Dyno Nobel posts record A$485 million explosives earnings in FY2026

Key Facts

Dyno Nobel reported its FY2026 results on November 9, posting record underlying operating earnings of A$485 million for its explosives business, up 12% year on year. Coverage of the company’s results quoted management as saying, "The explosives business delivered a record result," putting the division at the forefront of the group’s performance. The broader picture was mixed: statutory net profit after tax rose to A$66 million, from a loss of A$53 million in FY2025. By contrast, net profit excluding significant items fell to A$331 million from A$423 million. The announcement came alongside the company’s forecast of higher capital expenditure in the next financial year and an increase in net debt relative to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation.

Group sales totaled A$3,940.9 million in FY2026, compared with A$5,345.2 million in the previous year. The company said the comparison reflected the reshaping of its business portfolio following the demerger of its fertiliser business, and therefore was not, on its own, a measure of explosives business performance. The fertiliser demerger was completed before the results announcement, as the company shifted its focus to global explosives supply. In May, the chief executive described that phase as the start of a new era for the company, linking growth in underlying earnings to asset performance and the transformation program. This context helps frame the decline in sales against the change in the group’s scope, alongside record operating earnings from explosives.

By geography, operating earnings in Asia Pacific rose to A$281 million, up 10%, while the Americas posted earnings of A$224 million, up 19%. The Europe, Middle East and Africa and Latin America unit recorded A$18 million, down 40%. The company said the minerals sector was the main driver of Asia Pacific growth, following new customer wins and contract renewals. By contrast, it linked the other unit’s weakness to economic challenges in Europe and shipping route disruptions, as well as lower quarrying and construction spending in France and bad weather in Chile. The differences reflect the reliance of operating earnings growth on performance in particular regions, amid continued pressure in other markets.

Further pressure showed in cash and financing metrics: the earnings-to-cash conversion rate fell to 35.5% in FY2026 from 56.8% in the previous year. Net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose to 2.1 times, compared with 1.4 times. These figures came alongside the decline in adjusted net profit, despite statutory net profit after tax turning positive. The company said significant items included impairment-related losses and exit costs from the Phosphate Hill site, as well as an impairment of payments and receivables related to QPM. It recommended a final dividend of 5.0 Australian cents per share, with 50% franked.

For FY2027, Dyno Nobel expects underlying operating earnings of between A$515 million and A$555 million, with about 40% contributed in the first half and 60% in the second half. It said scheduled maintenance would affect results and raised its expected capital expenditure range to A$370–420 million. The spending includes about US$40 million for maintenance work at the Shiner site and about US$20 million for defence and explosives investments. Under its transformation program, the company delivered net benefits of A$51 million during FY2026, with the exit rate at year-end reaching 70% of its A$300 million operating earnings uplift ambition. Its previous guidance for the explosives business in FY2026 was A$460 million to A$500 million, before it reported the full-year result.

The company is also looking to U.S. defence projects as a future source of earnings. It said the government-backed TNT and IMX projects at the Graham site in Kentucky have a combined value of about US$1 billion, and it expects earnings to begin flowing from them in late 2028. In the November 9 session, Investing.com coverage reported the shares fell 7.33% to A$3.54, from a previous close of A$3.82. However, another report by the site gave different figures, leaving the size of the move unclear from the available information. The company calendar set December 17 as the date of its 2026 annual general meeting. The meeting follows the announcement of full-year results on November 9.