News: JHX UPDATE 1-Fibre cement maker James Hardie's Q1 profit rises, sees challenging Q2

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Aug 13 (Reuters) - Fibre cement maker James Hardie Industries (JHX) posted a 2% rise in first-quarter profit on Tuesday, driven by strong sales in its North American market, although it expects a challenging second quarter.

The company's global net sales, three-quarters of which comes from the North American segment, rose 4% to $992 million.

The Dublin-based company said adjusted net income was $178 million for the three months ended June, compared with $174.5 million a year ago and Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $167.3 million.

"We continue to expect the North American market for exterior products to be down low- to mid-single digits over the course of our fiscal year, and now anticipate that the market backdrop will be particularly challenging during our fiscal second quarter," James Hardie CEO Aaron Erter said.

It forecast adjusted net income for the second quarter in the range of $135 million to $155 million and reaffirmed its full-year income forecast of between $630 and $700 million.