Boral has announced a full-year profit increase of 5.3%, with net profit up $176.6 million.
Acting CEO Ross Batstone stated that capital expenditure and cost savings would remain tightly controlled, and the shedding of non-core businesses would continue. He also cited weak housing activity as impacting on the result.
"Over the next two years, further non-core divestments and property sales targeting $200 million to $300 million will be actively pursued, to be applied to debt reduction," said Batstone in a statement reported by the Business Spectator and others
“Earnings from our Australian business in the six months to June were hit by very weak housing and non-residential building activity, combined with delays and disruption from sustained rainfall across the east coast.”
Meanwhile, today is exactly three months since former CEO Mark Selway left the group. Boral has since been looking for somebody “with a leadership style suited to harmonising the changes that have occurred over the last two years throughout the company,''
The Australian Financial Review looks at a number of candidates today, deciding that Jonathan Ling of Fletcher Building is an “obvious choice.”