group’s long-term growth ambitions as outlined in its 2030 Strategy.

The group continued to invest in its digital capabilities, launching the Pei Beta digital wallet for retail customers and a new Corporate Online Banking platform for businesses. While loan book growth was deliberately slowed as part of balance sheet optimisation, management remains confident in a robust lending pipeline for the second half.

Macroeconomic headwinds such as a weaker kina and lower government yields put pressure on costs and margins. In addition, revenue in payment acquiring was temporarily affected by interoperability issues between a major PNG bank and new debit cards. Industry-wide fixes are expected to restore balance by the end of the year.

What did Kina Securities management say?

CEO Ivan Vidovich commented:

Our first half 2026 results reflect a resilient performance despite the anticipated macroeconomic headwinds. Earnings were also affected by the debit card interoperability matter involving a major PNG bank, which altered the competitive landscape in payments acquiring channels, reduced customer choice and constrained transaction-related revenue growth. The issuance of KSL’s PGK235 million Tier 2 Bond, the first listed corporate bond in PNG, materially strengthened our capital position and balance sheet capacity and represents an important early milestone in the delivery of the 2030 strategy… We entered the second half with positive momentum, and expect earnings to increase during the remainder of 2026.

What’s next for Kina Securities?

The company is focused on driving organic growth in the second half of the year, aiming to accelerate loan growth while carefully managing external challenges. Improved foreign exchange activity and a strengthened balance sheet are expected to underpin earnings for the rest of 2026.

Kina Securities also plans ongoing investment in technology and capabilities under its 2030 Strategy, maintaining a disciplined approach to risk and capital management for long-term shareholder value.

Kina Securities share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Kina Securities shares have declined 8%, trailing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which has risen 1% over the same period.

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The post Kina Securities lifts profit and dividend in half-year 2026 earnings appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

Some of the best places to find passive income in Australia are ASX dividend shares, in my view.

What’s better than a combination of a good dividend yield and potential capital gains?

Of course, neither dividends nor capital growth is guaranteed. That’s why I prefer to look at undervalued stocks with a good outlook for payout growth in the coming years.

Let’s look at two ASX dividend shares that have a dividend yield of at least 6%.

Dexus Industria REIT (ASX: DXI)

The first business I want to highlight is the real estate investment trust (REIT) Dexus Industria REIT. It owns a portfolio of industrial properties across Australian cities, predominantly in key metropolitan locations.

Industrial properties are a compelling place to invest because the rental income is benefiting from multiple tailwinds.

For example, there is long-term growth of e-commerce usage, which requires warehouses. Data centre demand is another driver of rental value of industrial land. Demand for refrigerated space is also growing for both food and medicine. And so on.  

In FY26, the ASX dividend share reported strong like-for-like portfolio income growth of 5.3%, supported by rental escalations, strong releasing spreads (new rental contracts earning more than the old one), and high occupancy of 98.8%.

Despite high interest rates, Dexus Industria REIT expects to maintain its FY27 distribution at 16.6 cents per security. That translates into a forward distribution yield of 7%.

Universal Store Holdings Ltd (ASX: UNI)

The Universal Store company has multiple businesses under its umbrella – Universal Store, Perfect Stranger, and CTC (with the THRILLS and Worship brands). It sells youth casual fashion apparel.

Its FY26 result impressed, given the difficult operating environment, with 12.9% sales growth to $376.1 million and 16.3% underlying net profit growth to $40.5 million. This allowed the business to hike its annual dividend per share by 11.7% to 43 cents.

The ASX dividend share is delivering sales growth from both an expanding store network and impressive like-for-like (LFL) growth at its existing stores. The Universal store business generated 8.1% LFL growth, and Perfect Stranger achieved 13% LFL growth.

In the first seven weeks of FY27, the company saw direct-to-consumer sales rise by another 9.1% year over year. Management intends to open another 16 to 20 stores across the business in FY27, which can help grow its sales and margins further.

Based on the FY26 annual dividend payout of 43 cents per share, the business has a trailing grossed-up dividend yield of 7.6%, including franking credits, at the time of writing. I expect the ASX dividend share’s payout will grow again in the 2027 financial year.

The post 2 ASX dividend shares with yields above 7% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Universal Store. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The IperionX Ltd (ASX: IPX) share price is in focus after announcing a second major U.S. Army contract for industrial-scale titanium production, with US$11.5 million in new funding now in place and a total potential value up to US$25.4 million.

What did IperionX report?

• Secured US$11.5 million funding under Task Order 2 as part of a US$99 million U.S. Army SBIR Phase III contract
• Task Order 2 could increase to a maximum value of US$25.4 million if all options are exercised
• Three core work packages now fully funded, including continuous furnace and in-house fastener equipment
• Advancement of continuous powder-to-part titanium manufacturing at IperionX’s Virginia facility
• Potential program expansion into aerospace and refractory metal components via four unfunded option packages

What else do investors need to know?

Task Order 2 will help IperionX bring critical titanium manufacturing steps in-house, aiming to boost throughput and lower production costs for U.S. defense applications. The newly announced industrial-scale equipment supports both defense and potential commercial programs, by enabling the company to deliver large quantities of titanium parts, like track pins and fasteners, for military applications.

Four optional workstreams in the contract could see IperionX’s technology expand into aerospace-grade titanium, advanced powder production for additive manufacturing, and strategic metals including C103 and niobium. These options remain subject to further U.S. government funding and formal approvals.

What did IperionX management say?

Taso Arima, IperionX CEO, commented:

This second U.S. Army task order represents an important step in scaling IperionX’s titanium powder-to-part manufacturing platform. The SBIR Phase III award aims to advance continuous and industrial-scale HSPT and dehydride capacity and bring titanium fastener finishing fully in-house at our Virginia titanium manufacturing facility.

This award aligns with GenX, our next-generation continuous HAMR production platform, which together will provide an integrated American titanium manufacturing system. The program will expand our capacity to manufacture titanium track pins, bolts and fasteners for the U.S. Army, shorten production lead times and strengthen the domestic titanium manufacturing capabilities required to support U.S. defense supply chains.

What’s next for IperionX Ltd?

IperionX plans to fast-track installation of new furnace and finishing equipment at its Virginia site, supporting higher-volume manufacturing and shorter delivery times for U.S. Army requirements. The additional, unfunded program options suggest possible future expansions into aerospace, advanced alloys, and other strategic markets, but depend on further contract and customer milestones.

A focus on integrating continuous manufacturing across both titanium powder and finished parts is central to the company’s strategy, as this can lower costs and improve reliability for customers in the defense sector and beyond.

IperionX Ltd share price snapshot

It has been a difficult 12 months for the IperionX share price. Over the period, the company’s shares have significantly underperformed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) with a 55% decline.

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The post IperionX wins US Army contract to ramp up titanium production appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.