Aurizon Holdings Ltd. (AZJ) is a rail freight company providing coal, bulk and general freight haulage services in Australia.
FY2026 results
Aurizon is held in the ASX Growth Portfolio. The company reported full year results before the open on Monday 17 August.
Every headline line beat or matched. Revenue rose 6 percent to $4,194 million, underlying EBITDA rose 9 percent to $1,724 million in line with consensus, and underlying net profit rose 24 percent to $433 million against $429 million expected. Statutory net profit rose 19 percent to $362 million. Free cash flow rose 11 percent to $573 million, return on invested capital improved 1.4 points to 9.5 percent, and gearing fell to 3.0 times from 3.3 times.
| Metric | FY26 | FY25 |
| Underlying EBITDA | $1,724m | +9% |
| Underlying NPAT | $433m | +24% |
| Full year dividend | 23.0cps | +46% |
| FY27 EBITDA guidance | $1,725 to 1,775m | consensus ~$1,797m |
Bulk was the standout, with EBITDA up 38 percent on customer growth and the non-recurrence of prior year doubtful debt provisions. The first full year of the BHP Copper South Australia logistics contract, one of the largest road-to-rail freight conversions in the country, drove much of that. Containerised freight volumes rose 25 percent with CEVA Logistics and NYK secured. Network EBITDA rose $21 million to $516 million on higher track access revenue. Coal EBITDA rose just 2 percent, on price indexation partly offset by customer mix.
Bulk carried the year. Network change derived from the $21 million uplift on a $495 million base.
Shareholder returns improved sharply. The final dividend of 10.5 cents franked at 90 percent took the full year to 23.0 cents, up 46 percent, on a payout ratio lifted to 90 percent of underlying profit. Aurizon also completed a $250 million on-market buyback during the year.
Regulatory certainty advanced. Aurizon submitted its UT5+ access undertaking to the Queensland Competition Authority, which published a draft decision in June indicating the proposal is appropriate for the material part. UT5+ sets access and pricing for the Central Queensland Coal Network for the next decade from the start of FY27.
Guidance is what sank the stock. Aurizon expects FY27 underlying EBITDA of $1,725 to $1,775 million, flat to 3 percent above the FY26 actual and about 3 percent below the roughly $1,797 million consensus at the midpoint. Coal EBITDA is guided lower on reduced contracted volumes and yield, with hauled volumes broadly flat, and Bulk gains are partly offset by lower South Australian iron ore volumes. Dividends are guided to 23.0 to 24.0 cents.
The guidance band sits below consensus across its full range.
Andrew Harding pointed to the Bulk record and said it “reinforces our confidence in the long-term opportunity to grow our position in transportation of bulk commodities, agriculture and critical minerals”. He also announced a new long-term haulage contract with BHP Mitsubishi Alliance, part of more than a quarter of the coal contract book recontracted.
Shares fell 9.9 percent to $3.75 by midday, having touched $3.67, after a run of roughly 25 percent over the prior year.
