Fletchers has pushed up half-year earnings 5 per cent on the back of the building recovery reports the New Zealand Herald.
According to the Herald,Fletcher’s chief executive Mark Adamson forecast $610 million to $650 million EBITA for the June 2014 year, after announcing half-year net earnings for December 2012 rose from $146 million to $154 million for the December 2013 half-year.
New Zealand earnings were strong because of the robust construction market and Fletcher’s cost-cutting, says Adamson.
Fletcher is part of the Well-Connected Alliance, creating Auckland’s new Waterview Connection.
Adamson says Fletchers share of that project is about $400 million.
He says the project is going exceedingly well. Alice the tunnel boring machine is up to speed and on a daily basis, slightly ahead of schedule.
Waterview money was mainly flowing into Fletcher’s construction division but building products was also benefiting from sales of steel and cement, although Adamson says Fletcher had to bid in a competitive tender to sell to jobs like the tunnel.
The Herald reported that Fletcher’s half-year revenue fell 2%; the 18c dividend per share was up 6 per cent; operating earnings at $281 million were up 7%; earnings per share rose 5% to 22.4c. New Zealand generated 47% of revenue, Australia 40%, the rest of the world 13%.
