good q report

Rinker third quarter net earnings up 33% in US$, 25% in A$
Rinker Group Limited (Rinker) today announced net profit after tax (PAT) for the three months ended 31
December 2004 of US$95 million1, up 33% (A$124 million, up 25%) on the December quarter 2003.
Earnings per share (EPS)2 rose 35% to 10.1 US cents (13.1 Australian cents, up 26%). Earnings per ADR
were US$1.01. Earnings per share prior to the amortisation of goodwill2 were 11.4 US cents (up 30%)
and 14.9 Australian cents (up 21%).
Other key measures:
Earnings before interest and tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA)3 rose 26% to
US$227 million (A$297 million; up 19%)
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT)3 rose 34% to US$163 million (A$213 million; up 26%)
Trading revenue was up 18% to US$1,095 million (A$1,426 million; up 11%)
Return on funds employed (ROFE)4 was 21.2% in US$ for the year to December, up from 16.3% for
the prior year (22.6% in A$, up from 18.6%). All business segments sharply increased ROFE.
Return on equity5, pre goodwill amortisation, was 17.1% in US$ for the year to December, up 2 pp
from 15.1% for the prior year (18.2%, up from 17.1% in A$)
Rinker Materials Corporation in the US, which produces around 80% of group earnings and revenue,
delivered another consistently strong performance, with US$ EBITDA up 31%, and revenue up 19%.
Readymix EBITDA rose 2% in local A$ currency, with revenue up 10%. Normalised EBITDA – excluding
a A$3.5 million land sale in the December quarter 2003 – grew 8%.
For the nine months to end December, Rinker PAT was up 36% to US$302 million (A$418 million, up
26%). EPS rose 36% to 32.1 US cents (44.3 Australian cents, up 26%). EPS prior to goodwill
amortisation rose 30% to 36.0 US cents (49.8 Australian cents, up 21%).
EBITDA rose 26% to US$697 million (A$961 million; up 17%),
EBIT was up 34% to US$509 million (A$703 million; up 24%)
Trading revenue rose 16% to US$3,228 million (A$4,447 million, up 8%), and
Operating cash flow was steady at US$476 million, with free cash flow6 down slightly due mainly to the
timing of tax paid and volume driven increases in working capital.
For the nine months, Rinker Materials’ EBITDA was up 24% and EBIT up 35% in US$. In A$, Readymix
EBITDA rose 23% and EBIT 21%.
“All of the group businesses continued to grow and improve their performance again during the quarter,”
said Rinker CEO David Clarke. “The strong improvement in ROFE supports our commitment to working
our assets harder and using our capital as efficiently as possible.”
The group’s balance sheet continued to strengthen. Net debt7 at end December was US$416 million
(A$535 million), down 31% from US$601 million (A$796 million) at the year-end in March. EBIT interest
cover8 for the 12 months to end December was 20.7 times in US$. Gearing or leverage (net debt/net
debt plus equity)9 was 14% while net debt/equity9 was 17%.
Mr Clarke reiterated Rinker’s commitment to growth and capital management. “We are very aware of the
group’s strong balance sheet and cash flows,” he said. “Whilst acquisitions have been relatively scarce in
the industry, we have continued to invest in new plants and equipment to enhance our market position in
both the US and Australia.

Outlook
“It is pleasing to report another quarter of consistent strong growth,” said Mr Clarke. “Despite significant
increases in costs, our people have worked hard to offset them with operational improvement programs
and price increases.
“The base business, particularly in Florida, has again performed well, while our development growth
initiatives are enhancing our strong market positions.”
Construction activity continued to improve during the quarter in both the US and Australia. Overall,
forecasts are for a slowing in construction activity growth rates across most of the group’s major
markets, but we continue to expect slight incremental growth in volumes in both the US and Australia.
Further price increases are also expected during the current quarter in the US and from April in Australia,
aimed at offsetting more anticipated cost increases.
“Our expectations for the full year results for YEM 05 are that we will deliver around 35% growth in
trading EBIT for Rinker Materials in US$ and around 20% for Readymix in A$. This is an upgrade on our
previous guidance.
“It is too early at this stage to accurately predict the level of profit growth for the group’s next financial
year to end March 2006,” said Mr Clarke. “However, our order books and comments from our customers
suggest that solid demand should continue for the foreseeable future. While we expect higher costs,
early indications are that prices will also be higher in most products. We will provide further profit
guidance for YEM 06 when we report our year end results in May.”