0457 GMT - Temple & Webster's capacity to navigate any sudden drop in sales due to tough economic conditions cheers its bull at Citi. Analyst James Wang tells clients in a note that the Australian furniture retailer's operating leverage should improve if it can maintain its momentum from 2H of fiscal 2024. Rather than raising hopes that the online operator could beat its annual Ebitda guidance, Wang says that this gives Temple & Webster the control to either accelerate its growth or to push through any tough spots if they appear. Citi has a last-published buy rating and A$11.00 target price on the stock, which is up 23% at A$11.73. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0451 GMT - Australian vehicle advertiser CAR Group keeps its bull at Citi after its fiscal 2025 revenue guidance beat analyst Siraj Ahmed's expectations. Ahmed lifts his revenue forecast by 1.4% for fiscal 2025, by 2.0% for fiscal 2026 and by 2.6% for fiscal 2027 after the ASX-listed company said it expects "good" growth in its local dealer business. He also tells clients in a note that growth at CAR's U.S. unit looks quite resilient and a slight slowdown relative to prior expectations isn't surprising given tough industry conditions. Citi reiterates its buy rating on the stock and raises its target price 0.5% to A$39.50. Shares are down 0.1% at A$35.11. (stuart.condie@wsj.com)

0305 GMT - The market's focus on BlueScope Steel's FY 2024 results will be on the company's 1H 2025 earnings guidance, says Jefferies analyst Simon Thackray. "We continue to be of the view that consensus estimates for BSL look circa 15-20% too high for FY25," says Thackray, who estimates 1H 2025 earnings guidance of between A$400 million-A$450 million and expects group Ebit for that period of about A$417 million. Jefferies has an underperform rating and A$17.80 target on BlueScope, which is down 1.5% at A$20.25. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0053 GMT - Beach Energy's reserves downgrade may have put any deal-making on hold for 6-12 months, Macquarie says. Beach yesterday said it cut reserves at the Enterprise natural-gas field by some 34%, contributing to its group reserves estimate falling by 20% to 205 million barrels of oil equivalent at end-June. Beach also disclosed that first natural gas from the Waitsia Stage 2 project in Western Australia into the processing plant is around six weeks behind schedule. "Higher gearing (15%, extended stretch target to 25%) and weak share price will make deal-making difficult until Waitsia has fully ramped up," Macquarie says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0041 GMT - Building material supplier James Hardie's 2Q guidance is curious, given history suggests it should be a seasonally stronger quarter, Jefferies says. James Hardie signaled North American volumes of 705 million-735 million standard feet, which is some 8% below Jefferies's forecast for 781 million standard feet. "2Q guidance could prompt questions on Louisiana-Pacific Corp gaining market share against James Hardie," analyst Simon Thackray says in a note. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0036 GMT - While neighborhood mall owner Region's share price drops 0.2% following its annual result, Citi thinks headwinds buffeting the company have mostly abated. "We expect cap rates in the Australian convenience-based sub-sector to now have stabilized," analyst Howard Penny says in a note. Region has forecast FY 2025 funds from operations of 15.5 Australian cents/security, missing Citi's 16.0-cent expectation. Still, Citi thinks inflationary costs relative to income have likely bottomed, which "supports a shift from negative operating margins to positive looking ahead." Citi has a buy call on Region. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0033 GMT - While the market was probably anticipating conservative guidance from CSL for FY 2025, the company's profit outlook is likely to be weaker than anticipated, RBC Capital Markets says in a note. The broker reckons investors will also be slightly disappointed with CSL's FY 2024 result, which was weighed by higher-than-expected operating expenses. "Divisional revenues were broadly in line with consensus numbers, but Seqirus and Vifor gross margins were ahead of expectations," it says in a note. RBC has a sector perform rating and A$319 target on CSL, which is down 3.0% at A$299.80/share. (rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com; @RhiannonHoyle)

0032 GMT - Australia's major banks should see margin headwinds from mortgage competition ease further in 2H FY 2024, say Morgan Stanley analysts in a note. It estimates the average mortgage margin headwind eased to around 4 basis points at the major banks in 1H. For CBA, which reports its FY results Wednesday, MS forecasts margin headwinds to ease 2 bps, although it thinks management commentary on mortgage pricing and the potential for better returns will remain measured. More broadly, MS doubts CBA will provide margin guidance or quantify the potential impact of margin considerations for FY 2025. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

0031 GMT - Beach Energy has a shrinking buffer at the Waitsia Stage 2 natural-gas project under construction in Western Australia, Jarden says. Beach's management says commissioning gas into the plant is running around six weeks behind schedule. That means any plans for an early January start-up looks to be delayed by a similar timeframe. "We have slipped our timing for first LNG cargo sold to the June 2025 quarter to factor in further risk of timing slippage," analyst Nik Burns says. That has led Jarden to cut its forecast for FY 2025 production to 20.8 million barrels of oil equivalent, from 22.0 million BOE. Beach has guided to output of between 17.5 million-21.5 million BOE. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0029 GMT - Sonic Healthcare's earlier profit warning means the focus of investors will be on the pathology company's cost base at its upcoming annual result, Jarden says. Sonic said in May that initiatives aimed at improving margins haven't yet delivered the boost that it hoped. Analyst Steve Wheen says Sonic has recently closed some collection centers and laboratories, so a key question is whether this action can help to offset the inflationary pressures that have weighed on the sector. Sonic has closed a net 27 centers since May. Jarden says it "struggles to recommend" Sonic, and rival Healius, given risks to volumes in FY 2025. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

0014 GMT - The market is likely to be positive on Challenger's FY 2024 results, with the Australian wealth company on track to meet its return on equity target in FY 2025 and better-than-expected capital, say Citi analysts in a note. On Challenger's FY 2025 guidance, the midpoint for normalized net profit before tax is in line with, rather than ahead of consensus, Citi notes, but adds that the fact that the company beat the top end of guidance for this year may bode well for FY 2025 guidance to prove conservative. "We expect the stock to move higher in line with our short-term positive call," says Citi. Shares are up 5.4% to A$7.25.(alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2359 GMT - Competition for new customers continues to be elevated across the Australian private health insurance sector, increasing the cost of customer acquisition, Macquarie analysts say in a note. This is a trend the investment bank expects will continue for some time. Based on this, Macquarie thinks Medibank's consensus for FY 2025 could be too high as competition across the market remains higher for longer. "Furthermore, if Medibank were to issue FY 2025 guidance in the vicinity of consensus, we would question acquisition costs," it adds. The elevated level of competition, which is prompting larger players to be the most aggressive on customer promotions, sees Macquarie maintain its neutral recommendation on Medibank and Nib.(alice.uribe@wsj.com)

2350 GMT - There was a lot to like about QBE's 1H FY 2024 results, with the closure of the U.S. mid-market business and the reserve transaction putting the business in better shape going forward, says Bell Potter analyst Marcus Barnard in a note. Still, he points out there are some signs excess capital in the insurance industry is prompting more competition and slowing premium growth. BP cuts its target price 1.1% to A$18.27, which it says reflects lower short-term profitability, with an expected improvement in profitability as the U.S. business improves over the next 12 months. BP upgrades its rating to buy from hold, following drops in the share price. QBE was recently up 0.9% to A$16.19, but is down 11% for the month so far. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires