** Shares of Australia's Verbrec VBC.AX rise 2.9% to A$0.175, their highest since December 9
** Engineering and mining tech co awarded contracts exceeding A$20 million ($13.20 million) in H1 FY2026
** Contracts include engineering services for a biogas facility in New Zealand, an extension of its operations and maintenance contract for a gas pipeline in Queensland, among others
** YTD, shares up 29.6%
($1 = 1.5152 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Shruti Agarwal in Bengaluru)
((Shruti.Agarwal@thomsonreuters.com))