ASX-listed companies are reportedly pulling out of this year’s Macquarie Australia Conference, an event widely seen as the unofficial start of the local stock exchange’s “confession season.” Biotech giant CSL and plumbing business Reliance Worldwide are among those not attending the high-profile investment conference, to be held this week, following a turbulent period for both firms. The three-day conference serves as a major corporate calendar event, where C-suite executives share trading updates and insights into macroeconomic trends. It has gained a reputation as the start of the S&P/ASX 200, with companies often using presentations to reveal whether they are likely to meet earnings guidance provided earlier.
CSL, a biotech giant that develops and manufactures biopharmaceutical products, has recently appointed a new chief financial officer, Ken Lim, and announced Gordon Naylor as interim chief executive. These leadership changes follow a 27.4 per cent year-to-date sell-off in its stock, as investors lost confidence in its direction. Reliance Worldwide, a plumbing business that manufactures and supplies plumbing products, affirmed its trading outlook last week but is grappling with the impact of elevated oil prices on resin, a crucial input for its plastic products. Its substantial employee and operations base in the Americas also poses a significant logistical hurdle for attending the Sydney-based conference.
Online furniture retailer Temple & Webster and property developer Lendlease are also speculated to have withdrawn their representatives. Temple & Webster, currently down nearly 60 per cent year-to-date, is preparing for Susie Sugden to take over as CEO from July. Lendlease recently posted an interim operating loss of $200 million in what it described as a “transitional” year. Diversified industrial company Maas Group’s CEO Wes Maas is also reported to have withdrawn from his speaking slot. The upcoming season is tipped to be especially painful, with market watchers anticipating that the ongoing fallout from the Iran war will cut into rosy profit outlooks provided in the February reporting season.
