Record Net Sales of US$3.9 Billion for the
Fiscal Year
Record Adjusted Net Income of US$707.5
Million for the Fiscal Year
Fourth Quarter Adjusted Net Income of
US$174.2 Million
Issues First Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025
Guidance
James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX; NYSE: JHX), today
announced results for its fourth quarter ending 31 March 2024.
Full Year Fiscal Year 2024 Highlights, Compared to Fiscal
Year 2023, as applicable:
- Record Net Sales of US$3,936.3 Million, up 4%
- Record Adjusted EBITDA of US$1,125.8 Million, with an Adjusted
EBITDA margin of 28.6%
- Record Adjusted EBIT of US$940.8 Million, with an Adjusted EBIT
margin of 23.9%
- Record Adjusted Net Income of US$707.5 Million, up 17%
- Adjusted Diluted EPS of US$1.61 per share, up 18%
- Record Full Year Operating Cash Flow of US$914.2 Million, up
50%
Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Highlights, Compared to
Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2023, as applicable:
- Record Net Sales of US$1,004.9 Million, up 9%
- Adjusted EBITDA of US$280.8 Million, with an Adjusted EBITDA
margin of 27.9%
- Adjusted EBIT of US$232.5 Million, with an Adjusted EBIT margin
of 23.1%
- Adjusted Net Income of US$174.2 Million, up 19%
Speaking to the results, James Hardie CEO Aaron Erter said, “Our
team’s focus remains simple: working safely, partnering with our
customers, managing decisively, and controlling what we can
control. This focus has enabled us to deliver a strong fourth
quarter and fiscal year for Adjusted Net Income.”
Mr. Erter continued, “I believe our fiscal year results are
proof points that we are accelerating through this cycle and taking
share. We have a superior value proposition that helps our
customers grow profitably and be successful. Our team is focused on
maintaining momentum and consistency to deliver strong financial
results again in fiscal year 2025 as highlighted by our guidance
range provided today. We are homeowner focused, customer and
contractor driven, providing the entire value chain with world
class products and services.”
Fourth Quarter Segment Results
Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2024 Results Compared to Fourth
Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 Results
North America Fiber Cement
Segment
Net Sales increased 13% to US$735.2 million, attributable to
Average Net Sales Price (ASP) growth of +4% and a 9% increase in
volumes. Volume of 766 million standard feet was within the
February guidance of 750 million to 780 million standard feet. EBIT
increased 23% to US$233.0 million, supported by a higher ASP. Cash
costs decreased, driven by lower pulp prices and Hardie Operating
System (HOS) savings including plant improvements, which offset
higher cement and freight costs. SG&A increased 46%, primarily
attributable to Homeowner and Trade marketing initiatives and
higher employee costs. Sequentially, SG&A was up 2% versus the
third quarter of fiscal year 2024. EBIT margin improved 270 basis
points to 31.7%.
Asia Pacific Fiber Cement
Segment
Net Sales increased 5% to A$215.2 million due to ASP growth of
+9%, partially offset by a 4% decrease in volumes. The decline in
volumes was driven by Australia and the Philippines, partially
offset by improved volumes in New Zealand. EBIT decreased 1% to
A$58.6 million, driven by higher costs due to product mix as well
as increased SG&A, partially offset by a higher ASP. SG&A
increased 43%, primarily due to higher employee costs and increased
marketing initiatives. Sequentially, SG&A was up 12% versus the
third quarter of fiscal year 2024. EBIT margin declined 170 basis
points to 27.2%.
Europe Building Products
Segment
Net Sales were flat, with a 5% increase in ASP, offset by volume
decline of 9%. The growth in ASP resulted from our strategic price
increases and growth in High Value Products. Lower volumes were
driven by reduced market activity in Fiber Gypsum. EBIT of €12.1
million increased 53%, supported by a higher ASP, which offset
lower overall volumes as well as increased investment in SG&A
to drive growth initiatives. EBIT margin improved 360 basis points
to 10.3%.
Capital Resources
Operating cash flow increased 50% to a record US$914.2 million
for fiscal year 2024. FY24 operating cash flow was driven by strong
results in all three regions aided by HOS execution. Significant
FY24 capital deployment included capital expenditures of US$449.3
million and share repurchases of US$271.4 million.
James Hardie Chief Financial Officer, Rachel Wilson, stated,
“Our Q4 leverage ratio of 0.67x and our US$958.2 million of
liquidity reflects our strong margins and cash generation. In Q4,
we bought back 1.9 million shares at an average price of US$39.42,
for total consideration of approximately US$75 million. We plan to
continue to repurchase shares under our US$250 million buyback
program.
Our capital allocation framework is unchanged. The primary focus
of our capital allocation framework is to invest in organic
growth."
Commenting on capital resources, Ms. Wilson stated “At James
Hardie, we’ve grown our market share consistently over the last
decade. Today, we are Homeowner focused, Customer and Contractor
driven, which we expect will further drive demand for our products.
To meet this expected demand, we fund capacity and keep development
at various stages to flexibly meet profitable share gain. This
includes optimizing existing capacity with HOS and HMOS
improvements, as well as balancing brownfield and greenfield
capacity development."
Outlook and Earnings Guidance
The outlook for the housing markets we participate in globally
continues to remain uncertain. In our largest market, North
America, the external data providers we utilize expect our
addressable market to decrease 2%, with a range of down 6% to up
3%, in calendar year 2024 versus calendar year 2023. We plan to
outperform the market, growing the business and investing for
long-term success.
Guidance for the first quarter of fiscal year 2025;
includes:
- North American volumes to be in the range of 745 million to 775
million standard feet
- North American EBIT margin to be in the range of 30% to
32%
- Adjusted Net Income to be in the range of US$155 million to
US$175 million
Guidance for the full fiscal year 2025; includes:
- North American volumes to be in the range of 2,950 million to
3,150 million standard feet vs FY24 3,054 million standard
feet
- North American EBIT margin to be in the range of 29% to
31%
- Adjusted Interest, net: US$25 million to US$29 million vs FY24
US$24.3 million
- Adjusted Effective Tax Rate: 23.5% to 24.5% vs FY24 23.0%
- Adjusted Net Income to be in the range of US$630 million to
US$700 million
For the full year FY25, we expect to spend a total of
approximately US$500 to US$550 million in capital expenditures.
James Hardie’s guidance is based on current estimates and
assumptions and is subject to several known and unknown
uncertainties and risks.
Key Financial Information
Q4 FY24
Q4 FY23
Change
FY24
FY23
Change
Group (US$ millions)
Net Sales
1,004.9
917.8
9 %
3,936.3
3,777.1
4%
Adjusted EBITDA
280.8
233.5
20%
1,125.8
952.4
18%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%)
27.9
25.4
2.5 pts
28.6
25.2
3.4 pts
EBIT
84.0
130.6
(36%)
767.4
741.4
4%
Adjusted EBIT
232.5
187.5
24%
940.8
779.8
21%
EBIT Margin (%)
8.4
14.2
(5.8 pts)
19.5
19.6
(0.1 pts)
Adjusted EBIT Margin (%)
23.1
20.4
2.7 pts
23.9
20.6
3.3 pts
Net Income
55.6
81.4
(32%)
510.2
512.0
—%
Adjusted Net Income
174.2
146.2
19%
707.5
605.5
17%
Diluted EPS - US$ per share
0.13
0.18
(31%)
1.16
1.15
1%
Adjusted Diluted EPS - US$ per share
0.40
0.33
21%
1.61
1.36
18%
Operating Cash Flow
914.2
607.6
50%
North America Fiber Cement (US$
millions)
Net Sales
735.2
651.5
13%
2,891.4
2,787.6
4%
EBIT
233.0
188.8
23%
921.1
767.5
20%
EBIT Margin (%)
31.7
29.0
2.7 pts
31.9
27.5
4.4 pts
Asia Pacific Fiber Cement (A$
millions)
Net Sales
215.2
204.6
5%
856.3
787.0
9%
EBIT
58.6
59.1
(1%)
252.7
208.8
21%
EBIT Margin (%)
27.2
28.9
(1.7 pts)
29.5
26.5
3.0 pts
Europe Building Products (€
millions)
Net Sales
118.0
117.8
—%
444.5
431.8
3%
EBIT
12.1
7.9
53%
41.5
25.2
65%
EBIT Margin (%)
10.3
6.7
3.6 pts
9.3
5.8
3.5 pts
Further Information
Readers are referred to the Company’s Consolidated Financial
Statements and Management’s Analysis of Results in Section 2 of
James Hardie’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended 31
March 2024 for additional information regarding the Company’s
results, including information regarding income taxes, the asbestos
liability and contingent liabilities.
Management Briefing for Analysts, Investors and Media
James Hardie will conduct a teleconference and audio webcast for
analysts, investors, and media on Tuesday, 21 May 2024, 9:00am
Sydney, Australia time (Monday, 20 May 2024, 7:00pm New York City,
US Eastern time). Analysts, investors, and media can access the
management briefing via the following:
All participants wishing to join the teleconference will need to
pre-register by navigating to:
https://s1.c-conf.com/diamondpass/10038119-hg786t.html
All participants wishing to join the webcast, please use the
following link:
https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/kmvyaeyq
Once registered, you will receive a calendar invite with dial-in
numbers and a unique PIN which will be required to join the
call.
Webcast Replay: Will be available after the Live Webcast
concludes at https://ir.jameshardie.com.au/financial-information/financial-results.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information; Australian Equivalent
Terminology
This Media Release includes financial measures that are not
considered a measure of financial performance under generally
accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), such as
Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted EBIT, Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted
Diluted EPS. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be
considered to be more meaningful than the equivalent GAAP measure.
Management has included such measures to provide investors with an
alternative method for assessing its operating results in a manner
that is focused on the performance of its ongoing operations and
excludes the impact of certain legacy items, such as asbestos
adjustments. Additionally, management uses such non-GAAP financial
measures for the same purposes. However, these non-GAAP financial
measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, may not be
reported by all of the Company’s competitors and may not be
directly comparable to similarly titled measures of the Company’s
competitors due to potential differences in the exact method of
calculation. The Company is unable to forecast the comparable US
GAAP financial measure for future periods due to, amongst other
factors, uncertainty regarding the impact of actuarial estimates on
asbestos-related assets and liabilities in future periods. For
additional information regarding the non-GAAP financial measures
presented in this Media Release, including a reconciliation of each
non-GAAP financial measure to the equivalent GAAP measure, see
Appendix to the Company’s Management Presentation for the fourth
quarter and fiscal year ended 31 March 2024.
In addition, this Media Release includes financial measures and
descriptions that are considered to not be in accordance with GAAP,
but which are consistent with financial measures reported by
Australian companies, such as EBIT and EBIT margin. Since the
Company prepares its Consolidated Financial Statements in
accordance with GAAP, the Company provides investors with
definitions and a cross- reference from the non-GAAP financial
measure used in this Media Release to the equivalent GAAP financial
measure used in the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.
See the section titled “Non- GAAP Financial Measures” included in
the appendix to the Company’s Management Presentation for the
fourth quarter and fiscal year ended 31 March 2024.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Media Release contains forward-looking statements and
information that are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties
and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of James Hardie to be materially
different from those expressed or implied in this release,
including, among others, the risks and uncertainties set forth in
Section 3 “Risk Factors” in James Hardie’s Annual Report on Form
20-F for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2024; changes in general
economic, political, governmental and business conditions globally
and in the countries in which James Hardie does business; changes
in interest rates; changes in inflation rates; changes in exchange
rates; the level of construction generally; changes in cement
demand and prices; changes in raw material and energy prices;
changes in business strategy and various other factors. Should one
or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should
underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described herein. James Hardie assumes no
obligation to update or correct the information contained in this
Media Release except as required by law.
This media release has been authorized by the James Hardie Board
of Directors.
END
James Hardie Industries plc is a limited liability company
incorporated in Ireland with its registered office at 1st Floor,
Block A, One Park Place, Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2, D02 FD79,
Ireland.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240520053951/en/
Investor/Media/Analyst Enquiries: James Brennan-Chong
Director of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence
Telephone: +1 312 756 9919 Email:
media@jameshardie.com.au
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