| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Legal name | ALS Limited |
| ABN | 92 009 657 489 [Notice of Meeting, Jun-2026] |
| Former names | Campbell Brothers Limited (renamed ALS Limited in 2012) [Wikipedia / Qld Business Leaders Hall of Fame] |
| Founded | 1863, Brisbane, by Scottish immigrant Peter Morrison Campbell, as soap manufacturer "Campbell Brothers" at Kangaroo Point |
| Laboratory origin | "Australian Laboratory Services" founded in Brisbane in 1976. Campbell Brothers took a controlling stake in 1981 and full ownership by the mid-1980s |
| Incorporation jurisdiction | Australia (Queensland). Public company under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) |
| Registered / governance HQ | Level 9B, 25 King Street, Bowen Hills QLD 4006, Australia. Postal: PO Box 566, Fortitude Valley QLD 4006. Tel +61 7 3367 7900 [Notice of Meeting 2026; IR website] |
| Operational HQ | Madrid, Spain, since July 2025, relocated from Houston, Texas. The CEO and CFO moved to Madrid [FY25 results release, 27-May-2025; ASA 2026 report] |
| Primary listing | Australian Securities Exchange (ASX: ALQ). Listed 18 July 1952 as Campbell Brothers Limited [Motley Fool ticker page] |
| Secondary quotations | OTC Pink (CPBLF); Deutsche Börse (CP4); Cboe Australia (ALQ) [Simply Wall St listing data] |
| ISIN | AU000000ALQ6 [Investing.com] |
| CUSIP | Not publicly disclosed; no US primary listing |
| Index membership | ASX 100 / S&P/ASX 200 constituent [ALS IR website] |
| Fiscal year end | 31 March |
| Auditor | Ernst & Young (EY), Australia. FY26 audit fees A$3.516m [FY26 Annual Report; ASA 2026] |
| Share registry | Boardroom Pty Ltd, Sydney |
| Employees (latest) | 23,243 at FY26 period end. The Annual Report states "more than 23,000" [Tracenable from ALS Sustainability Report 2026; FY26 AR] |
| Footprint | 70+ countries, 450+ locations [FY26 Annual Report] |
| Shares on issue | ~507.5m ordinary shares [Morningstar via Motley Fool, 2026] |
| Market capitalisation (latest observed) | ~A$10.7bn at ~A$21.06/share. This is a derived figure; the timestamp of the latest quote could not be confirmed to 7-Oct-2026. Market cap was A$11.075bn on AGM day (28-Jul-2026) per the ASA |
| Website | www.alsglobal.com |
| Chair | Nigel Garrard (Chair since 31 July 2024) |
| CEO & Managing Director | Malcolm Deane (since 8 May 2023) |
| CFO | Stuart Hutton |
The entity profiled is ALS Limited, the same listed company identified in the request. There has been no change of listing or ticker. The name changed from Campbell Brothers Limited in 2012, which predates the identification list.
| Metric | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employees at period end (number) | 20360 | 22731 | 23243 |
[Source: Tracenable, citing ALS Sustainability Reports FY24–FY26]
The FY25 step-up reflects the full-year consolidation of Wessling (~1,200 staff) and York (~200 staff), acquired April–June 2024. The FY26 increase of ~2% against revenue growth of 10.7% points to emerging labour productivity gains. Labour is ~60% of ALS's cost base [CEO AGM address, 28-Jul-2026].
ALS Limited is a global, pure-play laboratory testing, inspection and certification (TIC) company, and the world's largest provider of analytical testing to the minerals exploration industry. It runs a hub-and-spoke network of 450+ sites across 70+ countries and is organised into two reporting divisions:
**Commodities:** Minerals geochemistry and metallurgy, mine-site production labs, Assay & Inspection, Oil & Lubricants condition monitoring, and Coal quality.
**Life Sciences:** Environmental (the largest single business at ~35% of Group revenue), Food, and Pharmaceutical, including the German contract research organisation Nuvisan.
The investment case rests on three elements:
1. A cyclical, very high-margin Minerals engine, which delivered a 33.0% EBIT margin in FY26.
2. A structurally growing, regulation-driven Environmental platform, with PFAS testing growing in the mid-teens.
3. A digital and automation programme ("Smart Labs / Lab of the Future") built on a unified LIMS that covers 80% of revenue.
FY26 delivered record results: revenue of A$3.32bn and underlying NPAT of A$381.2m. This met the 2022-set FY27 targets a year early. Leverage is 1.5x, below the target range.
---
### What ALS does
ALS sells analytical testing services. Customers send physical samples — rock pulp, drill core, water, soil, air filters, food, pharmaceuticals, lubricating oil, coal — or ALS operates labs at client sites. ALS returns certified analytical data, interpretation and associated services such as sampling, inspection, consulting and data products.
The FY26 Directors' Report lists the Group's principal activities as:
- Mining, mineral and commodity testing, inspection and certification.
- Environmental monitoring and analytical services.
- Food, pharmaceutical and life sciences testing and quality assurance.
- Laboratory and field-based technical services, including equipment supply, maintenance and operation.
- Pre-clinical studies, clinical development, analytical development and formulation, clinical trial support and bioanalytical services (through Nuvisan).
- Data, analytics and related technical consulting.
[FY26 Annual Report, Directors' Report]
### Company's own description (paraphrased from the FY26 Annual Report)
ALS describes itself as a global leader in testing. It uses advanced technologies and evolving methods to deliver high-quality testing and tailored solutions, and pairs international scale with local expertise to generate data-driven insights for a safer, healthier world.
**Vision:** to be the global leader in scientific analysis in pursuit of a better world.
**Purpose:** to make the world a better place through science, assurance and sustainability.
**Brand promise:** "Right solutions. Right partner."
**Values:** Safe, Resilient, Curious, Committed, Caring, Honest.
The operating model is branded "One ALS". It comprises:
- The "ALS Operating Way" — a standardised approach to laboratory operations.
- A hub-and-spoke network.
- Value-added services layered on top of testing.
These are supported by three core capabilities: data and digital excellence, streamlined global functions (HR, finance, procurement), and a client-centric service model.
### Business model and revenue model
| Dimension | Characterisation |
|---|---|
| Product vs service mix | ~100% services. ALS has no meaningful product sales; minor equipment supply occurs within lab management contracts |
| Revenue model | Predominantly fee-per-test (per sample / per analyte / per method package), priced from schedules and negotiated client contracts. It is transactional but highly recurring at the client level |
| Contract revenue | Mine-site production labs (multi-year operate contracts), Nuvisan CRO contracts (including an anchor-client partnership), and inspection and certification contracts |
| Subscription / licensing | Not material. Client portals (Webtrieve™, ALS Solutions, the oil-analysis portal) and geoanalytics data products are bundled with testing rather than sold separately as SaaS |
| Pricing dynamics | Minerals pricing is cyclical. FY25 saw price pressure as competitors chased volume; H2 FY26 pricing improved as legacy discounts rolled off. Life Sciences pricing is regulation- and accreditation-supported, with steadier increases |
| Cost structure | Labour ~60% of costs [AGM 2026]. Remaining costs are consumables and reagents, occupancy, logistics, and depreciation of instruments and facilities. High operating leverage in hub labs |
| Capital intensity | FY26 capex was 7.9% of revenue (216% of depreciation), elevated by the A$230m hub-lab programme. Maintenance capex was ~A$33m (~1% of revenue) |
### Value chain position
ALS sits in the independent third-party assurance layer between asset owners or producers and regulators, financiers or buyers.
- In Minerals, its data sits upstream of resource estimation, mine planning and the reporting of exploration results under codes such as JORC and NI 43-101. This makes accuracy, chain-of-custody and turnaround time critical.
- In Environmental, ALS supplies data that underpins regulatory compliance: water, soil and air monitoring, PFAS and emerging contaminants.
- In Food and Pharma, it supplies quality-control and release testing required by regulators and retailers.
**Nuvisan:** moves ALS further up the pharmaceutical value chain into discovery, pre-clinical and clinical CRO services.
### Customer types and end markets
| End market | Typical customers | Primary demand drivers |
|---|---|---|
| Mineral exploration & mining | Junior explorers, mid-tier and major miners, mine operators | Exploration budgets (driven by commodity prices and junior capital raising), critical minerals, near-mine/brownfield drilling, production grade control |
| Commodity trade | Traders, smelters, shippers | Global commodity trade volumes (Assay & Inspection) |
| Heavy equipment / industrial reliability | Mining fleets, transport, utilities, OEMs | Oil analysis for predictive maintenance (Oil & Lubricants) |
| Coal | Producers, utilities, traders | Quality certification for export coal |
| Environmental | Consultants, remediation contractors, water utilities, governments, industrials, defence | Environmental regulation and enforcement; PFAS / emerging contaminants; infrastructure spend |
| Food & agriculture | Food producers, retailers, agri-businesses | Food safety regulation, retailer audits, allergens and contaminants |
| Beauty & personal care | Cosmetics brands | Safety and efficacy claim substantiation, clinical studies |
| Pharmaceutical & healthcare | Pharma and biotech companies, generics makers | Outsourced QC and release testing, import testing (e.g. Mexico), outsourced discovery and pre-clinical work (Nuvisan) |
### Independent characterisation
ALS is best understood as two businesses with different economics under one balance sheet:
1. **A cyclical, scale-advantaged Minerals franchise.** It has industry-leading margins (EBIT margin above 30% for five consecutive years to FY26) and strong operating leverage to sample volumes. Management has deliberately reduced cyclicality: value-added services and mid/downstream activities made up ~27% of Minerals revenue in FY25.
2. **A larger but lower-margin Life Sciences portfolio** (FY26 EBIT margin 14.6%). It is anchored by a global Environmental leader and supplemented by regionally strong Food and Pharma businesses. Recent acquisitions — Nuvisan, York and Wessling — have been margin-dilutive and of mixed quality.
The Group's equity story increasingly depends on:
- Converting Life Sciences acquisitions toward the Group return hurdle (minimum 15% ROCE on growth capital).
- Using automation and AI to lift productivity on a labour-heavy cost base.
- Riding the critical-minerals exploration upcycle without over-investing at the peak.
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