Sydney, Feb 19, 2026, 18:02 AEDT — Trading after the bell.
- Brambles shares finished in the green, with the company raising its full-year free-cash-flow guidance alongside its half-year results.
- Pallet pooler bumped up its interim dividend, sticking with the buyback plan as scheduled.
- The spotlight turns to volume recovery, with consumer demand still looking uneven.
Brambles Ltd (BXB.AX) finished Thursday’s session 3.7% higher at A$24.38, as the pallet and container pooler bumped up its full-year cash-flow forecast. The half-year update put a spotlight on efficiency improvements. (Investing.com)
The result carries weight: Brambles trades like a reliable cash machine, especially with the broader market on edge. Investors counting on those buybacks and dividends—if cash flows look shaky, it doesn’t take long for the stock to react.
The company tightened its revenue growth forecast, but bumped up its free cash flow outlook — the figure that tends to matter more, since it shows cash left after investments in pallets, plants and other capital needs.
Brambles reported that sales revenue from continuing operations climbed 2% in constant currency terms to US$3.53 billion for the half-year ending Dec. 31, as foreign-exchange effects were excluded. Underlying Profit, the company’s main earnings metric, was up 7% to US$792 million. Brambles raised its forecast for free cash flow before dividends, now expecting US$950 million–US$1.1 billion compared to its previous range of US$850 million–US$950 million. The outlook for underlying profit growth stays the same, but the company narrowed its projected revenue growth range to 3%-4% from the earlier 3%-5%.
The company boosted its interim dividend to 23 U.S. cents per share, a 21% increase. Its FY26 on-market buyback—capped at US$400 million—remains in place, with US$191 million repurchased during the half.
Brambles CEO Graham Chipchase described the company’s first-half performance as “a resilient first-half result,” noting margin gains from cost discipline and supply-chain efforts, even as he acknowledged “ongoing demand headwinds in key markets.”
Brambles reported flat volumes. Strong new business helped balance out a drop in like-for-like volumes, which the company linked to soft consumer demand. Customers across several regions were trimming inventories.
The company, though, signaled the back half won’t be smooth sailing. Uncertainty looms over customer demand, swings in input costs like lumber, how quickly retailers and manufacturers optimize inventory, and currency fluctuations — any of these factors could impact pallet flows and pricing.
In the coming session and through next week, traders are eyeing how brokers respond to the narrower revenue outlook. There’s also likely to be talk about just how much of the cash-flow boost reflects capital spending timing, as opposed to a more substantial business turnaround.
The dividend schedule is up next. According to a filing, Brambles’ interim dividend will go ex-dividend on March 11, with shareholders on record by March 12. Payment’s set for April 9. (company-announcements.afr.com)
