By By Rhiannon Hoyle
Brickworks, a leading Australian building products company, has revealed that it will continue its trend of increasing dividends for the tenth year in a row, even though its annual profit has fallen and there are concerns about slowing demand.
In the year through July, Brickworks reported a net profit of AUD 394.7 million, a 54% decrease from the previous year. The underlying profit also fell by 32% to AUD 508.2 million. Despite this decline, the company’s directors have decided to declare a final dividend of 42 Australian cents per share, up from 41 cents last year. Brickworks attributes this increase to its strong financial position and is proud of its history of consistently raising dividends.
The company’s revenue increased by nearly 8% to AUD 1.18 billion, primarily due to income generated from its property joint-venture trusts in collaboration with Goodman Group. Brickworks expects the rental income from its property trusts business to significantly increase in the coming years, thanks to a strong development pipeline.
However, in the short term, Brickworks predicts a decline in demand for building products. It noted that although “order intake is now softening”, they expect their margins to be supported by recent price increases and plant rationalization.
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