• Sky New Zealand FY26 earnings: Profit up 190%, dividend jumps 45%

    Two girls smile and laugh as they use a mobile phone.

    The Sky Network Television Ltd (ASX: SKT) share price is in focus today after the company posted a strong full-year FY26 result, with underlying revenue rising 9% to $826.1 million and underlying EBITDA climbing 6% to $157 million—at the top end of guidance.

    What did Sky New Zealand report?

    • Underlying revenue: $826.1 million, up 9% from FY25
    • Underlying EBITDA: $157.0 million, up 6%
    • Statutory NPAT: $59.8 million, up 190%; Underlying NPAT: $41.8 million, up 2%
    • Final dividend: 17cps (fully imputed), full-year dividend of 32cps, up 45% on FY25
    • Normalised free cash flow: $58.9 million, up 60%
    • Closing cash balance: $79.1 million, up 144% year-on-year

    What else do investors need to know?

    Sky completed its integration of Sky Free (formerly Discovery NZ), delivering $8 million in annual synergy benefits, well above initial estimates. Advertising revenue more than doubled to $131.7 million, now making up 16% of total income and highlighting Sky’s growing diversification beyond subscriptions.

    The board has set its sights on 10% annual dividend growth over the next three years and will switch to quarterly payments from FY27. The company is also considering an on-market share buyback if no better capital deployment opportunities arise following the next interim results.

    What did Sky New Zealand management say?

    Chief Executive Sophie Moloney commented:

    Three years ago, we set ambitious targets reflecting our confidence in Sky and the opportunity ahead. Since then, we have navigated a challenging economic environment while completing two significant projects—the accelerated satellite migration in FY25 and the acquisition and integration of Sky Free in FY26. We finish this period a stronger Sky—larger, more diversified and increasingly digital, with greater audience scale and more opportunities for growth.

    What’s next for Sky New Zealand?

    Looking ahead, Sky expects trading conditions to remain challenging in the first half of FY27 amid economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, it’s guiding for FY27 revenue between $825 million and $840 million, and EBITDA of $155 million to $165 million. Dividend guidance is for at least 35cps—continuing its policy of annual increases.

    The company is targeting at least $10 million of additional Group EBITDA by FY28 from further business optimisation. Longer term, Sky aims to significantly lift revenue by FY31, including 20–30% from non-subscription sources, while cementing margin expansion and ongoing earnings growth.

    Sky New Zealand share price snapshot

    Over the past 12 months, the Sky New Zealand shares have declined 1%, slightly trailing the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), which is flat over the same period.

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    The post Sky New Zealand FY26 earnings: Profit up 190%, dividend jumps 45% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Sky Network Television right now?

    Before you buy Sky Network Television shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Sky Network Television wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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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.

  • Elevra Lithium posts FY26 profit rebound and funds expansion

    A man checks his phone next to an electric vehicle charging station with his electric vehicle parked in the charging bay.

    The Elevra Lithium Ltd (ASX: ELV) share price is in focus after the company reported a big 39% increase in revenue to US$202 million and returned to a net profit of US$44 million for FY26 following a transformational year.

    What did Elevra Lithium report?

    • Revenue rose 39% to US$202 million (FY25: US$145 million)
    • Group profit after income tax of US$44 million, swinging from a US$247 million loss in FY25
    • Underlying EBITDA improved to US$14 million, up from a US$43 million loss
    • Closing cash balance surged to US$255 million (FY25: US$47 million)
    • Spodumene concentrate production reached 197,967 dmt (down 3% on PCP), with 181,494 dmt sold (down 13%)
    • Operating cost per tonne sold increased 2% to US$853/dmt

    What else do investors need to know?

    Several strategic milestones shaped Elevra Lithium’s FY26. The merger between Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium was completed, creating North America’s largest hard-rock lithium producer and unlocking US$15 million in cost synergies over ten months.

    Elevra fully funded a staged brownfield expansion at its flagship North American Lithium (NAL) mine, expected to lift annual production capacity by 15–20% from mid-CY27. The company also advanced the Moblan Lithium Project, increased resources at both NAL and Moblan, and agreed to divest its stake in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project for approximately US$71 million.

    A major US$202 million equity raise bolstered the balance sheet, supporting expansion plans while keeping cash reserves healthy. The group also saw Board and management changes, including the appointment of a new CFO, Christian Cortes.

    What did Elevra Lithium management say?

    Lucas Dow, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said:

    FY26 marked a transformational year for Elevra. We completed the merger of Sayona Mining and Piedmont Lithium, creating a leading North American lithium producer, fully funded the staged expansion of NAL, advanced our broader development pipeline, and continued to sharpen our portfolio through the agreed divestment of our interests in the Ewoyaa Lithium Project.

    On the operational front, FY26 was a year defined by resilience, disciplined execution and strategic progress. We demonstrated improved safety performance. While temporary mining conditions at NAL in the first half of the year impacted production and led us to revise our operating guidance, our team responded quickly and efficiently through disciplined mine planning to improve plant performance and deliver production within our original guidance with minimal impact to unit operating costs compared to FY25.

    The June 2026 quarter represented our strongest operational performance of the year, with recoveries improving to 71%, a new monthly production record in May, and quarterly production exceeding 54,000 dmt. As we enter FY27, we do so with confidence in our strategy, confidence in our assets, and confidence in the opportunities ahead.

    What’s next for Elevra Lithium?

    Looking forward, Elevra’s top priorities are to deliver steady operating performance at NAL, execute the brownfield expansion on time and on budget, restructure customer offtake deals, and advance development at Moblan. FY27 guidance includes spodumene production of 198,000–210,000 dmt, sales of up to 230,000 dmt, and sustaining capital expenditure focused on expansion and project studies.

    Management remains focused on disciplined capital allocation and maintaining balance sheet flexibility. Successful completion of the Ewoyaa sale and ongoing exploration in Québec and Western Australia will help sharpen Elevra’s focus on core growth assets.

    Elevra Lithium share price snapshot

    The Elevra Lithium share price has smashed the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO) over the past 12 months with a gain of more than 100%.

    View Original Announcement

    The post Elevra Lithium posts FY26 profit rebound and funds expansion appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Elevra Lithium right now?

    Before you buy Elevra Lithium shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Elevra Lithium wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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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.

  • 2 ASX passive income ideas I’d use to generate $300 a month in 2027

    Person with a handful of Australian dollar notes, symbolising dividends.

    ASX passive income ideas can be some of the best ideas for generating cash returns because of how they can provide large and growing dividend payouts.

    Dividends aren’t guaranteed, but some investments can provide payout guidance that can give us a high level of confidence of what the payment may be for the coming financial year.

    I’ll run through two of my favourite picks for payouts.

    Centuria Industrial REIT (ASX: CIP)

    I think this is one of the best options in the real estate investment trust (REIT) sector for payouts because of the tailwinds it’s benefiting from and the rising distributions.

    It describes itself as Australia’s largest domestic pure-play industrial REIT and is in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). It wants to provide investors with income and an opportunity for capital growth.

    The properties are located in key metropolitan areas throughout Australia and it’s underpinned by a quality and diverse tenant base.

    In FY26, the business experienced like-for-like net operating income (NOI) growth of 5.2%. There are a number of drivers increasing the rent value of industrial real estate such as data centres, e-commerce adoption, a growing population, the onshoring of logistics, and refrigerated storage for food and medicine.

    The ASX passive income idea also reported in FY26 that it saw 30% positive re-leasing spreads – its rental income is seeing a big jump, with new contracts generating much stronger rent than the old rent. The REIT reckons that its portfolio is, on average, 17% under-rented, suggesting further strong growth as leases come up for renewal in the coming years.

    Centuria Industrial REIT has provided guidance that its FY27 distribution will grow by 3% year-over-year to 17.3 cents per security, while net rental profit could grow by up to 5.5% per unit.

    At the time of writing, the FY27 distribution guidance translates into a forward yield of 5.8%.

    WCM Quality Global Growth Fund (ASX: WCMQ)

    I think plenty of Australian investors could benefit from owning quality exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that give exposure to global shares. However, not many of those ETFs have a good dividend yield.

    I believe the WCMQ ETF can provide a pleasing mixture of capital growth and dividends, which is why I think it’s a top option to consider.

    WCM is a California-based fund manager. It has two criteria for including any company in its portfolio. The company must have a growing competitive advantage (or expanding economic moat) and a corporate culture that supports expanding the moat.

    WCM believes the direction of a company’s economic moat is more important than the actual current size of its moat. It focuses on companies with a positive moat ‘trajectory’, measured by rising return on invested capital (ROIC), rather than those with a large but static or deteriorating moat.

    Since the ETF’s inception in August 2018, its portfolio has returned an average of 15.2% per year.

    The fund aims to provide investors with a minimum annualised cash yield of 5% per year, based on the net asset value on 30 June 2026.

    It has provided guidance that it will pay quarterly distributions of 53.6 cents over the next year, which is a yield of around 5.3% at the time of writing.

    $300 per month from these ASX passive income ideas

    At the time of writing, the distribution guidance for these two ideas comes to an average dividend yield of 5.55%.

    They don’t pay monthly, but they do pay quarterly. So, I think it’s better to think of the target as an annual goal and then split that into a monthly amount.

    Achieving $300 per month translates into an annual target of $3,600. To deliver that goal at an average of 5.55%, we’re talking about investing approximately $64,900 across these two names. But I’d ensure I spread my money across more than just two names for good diversification.

    The post 2 ASX passive income ideas I’d use to generate $300 a month in 2027 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

    Should you invest $1,000 in Centuria Industrial REIT right now?

    Before you buy Centuria Industrial REIT shares, consider this:

    Motley Fool investing expert Scott Phillips just revealed what he believes are the 5 best stocks for investors to buy right now… and Centuria Industrial REIT wasn’t one of them.

    The online investing service he’s run for over a decade, Motley Fool Share Advisor, has provided thousands of paying members with stock picks that have doubled, tripled or even more.*

    And right now, Scott thinks there are 5 stocks that may be better buys…

    * Returns as of 1 August 2026

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    Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in Wcm Quality Global Growth Fund. 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.

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