Boral announce half-year results
Transformation in Boral North America and growth in Australia support significant increase in earnings
BORAL Ltd have reported a 58% increase in net profit after tax (before amortization and significant items) to A$237 million for the half year ended 31 December 2017, compared with the prior corresponding period.
The result reflects a full-period contribution from the acquired Headwaters businesses in North America together with strong operating results from Boral Australia and the USG Boral joint venture.
Net profit after tax (after significant items) of A$173 million was 13% up on the first half of financial year 2017.
Sales revenue of A$2.9 billion increased 40% on the prior corresponding period, reflecting the Headwaters acquisition and good revenue growth in Boral Australia.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) before significant items increased 50% to A$500 million, compared with the prior corresponding period.
Boral’s chief executive officer and managing director, Mike Kane (pictured), said that transformation of the business, following the acquisition of Headwaters in the US, had underpinned significant earnings growth.
‘These strong results confirm that our transformation strategy is on track,’ he remarked. ‘The Headwaters acquisition has helped transform Boral into a construction materials and building products group with a greater geographic reach and improved prospects for growth.
‘It is very clear that we are seeing synchronized global growth benefiting all three divisions.
‘Our largest division, Boral Australia, delivered an exceptionally strong result. The business is demonstrating a clear capability to efficiently deliver on more technical, innovative projects in a high-demand environment.
‘We are very pleased with our transformed North American division, which reported a significant increase in earnings as a result of a full-period contribution from the Headwaters businesses.
‘We are well on the way to exceed our targeted synergies for the full year, with US$18 million of synergy benefits banked in the first half, and to exceed US$100 million in four years.
‘In our joint venture, USG Boral, we continue to strengthen our competitive advantage through innovation and to see solid underlying growth. Strong growth in Australia, Korea and China was dampened by higher input costs, some one-off costs, and softness in Thailand and Indonesia, but we are confident of ongoing growth in this business.’
Commenting on outlook, Mr Kane said Boral were expecting continued growth across all businesses in financial year 2018, including a significant lift in earnings from Boral North America.
