Sydney, Feb 23, 2026, 18:30 AEDT — Market closed.
- Orica slipped 1.2% to finish at A$24.45, lagging behind the broader, softer ASX session.
- Another A$5.3 million went into buybacks on Feb. 20, according to a filing, bringing the total spent to roughly A$458.4 million.
- Director Vikas Bansal picked up 16,750 shares in an on-market buy, according to the disclosure.
Orica Ltd (ORI.AX) slipped 1.2% to close at A$24.45 on Monday. The explosives maker noted plans for further purchases under its on-market share buyback.
Orica disclosed in its daily buy-back update that it picked up 212,501 shares on Feb. 20, spending A$5.3 million at an average price near A$25 a share. Overall, the company has now repurchased 22,170,523 shares, paying around A$458.4 million. That leaves approximately A$42 million unused from its A$500 million buy-back limit. The program, handled by Goldman Sachs Australia, is set to continue through March 27, 2026, but Orica cautioned there’s no guarantee of further buy-backs and the plan may be changed or halted at any time.
Australian shares struggled through a choppy day, as the S&P/ASX 200 finished 0.61% lower at 9,026, with fresh U.S. tariff worries unsettling the market. According to Market Index, materials managed minor gains, but technology and healthcare stocks bore most of the losses.
Director Vikas Bansal boosted his indirect stake, picking up 16,750 Orica shares at A$23.8806 apiece on Feb. 23, according to a separate exchange filing. With this move, Bansal’s holding through an associated entity now totals 21,116 shares, the notice showed.
Tariff uncertainty continued to cast a shadow over markets. NAB senior economist Taylor Nugent pointed out that the “time-limited 15% tariff rate would be higher than the 10%” seen previously. ABC News
Orica supplies explosives, blasting gear, and mining chemicals to miners and construction firms, so its fortunes rise and fall with changes in resource output and capital investment. While buybacks put a floor under declines by introducing a constant buyer, they can’t prevent traders from responding to shifts in overall risk appetite.
Repurchases aren’t guaranteed, plus there isn’t much headroom left. Should commodity prices drop or customers cut spending, investor attention could shift—capital returns taking a back seat while questions mount over whether earnings estimates have to come down.
Next session, eyes are on Orica to see if it continues snapping up shares through the buyback program before the March deadline. The market’s also tense about tariff news. Orica’s own calendar points to a communications blackout from March 30 until May 6, as the company preps for half-year results due May 7.
