Boral blighted by US gloom and bad weather

Boral blighted by US gloom and bad weather
05 November 2010


Building products company Boral had a bumpy start to the financial year, with continued economic uncertainty in the US and wet conditions in Australia affecting operations.

Chief executive Mark Selway has forecast a flat first half, with conditions picking up in the second half.

The US housing market remained difficult, with no let up for the remainder of the year, he told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting yesterday. The company took a hit of $285 million when it decided not to restart four mothballed plants in the US and was forced to write down its scaffolding, panels and materials business in Thailand.

But losses in the US were expected to be lower this year because of the strong Australian dollar.
Published under Cement News