Daily Brief Energy/Materials: Weebit Nano Ltd, Corteva , Sunoco LP, Crude Oil, Kunlun New Energy Materials Technology (Yichang), Asahi Holdings, Rubber Future SGX TSR20, Welspun Corp, MPLX LP, Red Avenue New Materials Group and more

• In this insight, we present our final expectations for ASX 300, 200, 100, 50, and 20 for the September 2026 index rebal event.
• We expect two changes for ASX 50, one change for ASX 100, and five changes for ASX 200. Separately, we see 13 ADDs and 10 DELs for ASX 300.
• The Vault minerals deal could trigger index changes after the September 2026 index review.

• The fall spin-off calendar is finally starting to fill in…
• Two of the three names I am watching most closely now have dates.
• Corteva (CTVA) is schedule to separate Vylor on 10/1/2026. KBR (KBR) has set 1/4/2027 for the spin-off of its government services business, Trinzic.

• Sunoco LP reported strong financial and operational results for the second quarter of 2026, demonstrating growth across its diversified portfolio comprising Fuel Distribution, Pipeline Systems, Terminals, and Refining segments.
• Adjusted EBITDA reached $996 million, excluding $14 million in one-time transaction expenses, surpassing the mid-year performance that led the company to raise its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance by $400 million to a range of $3.5 billion to $3.7 billion.
• Distributable cash flow (DCF) as adjusted was $608 million for the quarter, supporting a declared quarterly distribution of just over $1 per common unit.

• Crude oil futures edged higher on Friday after a run of steady gains cemented a second weekly rise, as the tense standoff between the US and Iran showed no signs of easing.
• Oct26 ICE  Brent futures were 0.25% higher at $94.01/b (2023 BST), while Oct26 NYMEX WTI was at $86.80/b , essentially flat with Thursday’s settle, though both benchmarks had traded higher earlier in the day.
• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Thursday that Washington will impose the “toughest sanctions in history” to “collapse” the Iranian government, calling on other nations, including China, to join the effort.

• Volume Surge and Price Recovery Drive Revenue Turnaround: Kunlun’s revenue skyrocketed to RMB 1.97 billion in 1H2026 (a 210% YoY increase) with net profits reaching RMB 148 million, fueled by a sharp recovery in average selling prices (ASPs) to ~RMB 25,000 per ton in 1H2026, alongside massive restocking and a spike in energy storage system (ESS) demand.
• Extreme Customer Concentration and Working Capital Trap: While market share rose to 4.5% by volume in 2025 (ranking #4 globally), Kunlun remains heavily reliant on CATL, which accounted for 56.1% of 1H2026 revenue. This monopsony power squeezed Kunlun’s cash flow, leading to a negative operating cash flow of RMB 17.41 million as trade receivables bloated to RMB 1.56 billion.
• Aggressive Capital Expansion and Strategic Hedges: Kunlun is expanding capacity from 180,000 tons to over 500,000 tons per year. While European expansion in Hungary has been delayed to Q3 2027, Kunlun is backward-integrating via its 51.00% stake in Shandong Lizhong to secure 10,000 tons of LiPF6 capacity, attempting to mitigate raw material price volatility.

• Asahi Holdings (5857 JP) share price rose 30% in a month after our last insight. Nothing was wrong with the company and result was great. 
• The stock will go ex-dividend next month, but the share price appreciation has beaten the dividend amount of 3.5%. Worth protecting the capital gain. 
• It generates one of the highest ROIC at 10% against the peers and trades at the lower end of the spectrum. 

Highlights

• Indonesia May rubber exports hit a recent low of over 99,400 tons

• May returns at over US$206 million, supported by higher prices

• Area under rubber cultivation declines by about 17% in five years until 2026

• Welspun Corp won its largest-ever single order, worth USD 1.8 billion, to be executed entirely out of its Little Rock, Arkansas plant.
• The order lifts the global order book to a record USD 4.4 billion and validates nearly two decades of onshore US capital allocation ahead of a multi-year pipeline capex cycle.
• The stock hit an all-time high on the news; the real question for investors is how repeatable this order is, and that requires understanding the US gas buildout underneath it.

• MPLX reported second quarter 2026 adjusted EBITDA of $1.8 billion, representing a 5% year-over-year increase despite the divestiture of its Rockies assets in late 2025.
• This growth enabled distributions exceeding $1.1 billion to unitholders.
• The company highlighted operational progress and capacity expansions across its integrated natural gas and natural gas liquids (NGL) value chains, with multiple projects entering service or ramping up, notably in the Delaware Basin and Northeast regions.

• Vertical Upstream Integration as a Moat: Unlike local peers who act purely as formulators, Red Avenue’s primary differentiator is its completed backward integration into electronic-grade resins (cresol-formaldehyde, PHS, and acrylics). This secures 40% to 80% of the photoresist cost pool, stabilizes batch-to-batch consistency, and mitigates the risk of Japanese resin embargoes.
• HK IPO as a Liquidity Lifeline: The H-share filing on August 21, 2026, is born out of acute balance sheet stress. Operating with an 87.7% gearing ratio and a 0.9x current ratio, Red Avenue is utilizing the dual-listing structure not just for global expansion, but to pay down high short-term bank debt and fund capital-intensive ArF/KrF scaling.
• PBAT as a Stranded Asset: The company’s 60,000-ton/year biodegradable materials (PBAT) plant in Shanghai is currently suspended. Extreme domestic industry overcapacity and weak enforcement of plastic bans have turned this licensed BASF technology into a severe margin drag, forcing a pivot toward preservation rather than growth.