Austin Engineering has reduced its 2026 full-year sales and earnings guidance on the back of what CEO Sy van Dyk called a “disappointing” first six months of the year.
The Australian mining equipment component manufacturer previously guided for A$370-380 million of FY2026 revenue and has updated the forecast to $350 million-plus. Underlying EBIT of $30-34 million is now looking more like $14-16 million.
Austin’s first-half revenue came in at $170.3 million while EBIT was down 83% year-on-year at only $3 million.
“The increase in second half EBIT required for this guidance is expected to come from the actions we have implemented during the last six months in Chile, US and Indonesia and are continuing to work on,” the company said this week.
“The actions include improving operational efficiencies, cost management, rightsizing the business, reducing reliance on sub-contracting and concluding an OEM loss-making contract or renegotiating the contract.”
Austin’s Asia Pacific sales were down 12% yoy in the first half of FY26; South America was down 11%. But North America was up 12% yoy. The company’s earnings slippage was due to a $4.1 million loss in Chile and “margin compression in the US and Indonesia”, offset by better margins in Australia.
“Our first half performance was disappointing, with profitability impacted by operational inefficiencies in Chile, North America and Indonesia, the legacy OEM contract, and delayed timing of major tray orders,” van Dyk said.
“These are operational issues under our control, unrelated to customer demand or market strength, and we are already seeing positive changes from our actions. In Chile, new leadership, strengthened controls and production process improvements are restoring performance. The legacy OEM program is being completed and will only continue on improved commercial terms, currently under negotiations.
“In North America, our focus is on restoring operating leverage through productivity improvements, workforce capability development and increased automation, while reducing reliance on contractors and outsourced manufacturing.”
van Dyke said market conditions remained broadly supportive.
“Orders secured after period end, together with strong bucket demand in Australia, provide momentum into the second half as operational improvements take effect,” he said.
“Austin’s strategic fundamentals remain strong. Our global footprint, diversified commodity exposure and design-led solutions position us well to support customers seeking productivity and efficiency gains.”
