** Shares of Australia's Reece REH.AX rise as much as 13.9% to A$15.87, strongest level since June 27, 2025

** Stock marks biggest intraday pct gain since November 24, 2025

** REH top gainer on the ASX 200 benchmark .AXJO

** Plumbing products maker posts HY EBIT of A$262 million ($185.50 million), beating market consensus

** Citi says beat due to smaller-than-expected costs in Australia

** Looking forward, guidance is ~5% ahead of the street, which appears to be due to the better-than-expected ANZ performance carrying through to 2H - Citi

** Co sees FY Group EBIT in range of A$520 mln-A$540 mln

** Stock up ~17% YTD

($1 = 1.4124 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru)

((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))