Announcement

HALFYR: FBU: Fletcher Building Limited - 2019 Half Year Results 08:32am 
FBU
20/02/2019 08:32
HALFYR
PRICE SENSITIVE
REL: 0832 HRS Fletcher Building Limited

HALFYR: FBU: Fletcher Building Limited - 2019 Half Year Results

Fletcher Building announces return to profitability, dividend declared

Auckland, 20 February 2019: Fletcher Building today announced net earnings
of $89 million for the six months ended 31 December 2018, compared with a
loss of $273 million for the first half of FY18.

EBIT before significant items was $285 million compared with a loss of $322
million in the prior period. Half year earnings were 8% lower when compared
with EBIT before significant items (adjusted for B+I provisions) of $309
million for the first half of FY18. This is within the guidance given at the
Annual Shareholders Meeting (ASM) in November 2018.

As a result of the return to profitability the Fletcher Building Board is
pleased to declare an interim dividend of 8.0 cents per share to be paid on
10 April 2019. Given the expected settlement timing of the Formica sale, the
FY19 dividend will be weighted towards the final dividend. No New Zealand
imputation credits or Australian franking credits will be attached to the
interim dividend. The dividend reinvestment plan will not be operative for
this dividend.

Fletcher Building CEO Ross Taylor said: "We are pleased to deliver a result
in line with the earnings guidance provided at the ASM, and to be able to
reinstate dividend payments.

"In the first half we have made good progress on our strategy to refocus
Fletcher Building on its core in New Zealand and Australia. In particular,
we have completed the divestment of Roof Tile Group and signed an agreement
to sell Formica for US$840 million, which we expect to complete by the end of
the financial year.

"Our operating results across our core New Zealand businesses have been solid
in the first half, and we are on track to close-out the B+I projects within
the current provisions. In Australia we have been impacted by the sharp
decline in the residential market as well as higher input costs. We are
focused on setting the Australian business up for improved performance from
FY20, which will include a reset of the cost base."

Group EBIT (excluding significant items and assuming a full year of Formica
earnings) for FY19 is expected to be in the range of $650 million to $700
million. This compares to the earnings guidance of $630 million to $680
million provided at the ASM. The $20 million increase in earnings guidance is
due to the treatment of the Formica business as 'held for sale' and hence the
assets are not subject to depreciation in the second half of FY19.

#Ends

For further information please contact:

MEDIA
Marie Winfield
Head of Communications
+64 27 488 9888
marie.winfield@fbu.com

INVESTORS AND ANALYSTS
Aleida White
Head of Investor Relations
+64 21 155 8837
aleida.white@fbu.com

Dial in details for media and investor calls are as follows:

Australia Toll Free: 1 800 558 698
Australia Local: +61 2 9007 3187
New Zealand Toll Free: 0800 453 055
NZ Local (Auckland): +64 9 929 1687
NZ Local (Wellington): +64 4 974 7738
NZ Local (Christchurch): +64 3 974 2632
Hong Kong: 800 966 806
Japan: 0053 116 1281
Singapore: 800 101 2785
UAE: 8000 3570 2705
United Kingdom: 0800 051 8245
United States: (855) 881 1339

Media Teleconference
CEO Ross Taylor and CFO Bevan McKenzie will host a teleconference for media
at 10.00am NZT today (8.00am AEST) to provide more detail on this
announcement. The passcode to join the teleconference is Passcode: 277276

Investor Call
CEO Ross Taylor and CFO Bevan McKenzie will host a teleconference and webcast
for investors at 11.00am NZT today (9.00am AEST) to provide more detail on
this announcement. The passcode and link to the webcast to join the
teleconference and webcast is:
Webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/th68bwxt
Passcode: 231101

A replay is available using the following details:
Replay Pin: 7532#
New Zealand: 0800 886 078
Australia: 1800 265 784
Other countries: +61 7 3107 6325
End CA:00330809 For:FBU Type:HALFYR Time:2019-02-20 08:32:59

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