Australia: Adelaide Brighton has said its annual net profit is likely to fall in 2016 compared to 2015, mainly on the back of lower income from property deals. However, its management has offered an otherwise bullish outlook, with price rises looming for several key products.
Adelaide Brighton said it expects net profit for 2016 to be US$143-150m. The top end of the range would represent a 3.8% decline year-on-year. It reported that annual sales volumes of cement and clinker were likely to be below 2015 levels, but volumes of premixed concrete, aggregates and concrete products would be significantly higher than a year earlier.
For the first half of 2016, Adelaide Brighton reported a net profit of US$57.8m, a 6.7% decrease compared to the same period of 2015. After stripping out the impact of property transactions, the company's earnings were 7.8% higher year-on-year.