Austal Rises on U.S. Contract Win

Shares of ship builder Austal Ltd rise as much as 4.6 pct to A$1.940.

Austal said that it has a news contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to build two more Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), bringing the total new LCS orders booked in 2018 CY to four ships. Reportedly, the new award is under the congressional cost cap of $584 mln

Separately, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will fund Republic of Trinidad & Tobago with a loan of A$80 mln ($57.40 mln) to assist it to purchase vessels from Austal

Austal's stock posted its biggest intraday pct gain since Dec 4 and was among the top pct gainers on ASX All Ordinaries Index. The stock had risen 1.9 pct this year, as of last close.

Source: Reuters.