Ann: HALFYR: FBU: FBL Financial Results for 6 mon

• Release Date: 20/02/13 11:00
• Summary: HALFYR: FBU: FBL Financial Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012
• Price Sensitive: No
• Download Document  5.27KB

					

FBU
20/02/2013 09:00
HALFYR

REL: 0900 HRS Fletcher Building Limited

HALFYR: FBU: FBL Financial Results for 6 months ended 31 December 2012

Name of Listed Issuer: Fletcher Building Limited

For Half Year Ended: 31 December 2012

The amounts as presented have been prepared in accordance with NZ IAS 34
Interim Financial Reporting and give a true and fair view of the matters to
which the report relates and are based on unaudited accounts.

CONSOLIDATED OPERATING STATEMENT FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

Unaudited

Current Half Year NZ$'M; Up/Down %; Previous Corresponding Half Year NZ$'M

Total operating revenue: $4,380m; down 3%; $4,494m.

OPERATING SURPLUS BEFORE SIGNIFICANT ITEMS AND TAX: $187m; down 8%; $204m.

Significant items for separate disclosure: $nil; n/a; $(21)m.

OPERATING SURPLUS BEFORE TAX: $187m; up 2%; $183m.

Less tax on operating profit: $36m; up 3%; $35m.

OPERATING SURPLUS AFTER TAX BUT BEFORE MINORITY INTERESTS: $151m; up 2%;
$148m.

Less minority interests: $5m; up 25%; $4m.

OPERATING SURPLUS AFTER TAX ATTRIBUTABLE TO MEMBERS OF LISTED ISSUER: $146m;
up 1%; $144m.

Extraordinary items after tax attributable to Members of the Listed Issuer:
0: n/a: 0.

OPERATING SURPLUS AND EXTRAORDINARY ITEMS AFTER TAX ATTRIBUTABLE TO MEMBERS
OF THE LISTED ISSUER: $146m; up 1%; $144m.

Earnings per share:  21.3 cps; -:  21.2 cps

Interim Dividend:  17 cps

Record date: 28 March 2013

Date Payable: 16 April 2013

Tax credits on latest dividend: nil NZ imputation credits, fully franked for
Australian shareholders.

Auckland, 20 February 2013 - Fletcher Building today announced its unaudited
interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2012.  The group
recorded net earnings after tax of $146 million, compared with $144 million
in the prior corresponding period.

Operating earnings (earnings before interest and tax) were $262 million, 2
per cent higher than the $256 million achieved in the first half of the 2012
financial year. Cashflow from operations was up strongly at $204 million
compared with $129 million in the prior period.

The interim dividend will be 17.0 cents per share. In line with the company's
approach to allocating tax credits, the dividend will be fully franked for
Australian tax purposes but will not be imputed for New Zealand tax purposes.

Total revenue for the group decreased 3 per cent to $4,380 million, in part
due to the sale of several businesses in the past year.

Chief Executive Officer, Mark Adamson, said the result was driven by improved
trading conditions in New Zealand, offset by weak construction markets in
Australia and the costs of further restructuring.

"The pace of new residential construction in New Zealand has improved
substantially over the past six months in both Canterbury and Auckland, and
this has positively impacted those businesses exposed to this sector. In
addition, we have seen strong momentum in rebuilding activity in Canterbury.
These factors drove a 31 per cent increase in our New Zealand operating
earnings," Mr Adamson said.

"By contrast, in Australia, weak market conditions have continued in the
residential and commercial construction sectors. Most of our Australian
businesses experienced volume declines and as a result Australian operating
earnings declined by 12 per cent," Mr Adamson said.

In other regions, results were mixed with revenues ahead in South East Asia,
flat in North America, and down in China and Europe.

During the period, further restructuring was undertaken in a number of
businesses including Laminex and Stramit in Australia. The consolidation of
Formica's operations in Spain was completed with the closure of the Bilbao
plant, with additional costs incurred of $3 million beyond those provided for
previously.

Mr Adamson said good progress had been made in establishing the business
transformation programme which was outlined at the annual shareholders
meeting in November. The programme involves a systemic review of the existing
business model and will encompass a fundamental redesign of how products and
services are delivered. The programme includes work streams around shared
services, procurement, distribution, logistics, operational excellence and
digital strategy.

"While it is early days, we have made an excellent start in commencing a
number of these work streams. Our goal is to further improve our
competitiveness. While we expect some gains from these initiatives to accrue
in the next financial year, this is a multi-year transformation programme and
we expect that the scale of the benefits will continue to evolve and will
take longer to flow through the business," Mr Adamson said.

Results overview

Revenue
$4,380 million, down from $4,494 million

Net earnings
$146 million, up from $144 million

Operating earnings
$262 million, up from $256 million

Cashflow from operations
$204 million, up from $129 million

Basic earnings per share
21.3 cents per share, up from 21.2 cents

Interest cover
3.5 times, down from 3.8 times

Final dividend
17.0 cents per share with full Australian franking tax credits.

The dividend reinvestment plan will be operative for the half year dividend
payment

For further information please contact:

Philip King
General Manager Investor Relations
Phone:  + 64 9 525 9043
Mobile: + 64 27 444 0203

ENDS
End CA:00233150 For:FBU    Type:HALFYR     Time:2013-02-20 09:00:08