Australia: Adelaide Brighton will pay a special dividend of US$0.04/share on top of an interim dividend worth US$0.08/share to shareholders as Australia's housing boom continues to drive demand for its cement and other building-material products.
It follows a record net profit of US$82.6m in the six months through June, up by 61% on the corresponding period of 2014. The company said that it expects is underlying earnings of US$200 - 215m for the full fiscal year. That estimate includes a US$32m profit on property sales.
"We are very pleased to deliver another record half year result which reflects improving construction activity across our business, an increase in lime sales, our 2014 acquisitions and several property transactions," said chief executive Martin Brydon. "Housing activity is at healthy levels on both the east and west coast of the country and this is augmenting the demand for our products from major infrastructure and resources projects."