0106 GMT - ALS's decision to raise as much as A$390 million of equity was a surprise to Jefferies. Proceeds from the raising, which is led by a A$350 million underwritten share placement, will largely be used to fund an expansion of its laboratory network. Analyst John Campbell notes that ALS expects the raising will boost its EPS by a mid-single-digit percent. But this forecast is based on expected run-rate earnings from lab developments in Lima, Sydney, Bangkok, and Prague. Those aren't expected to conclude until FY 2027-FY 2030, Jefferies says. "Though we note with the minerals cycle only just starting to turn up, with volumes up 2.4% in FY 2025, we see fair rationale in increasing capacity to meet this expected growth in demand," Jefferies says. (david.winning@wsj.com; @dwinningWSJ)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2025 21:06 ET (01:06 GMT)

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