Daily Brief Australia: Rio Tinto Ltd, Austal Ltd, Spectur Ltd, Vection Technologies Ltd and more

• The Discounts to NAV of covered holdcos mainly widened during April. Discounts to NAV: C.F.Alba, 49.1% (vs. 47.3%); GBL, 39% (vs. 38.1%); Heineken Holding, 17.3% (vs 16.7%); 
• Industrivärden C, 4.7% (vs. 1.4%); Investor B, 8.3% (vs. 6.1%); Porsche Automobile Holding, 41.1% (vs. 45.4%). Rio DLC spread tightened to 22.5% (vs. to 24.9%).
• What seems interesting: Porsche SE vs. listed assets and the Rio DLC (long RIO LN/short RIO AU).

• Recently, I surmised FIRB would approve Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM US)/Hancock’s bid for Azure (AZS AU); but ding Hanwha Ocean (042660 KS)‘s Austal (ASB AU) tilt. I’m batting 50%. 
• Whereas FIRB gave the green light for Azure this week; reportedly (no official ASX announcement as yet), the Aussie government is “not concerned” with Hanwha’s acquisition. Austal gained 3% yesterday.
• Even Austal didn’t high hopes of securing Aussie approval. Presumably the US government is similarly onboard. This development also signals an expanding AUKUS security pact. 

• Spectur Limited (ASX:SP3) is a surveillance technology company providing security, safety, environmental monitoring and visual AI solutions to watch and act on assets managed by its platform.
• The company develops, manufactures and sells solar- and battery-powered, remotely-connected hardware, which is driven by SP3’s firmware, software, cloud and web-apps, providing data and solutions to its customers.
• Spectur has reported a 35% increase in Q3 sales revenue to $1.261m on the previous corresponding period (pcp) (ASX release 26 April).

Vection’s Q324 update showed strong double-digit growth in revenue and cash receipts, driven by multiple contract wins, including its largest contract to date with an existing defence customer. A swing to positive operating cash flow in Q3 (A$4.1m), coupled with contract wins, validates the company’s streamlined sales structure, designed to bolster operational efficiency. Cash generated also supported a quarter-on-quarter reduction in debt. Management is seeing early positive signs by enhancing the platform’s compatibility with Apple Vision Pro, potentially unlocking a key growth avenue from rising enterprise adoption among large global players.