Shares in Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) have surged to a new 12-month high on Thursday after the company announced a "robust" profit and a new buyback.
The bottle and packaging maker posted a first-half net profit of $58.9 million, up $58.7 million from what was effectively a breakeven position for the same period last year.
This was achieved on revenue of $1.12 billion, up 9.7%.
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Steady as she goes
Orora Managing Director Brian Lowe said it was a "robust operating result for the first half of FY26, underpinned by disciplined execution''.
He added:
In line with our full year guidance, we achieved EBITDA growth across all businesses, reflecting the strength of our operating platform and the benefits of our recent investments and business optimisation actions. Market dynamics and trading conditions vary across Orora's business segments. Favourable market dynamics in Cans, including the continued consumer preference shift to aluminium and growth in new beverage categories, has supported 11.2% volume growth. Despite softness in premium spirits and wine, disciplined execution supported performance across glass, with Saverglass volumes up 2.6% in the first half primarily driven by tequila and vodka categories.
Mr Lowe said the company was moving from a phase defined by high capital expenditure to a cash generation phase.
He added:
At a group level, with strength in our operating cashflow, cash realisation and balance sheet, and with the major cans capacity expansion completing in FY26, Orora can continue to make meaningful shareholder returns through regular dividends and an ongoing on‑market buy‑back. We enter the second half with confidence and a clear execution agenda.
The company said on Thursday that its previous share buyback had bought back $227.4 million worth of shares, or 8% of the issued capital in the company.
Orora has announced it will refresh that share buyback to purchase up to another 10% of the company's stock, worth about $270 million.
The company said regarding the outlook, it remained largely unchanged, with growth in EBITDA and cash flow expected for all business units.
Orora shares surged on the news, trading 8.6% higher at $2.39.
Jarden analysts had a look at the results and said in a note to clients on Thursday that it was "better than feared".
They said the earnings were largely in line with consensus, while core earnings per share were slightly ahead of consensus.
Orora will pay an unfranked interim dividend of 5 cents per share, in line with the same period last year.
