SYDNEY, June 10, 2026, 02:02 AEST
Worley Limited picked up on Tuesday, outperforming a soft Australian market. Traders watched the engineering group’s buyback and cost cuts after the long weekend.
The ASX reopened Tuesday following the King’s Birthday holiday on Monday, marking the first cash session of the week. At publication, the market was closed between sessions. Standard ASX cash trading is scheduled from 9:59 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sydney time.
Worley (ASX: WOR) ended the session at A$13.03, inching up 4 cents, or 0.31%. Shares changed hands between A$12.35 and A$13.08, according to delayed data. The S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.24% at the close in Sydney, pulled down by gold, metals and mining, and materials stocks.
Worley barely moved. Investors remain focused on whether lower costs and capital returns will be enough to counter slowing earnings, with delays in Middle East projects hanging over near-term results.
Worley does engineering, project and asset management work for the energy, chemicals and resource sectors. The stock tends to move with the pace of big client decisions on capital projects, which can change when geopolitics, commodity prices or financing costs change.
Worley told investors at its May investor day it will start a new on-market buyback, targeting up to A$300 million, after wrapping up its first A$500 million buyback on April 22. In an on-market buyback, the company buys shares back on the exchange. The company also said it achieved A$95 million in savings so far, with another A$25 million in progress, putting it ahead of the original A$100 million annualised savings goal, or estimated 12-month run-rate. Chief Executive Chris Ashton said Worley is building “full project delivery capability” and bringing in AI-enabled delivery for what he called “a strong competitive edge.”
Worley disclosed in a June 5 filing it repurchased 260,311 shares on June 4, spending A$3.41 million at prices from A$13.02 to A$13.15. The same update said the company had already bought back 246,558 shares ahead of that date.
FY26 earnings are now in focus. Worley said on April 20 the Middle East conflict would trim FY26 underlying EBITA by A$30 million to A$40 million. Underlying EBITA, which strips out interest, tax and amortisation after company tweaks, is now not expected to grow. The company still expects total revenue above FY25 and an EBITA margin before procurement of 9.0% to 9.5%.
Downer EDI climbed 1.39% to A$8.00 among local engineering and infrastructure-services stocks, while Monadelphous dropped 1.57% to A$30.04. Worley’s move didn’t line up with peers, suggesting the stock got support from something company-specific instead of a broad rally.
ASX 200 closed 21 points lower at 8,604, posting a third loss in a row. Trading Economics reported weaker consumer confidence in June and business sentiment still in the red. The broader market didn’t do much.
The buyback isn’t a fix for project risk. If Middle East disruptions drag on, if supply-chain holdups get longer, or customers slow down on new work, worries could shift back to Worley’s earnings outlook even as the capital returns keep coming.
