Latest news with #Hardie
Scotsman
4 days ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Costly inquiries are all very well if we learn lessons from them
Lord Hardie's inquiry into the long and costly tram project cost £13 million Lord Hardie, the retired judge who chaired the nine-year long inquiry into Edinburgh's trams, admitted to MSPs last week that he was upset when he found out that the public were told about his £1 million pay cheque for his work on the investigation. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... He thought the revelation might lead to journalists 'pestering' him at home. As it turned out no-one, not even the most enthusiastic tabloid hack, knocked on his front door, so he was free to enjoy his post-retirement bonus with his family, unmolested by the press. As for the general public, well they had more things on their plate to worry about than Lord Hardie's bank balance – the cost of living crisis for a start. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Even more staggering than Lord Hardie's daily rate – set by the Scottish Government, which apparently has a fee schedule for retired judges – was the total cost of the inquiry itself. It cost tax payers £13 million, which works out about £1.5 million a year to produce a report that told us what we all knew any way. The 961-page report can be summed up in three points: the city council's original budget was way off track; the management of Tie – the arms-length company set up to deliver the tram system – was chaotic; and the Scottish Government ducked its responsibility for oversight of the project, despite giving it a £500 million grant. None of which came as surprise to any of us who had been subjected on a daily basis to the 'living hell' that was Edinburgh city centre during the construction of the (shortened) tram route. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So why did it take nine years and £13 million to come to the same conclusion the average Edinburgh citizen had reached only months after the work started? Lord Hardie's evidence was to Holyrood's finance and public administration committee, which recently established its own inquiry into the cost of public inquiries. Kenneth Gibson, the committee's convenor, hit the nail on the head when he said his inquiry had 'the potential to be a really interesting piece of work given the significant sums of money that public inquiries often involve.' There are four public inquiries ongoing in Scotland right now, looking at the Covid crisis, hospital safety, child abuse and the death of Sheku Bayoh. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad So far the costs of these are estimated at a staggering £200 million. This is money the country can ill-afford to spend. How many social care staff would one public inquiry buy? Of course, public inquiries are important for finding out why bureaucrats bungled major capital projects such as the parliament building and Edinburgh's tram network, or what mistakes politicians made during a health crisis such as Covid. But they are not worth the reams of paper they are written on if no-one learns any lessons from them. Nor should any public inquiry take nine years. What on earth did Lord Hardie and his team find to ask questions about over a seven-year period? And why did it take two years to write the report? That works out at just over a page a day – which deserves a separate inquiry of its own.
Edinburgh Reporter
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Edinburgh Reporter
Why did the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry take so long?
Lord Hardie who was charged with conducting the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry (ETI) which cost millions and was much delayed, has responded citing operational difficulties with accommodation and internet as the reasons for some of the delay. The Edinburgh Tram Inquiry report was delivered nine years after it was instructed by then First Minister, Alex Salmond at a cost of more than £13 million. His Lordship submitted evidence to the parliamentary Finance and Public Administration Committee on Tuesday. In advance of the committee meeting at Holyrood the retired judge sent a written submission which covered many of the practical issues, saying these were reasons for the delay. He said: 'Following my appointment as chair of ETI, I had to identify suitable premises with the assistance of the Solicitor to the Inquiry, whom I had appointed immediately following my appointment, and other civil servants unconnected with the ETI. This issue is addressed in chapter 2 of my Report. I was offered and accepted the use of premises that were surplus to requirements of Creative Scotland. The rent was paid by the Scottish Government and the office premises had the appearance of a modern office with adequate IT connections. The appearance was deceptive and for almost 6 months staff at ETI struggled with inadequate IT connections which frequently failed. 'The effect on staff morale was significant and there was a considerable waste of time and money during that time. In the Report I refer to the fiasco of Vodafone failing to install a cable on different occasions for different reasons and failing to link the portals to a newly installed cabinet. 'Apart from accommodation it was necessary to appoint a Secretary whose early tasks included staffing the Inquiry office with document coders, an IT manager and others. Many of the staff were agency workers while others were civil servants electing to transfer to ETI. Because of civil service procedures the delay in civil servants, including the Secretary, moving to ETI resulted in delay to the initial progress of the Inquiry. The process of setting up the Inquiry with accommodation, staff and other resources gave the impression of our reinventing the wheel. There was little or no guidance to assist with this stage of the Inquiry. 'My first recommendation of 24 in my Report was that 'Scottish Ministers should undertake a review of public inquiries to determine the most cost-effective method of avoiding delay in the establishment of an inquiry, including consideration of establishing a dedicated unit within the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service [SCTS] and publishing regularly updated guidance for people involved in the establishment and progress of public inquiries.' Net costs Lord Hardie also recommended that in any future inquiries the costs should be reported net – and he gave his reasons why the net cost of £8.7 million was the more representative cost of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry. He said: 'Wherever possible and in the interests of economy regarding public expenditure I used resources that had already been funded by the public purse. These included the cost of accommodation which was vacant and where the Scottish Government was the tenant and had sub-let it to a government department or agency. 'It also included the salaries of permanent civil servants who had transferred to the ETI and whose posts in their former department were not filled. Although these costs were added to the costs of the ETI as an accounting exercise, the public purse did not incur any additional expense. I am aware that not all public inquiries have adopted a similar approach. For example some may use accommodation that is not already available within the Scottish Government's portfolio of leased but vacant property; some may also use more staff recruited from outside the civil service. 'In these examples the costs will be included in the costs of the inquiry and will be additional expenditure incurred by the public purse. As I explained in my video release of the ETI Report, if the expenditure on resources already funded by the public purse was deducted from the cost of ETI, the cost at that time would have reduced from £13.1 million to £8.7 million.' Lord Hardie Chair of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry Professor Sandy Cameron Professor Sandy Cameron, CBE, who is currently Independent Chair of the Children and Young People's Centre for Justice, gave evidence to the committee in person. He was involved in the Jersey care inquiry which was supposed to last six months and cost £6 million – but it took two years and cost £23 million. Asked about the apparently enormous cost of that inquiry he was asked if lawyers are motivated to keep the cost to a minimum. He replied: 'Legal colleagues work very much on the basis of doing what they believe that they need to do, rather than looking at how to contain and manage costs. The expectation is, 'This needs to be done. We will do it and we'll keep going until it's done.' There is a reluctance to look at other ways in which they might have done it and other ways in which they could have contained costs. To some extent, that is about the way in which legal colleagues always practice.' Professor Cameron said in his written submission that he can 'confidently predict that … inquiries will last longer than anticipated and cost more than budgeted for'. He suggested to the committee that there must be another way of conducting inquiries which 'manage the costs more effectively and deliver more rapidly for people'. He explained that the public 'lose interest' when inquiries last for a long time, and for inquiries involving survivors or victims there is 'the issue of how long it feels for them that the inquiry is taking to get to a conclusion'. The cost to the public purse in the last years has been considerable – some £91.9 million on the child abuse inquiry and £34 million on the Scottish Covid Inquiry. Michael Marra MSP who sits on the committee posed the question as to whether it might be possible to set up a judge-led public inquiry unit. Any instructions would then be sent to that unit to set up more quickly and also to keep tabs on finances. But Professor Cameron was not convinced that any such body should be judge led. He said that he thinks there is good reason for looking at an alternative to public inquiries, but explained to Craig Hoy MSP that it is important that there is a degree of independence in reviewing the outcome of any recommendations of any inquiry. Like this: Like Related
Scotsman
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Tram inquiry chair felt disclosure of £1m earnings was 'unreasonable'
Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The chair of the Edinburgh tram inquiry felt it was "unreasonable" for the public to be told he was paid more than £1 million for the role. Lord Hardie told MSPs he believed the disclosure would lead to journalists "pestering" him at his home, but conceded he was wrong about this. He said he had since accepted the information 'should be in the public domain'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lord Hardie | Contributed In 2023, it emerged Lord Hardie had been paid £1,056,181.59 to chair the inquiry between 2014 and August 2021. The information was only published after an appeal by the Daily Record newspaper to the Scottish information commissioner. At the time, a spokeswoman for the inquiry said Lord Hardie was 'being paid on the basis of a daily rate for the hours that he works on inquiry matters', adding: "The daily rate is the standard fixed by the Scottish Government for retired judges." Holyrood's finance and public administration committee is scrutinising the cost effectiveness of public inquiries in Scotland amid concerns they are swallowing up "significant sums of money". Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Edinburgh tram inquiry cost more than £13m and took nine years to publish its findings. During a meeting of the committee on Tuesday morning, Tory MSP Craig Hoy said Transport Scotland had been 'very resistant' to the publication of Lord Hardie's salary, and asked the retired judge if he was consulted about this. Lord Hardie replied: 'Yes, I was consulted about it, and I did indicate that I thought it was unreasonable. But I've accepted the position that it's in the public domain and it should be in the public domain.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Pushed on this, he said: 'I thought, at one point, it was unreasonable that it was released because I anticipated that it would result - wrongly anticipated that it would result - in the media attending my house and pestering us. But they didn't do that.' Asked if this would have been reason enough not to put the information into the public domain, Lord Hardie said: 'Well, without going into my personal circumstances, yes, because of health and other issues.' The length and cost of the Edinburgh tram inquiry was frequently criticised. Established in June 2014, the final report was not published until 2023. Lord Hardie told MSPs he was 'always concerned about views expressed about the time it was taking, but there was really nothing else that could be done, given the challenges that we faced'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Asked if he would have taken the job if he knew it would take nine years, he said: 'I think I would have preferred to have spent my time with my grandchildren.' Lord Hardie added: 'Certainly, if anybody asked me now even to do a one-year inquiry, I think I would just go back to the grandchildren.' In written evidence, Lord Hardie previously told the committee that former first minister Alex Salmond promised a "swift and thorough" inquiry into the tram debacle without any knowledge of what would be involved.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
James Hardie Achieves FY25 Guidance Issues FY26 Guidance for Organic Sales and Adjusted EBITDA Growth
Delivers Global and North America Results Consistent with FY25 Guidance FY25 GAAP Operating Income of $656 million, Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion FY25 Adjusted EBITDA Margin of 27.8% Reflecting Hardie Operating System Savings and Cost Control Expects Organic Sales and EBITDA Growth In Every Region for FY26 CHICAGO, May 20, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--James Hardie Industries plc (ASX / NYSE: JHX) ("James Hardie" or the "Company"), a leader in providing high performance, low maintenance building products and solutions, and a company inspiring how communities design build and grow, today announced results for its fourth quarter ending March 31, 2025. Speaking to the results, Aaron Erter, CEO said, "We delivered solid business and financial results in the fourth quarter, and our FY25 performance reflects our commitment to invest to scale the organization and grow profitably even in a more challenging market environment. We are executing on our growth strategy and are confident that our actions are driving market outperformance that will enable us to sustain our strong positioning." Mr. Erter continued, "We are winning by partnering with our customers and contractors while delighting homeowners by delivering products that are resilient and beautiful. Success across our value chain propels our organization forward and fuels my optimism about the future of James Hardie. We have the strongest team in the industry and the right strategy to go after our material conversion opportunity. Over the past five years, our North American business has grown the top line at a +10% CAGR and expanded Adjusted EBITDA margin by more than +400bps, a clear demonstration of the inherent strength of our value proposition and the underlying momentum in our strategy. Our conviction is as strong as ever in achieving our long-term aspirations1 for North America Fiber Cement, namely to grow revenue double-digits, expand EBITDA margins by another +500 basis points, and triple our EBITDA. I am confident in the future of James Hardie as we continue building on these successes and accelerate our growth strategy." Rachel Wilson, CFO said, "We achieved each of our FY25 guidance metrics despite a more challenging macro environment as compared to May of last year, when we initially provided this outlook. In North America, our team delivered a solid fourth quarter and we achieved our guidance points, both in our second half and full year, for volume and EBIT Margin. Our mid-thirties EBITDA margin for the full year demonstrates diligent cost control and full delivery of HOS savings, which together, helped mitigate unfavorable volume leverage from softer end markets." 1) For additional information regarding the Company's Long-Term Aspirations, see the Company's Earnings Presentation for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025. Fourth Quarter Highlights Net Sales of $972 million, down (3%) comparing vs. the all-time quarterly record GAAP Operating income of $62 million; GAAP Operating margin of 6.4%; GAAP Net income of $44 million; and GAAP Diluted EPS of $0.10 Adjusted EBITDA of $269 million, down (4%) with Adjusted EBITDA margin of 27.6%, down (30bps), both comparing vs. record 4Q results Adjusted Net Income of $156 million, down (10%) Adjusted Diluted EPS of $0.36, down (9%) Fiscal Year 2025 Highlights Net Sales of $3.9 billion, down (1%) comparing vs. record results in FY24 GAAP Operating income of $656 million; GAAP Operating margin of 16.9%; GAAP Net income of $424 million; and GAAP Diluted EPS of $0.98 Adjusted EBITDA of $1.1 billion, down (4%) with Adjusted EBITDA margin of 27.8%, down (80bps), both comparing vs. record results in FY24 Adjusted Net Income of $644 million, down (9%) comparing vs. record results in FY24 Adjusted Diluted EPS of $1.49, down (7%) comparing vs. record results in FY24 Proposed Transaction with The AZEK Company Inc (AZEK) In March, the Company announced entry into a definitive agreement under which James Hardie will acquire AZEK for a combination of cash and James Hardie shares, with the transaction expected to close in the second half of calendar year 2025. Speaking to the combination, Mr. Erter said, "This combination with AZEK is an extraordinary opportunity to accelerate our growth strategy, deliver enhanced and differentiated solutions to our customers and drive shareholder value. We are uniting two highly complementary companies with large material conversion opportunities and shared cultures centered around providing winning solutions to our customers and contractors. Together, we will be well positioned to drive sustained above-market growth as a leader across exterior building products. The combination will further accelerate our sales growth by an incremental two and a half percentage points on top of our double-digit trajectory due to AZEK's faster growth profile, and delivery of $500 million of run-rate commercial synergies over the next five years. We also expect that the transaction will be accretive to our organic margin expansion target of +500 basis points, driven both by AZEK's own organic margin improvement potential, as well as by the $125 million of run-rate cost synergies that we expect to achieve over the next three years. Our combined business will be an engine of tremendous cash flow generation, and once run-rate cost synergies are achieved, we expect to generate robust annual free cash flow of greater than a billion dollars." Segment Business Update and Results North America Fiber Cement In North America, the Company is outperforming its end markets through a superior value proposition and driving leading margins despite raw material headwinds. James Hardie's significant material conversion opportunity and investments across the North American manufacturing footprint have positioned the Company well to capitalize as the market returns to growth and the long-term housing fundamentals play through. The Company is investing across the value chain and growing its contractor base to capture the repair & remodel opportunity. Similarly, in new construction, efforts to deepen exclusivity and increase trim attachment rates support growth and share gain with large homebuilders. Over the last year, in a clear demonstration of the appreciation for James Hardie's innovative product solutions and unrivaled business support, the Company has announced multi-year, national hard siding and trim exclusivity agreements with Meritage Homes, M/I Homes, David Weekley Homes, Stanley Martin Homes, CastleRock Communities, Trumark Homes, CBH Homes, Davidson Homes and McKinley Homes. During the quarter, net sales decreased (2%). Volumes declined (3%) due to continued market weakness, particularly in multi-family, partially offset by efforts to gain share in single-family new construction and repair & remodel. Sales also benefited from a higher average net sales price, resulting from the January 2025 price increase. Volume of Exterior products declined low single-digits, and were up slightly sequentially. Volume of Interior products declined low double-digits. EBIT margin decreased (350bps) to 28.2%, due to higher pulp and cement costs as well as unfavorable production cost absorption, partially offset by Hardie Operating System (HOS) savings. Excluding depreciation and amortization expense, which rose +32% to $45 million, EBITDA declined (7%) to $248 million with EBITDA margin of 34.4%, a decrease of (190bps) attributable to similar drivers of EBIT margin. Asia Pacific Fiber Cement In Australia & New Zealand, the Company is increasing share through new customer acquisitions and project conversion enabled by customer integration. The Company is influencing how homeowners build, and driving growth through Co-Creation and leveraging the James Hardie brand. The teams are innovating to accelerate material conversion with a key focus on new construction, specifically the conversion of brick & masonry. Overall, while market demand remains challenged, the Asia Pacific team is focused on finding further efficiencies and driving HOS savings to underpin the segment's consistent profitability. During the quarter, net sales decreased (13%) in Australian dollars, due to lower volumes of (31%) partially offset by a higher average net sales price of +25%. Adjusted EBIT margin rose +330bps to 30.5%, and excluding depreciation and amortization expense, which increased +7% to $5 million, adjusted EBITDA declined (5%) to $41 million with adjusted EBITDA margin of 34.5%, an increase of +410bps. The decline in volumes, increase in average net sales price and improvement in margins were each primarily attributable to the closure of the Philippines manufacturing and commercial operations. Australia & New Zealand together saw a low single-digit decrease in volume and a low single-digit increase in average net sales price, leading to a slight increase in net sales. Margins also rose modestly in Australia & New Zealand, due primarily to slightly positive average net sales price and HOS savings. Europe Building Products Markets across Europe remain challenged, particularly in Germany, our largest European market, where improvement is anticipated to be more gradual, while in the UK, the Company is well-positioned to capture potential improvement in residential construction. Growth in high-value products remains a strategic priority, as leveraging a broader and deeper product portfolio should accelerate share gains and customer wins. Recently designated as the fiber gypsum Brand of the Century by Deutsche Standards, pioneering innovations such as Therm25 have made fermacell® a European market leader for high-quality building products. During the quarter, net sales increased +8% in Euros, including a higher average net sales price of +7%, driven by the price increases earlier this fiscal year. EBIT margin decreased (40bps) to 9.9% due to higher energy and raw material costs and higher employee costs related to increased headcount for our high value product sales force. Excluding depreciation and amortization expense, which rose +4% to $9 million, EBITDA increased +2% to $22 million with EBITDA margin of 16.2%, a (50bps) decrease attributable to similar drivers of EBIT margin. Outlook FY26 Guidance Speaking to the Company's market outlook, Mr. Erter said, "As we turn our focus towards continuing our material conversion mission, I reflect with pride on the resilience our teams have shown as our industry faces persistent headwinds. More recent, broader macroeconomic uncertainty could further impact the cost of home construction and weigh on consumer sentiment, influencing demand. As a result, in North America, which represents approximately three-quarters of our total net sales we are prudently planning for market volumes to contract in FY26, including a fourth consecutive year of declines in large-ticket repair & remodel activity. Despite these near-term headwinds, our brand and the attractiveness of our value proposition to customers has and will enable James Hardie to structurally grow through expansions and contractions. We will continue to navigate through the current backdrop, focusing on outperforming our end-markets to drive top- and bottom-line in FY26, consistent with our prior planning assumptions." Mr. Erter continued, "Across our businesses, we remain committed to outperforming the markets in which we participate and have purposeful strategies that ensure we deliver on these commitments year in and year out. These plans are grounded in capturing the material conversion opportunity and driving value for our customer partners." Ms. Wilson added with respect to financial planning assumptions, "We are committed to driving profitable growth and are reaffirming our previously stated business planning assumptions for organic sales and EBITDA growth in every region. Furthermore, we remain aligned as an organization around delivering strong cash flows not only to fund growth investments but also to ensure a strong balance sheet and enable return of capital to shareholders within our deleveraging targets. We expect to grow our free cash flow by +30% to at least half a billion dollars in FY26 by virtue of our profitable growth, stewardship of working capital, and reduction in our capital expenditures." North America Net Sales Growth: Up Low Single-Digits North America EBITDA Margin: ~35.0% Total Adjusted EBITDA Growth: Up Low Single-Digits Free Cash Flow: At least $500 million, Up +30% FY26 Modeling Assumptions Total Capital Expenditures: ~$325 million Total Depreciation & Amortization Expense: ~$225 million Adjusted Effective Tax Rate: Relatively Flat vs. 23.5% in FY25 Note: Planning and modeling assumptions reflect only the standalone James Hardie business and exclude any impacts of acquisitions that have not closed. Free Cash Flow is defined as net cash provided by operating activities less purchases of property, plant and equipment. Cash Flow, Capital Investment & Allocation Operating cash flow totaled $803 million for FY25, driven by $955 million of net income, adjusted for non-cash items, partially offset by higher working capital of $26 million and $114 million of asbestos claims and handling costs paid. Capital expenditures were $422 million. During FY25, the Company invested $165 million related to capacity expansion, with key milestones including commencement of production at the Company's Westfield, Massachusetts ColorPlus® facility in April, as well as the Company's Prattville Alabama facility, specifically on Sheet Machine 3 in September. The Company also completed installation of Sheet Machine 4 at the Prattville facility during the fiscal year. Looking to FY26, the Company expects investment in capacity expansion projects to moderate as several projects approach or reach completion, including at Prattville and Orejo. The Company repurchased 4.5 million shares for a total of $150 million over the course of FY25, completing the previously-announced repurchase program. In November, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new repurchase program, under which the Company is authorized to purchase up to $300 million of shares through October of 2025. Due to regulatory and other considerations, the Company is not expected to repurchase stock until after it closes the AZEK transaction. Key Financial Information Q4 FY25 Q4 FY24 Change Q4 FY25 Q4 FY24 Change Group (US$ millions, except per share data) Net Sales 971.5 1,004.9 (3%) EBIT 62.1 84.0 (26%) Adjusted EBIT 209.2 232.5 (10%) EBIT Margin (%) 6.4 8.4 (2.0 pts) Adjusted EBIT Margin (%) 21.5 23.1 (1.6 pts) Adjusted EBITDA 268.6 280.8 (4%) Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) 27.6 27.9 (0.3 pts) Net Income 43.6 55.6 (22%) Adjusted Net Income 156.1 174.2 (10%) Diluted EPS - US$ per share 0.10 0.13 (20%) Adjusted Diluted EPS - US$ per share 0.36 0.40 (9%) North America Fiber Cement (US$ millions) Net Sales 718.9 735.2 (2%) EBIT 202.4 233.0 (13%) EBIT Margin (%) 28.2 31.7 (3.5 pts) EBITDA 247.6 267.2 (7%) EBITDA Margin (%) 34.4 36.3 (1.9 pts) Asia Pacific Fiber Cement (US$ millions) (A$ millions) Net Sales 118.1 141.5 (17%) 188.1 215.2 (13%) EBIT 43.0 38.5 12% 68.4 58.6 17% Adjusted EBIT 36.0 38.5 (6%) 57.3 58.6 (2%) EBIT Margin (%) 36.4 27.2 9.2 pts 36.4 27.2 9.2 pts Adjusted EBIT Margin (%) 30.5 27.2 3.3 pts 30.5 27.2 3.3 pts Adjusted EBITDA 40.8 43.0 (5%) 64.9 65.4 (1%) Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) 34.5 30.4 4.1 pts 34.5 30.4 4.1 pts Europe Building Products (US$ millions) (€ millions) Net Sales 134.5 128.2 5% 127.7 118.0 8% EBIT 13.3 13.1 2% 12.6 12.1 4% EBIT Margin (%) 9.9 10.3 (0.4 pts) 9.9 10.3 (0.4 pts) EBITDA 21.8 21.3 2% 20.7 19.7 5% EBITDA Margin (%) 16.2 16.7 (0.5 pts) 16.2 16.7 (0.5 pts) FY25 FY24 Change FY25 FY24 Change Group (US$ millions, except per share data) Net Sales 3,877.5 3,936.3 (1%) EBIT 655.9 767.4 (15%) Adjusted EBIT 863.2 940.8 (8%) EBIT Margin (%) 16.9 19.5 (2.6 pts) Adjusted EBIT Margin (%) 22.3 23.9 (1.6 pts) Adjusted EBITDA 1,079.4 1,125.8 (4%) Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) 27.8 28.6 (0.8 pts) Net Income 424.0 510.2 (17%) Adjusted Net Income 644.3 707.5 (9%) Diluted EPS - US$ per share 0.98 1.16 (16%) Adjusted Diluted EPS - US$ per share 1.49 1.61 (7%) Operating Cash Flow 802.8 914.2 (12%) North America Fiber Cement (US$ millions) Net Sales 2,863.3 2,891.4 (1%) EBIT 840.9 921.1 (9%) EBIT Margin (%) 29.4 31.9 (2.5 pts) EBITDA 1,001.6 1,054.9 (5%) EBITDA Margin (%) 35.0 36.5 (1.5 pts) Asia Pacific Fiber Cement (US$ millions) (A$ millions) Net Sales 519.9 562.8 (8%) 795.0 856.3 (7%) EBIT 111.0 166.1 (33%) 172.7 252.7 (32%) Adjusted EBIT 161.3 166.1 (3%) 246.3 252.7 (3%) EBIT Margin (%) 21.7 29.5 (7.8 pts) 21.7 29.5 (7.8 pts) Adjusted EBIT Margin (%) 31.0 29.5 1.5 pts 31.0 29.5 1.5 pts Adjusted EBITDA 180.5 183.1 (1%) 275.7 278.5 (1%) Adjusted EBITDA Margin (%) 34.7 32.5 2.2 pts 34.7 32.5 2.2 pts Europe Building Products (US$ millions) (€ millions) Net Sales 494.3 482.1 3% 460.6 444.5 4% EBIT 38.0 45.0 (16%) 35.4 41.5 (15%) EBIT Margin (%) 7.7 9.3 (1.6 pts) 7.7 9.3 (1.6 pts) EBITDA 70.4 74.7 (6%) 65.6 68.9 (5%) EBITDA Margin (%) 14.2 15.5 (1.3 pts) 14.2 15.5 (1.3 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 March 31, 2025 for additional information regarding the Company's results. All comparisons made are vs. the comparable period in the prior fiscal year and amounts presented are in US dollars, unless otherwise noted. For more information on the proposed transaction with The AZEK Company Inc please see Conference Call Details James Hardie will hold a conference call to discuss results and outlook Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 8:00am AEST (Tuesday, May 20, 2025 at 6:00pm EDT). Participants may register for a live webcast and access a replay following the event of the event on the Investor Relations section of the Company's website ( About James Hardie James Hardie Industries plc is the world's #1 producer and marketer of high-performance fiber cement, and in Europe, fiber gypsum building solutions. James Hardie markets its fiber cement products and systems under the Hardie™ brand, such as Hardie® Plank, Hardie® Panel, Hardie® Trim, Hardie® Backer, Hardie® Artisan Siding, Hardie™ Architectural Collection. James Hardie is also a market leader in the European premium timber frame and dry lining business. James Hardie Industries plc is incorporated and existing under the laws of Ireland. As an Irish plc, James Hardie is governed by the Irish Companies Act. James Hardie's principal executive offices are located at 1st Floor, Block A, One Park Place, Upper Hatch Street, Dublin 2, D02 FD79, Ireland. Cautionary Note and Use of Non-GAAP Measures This Earnings 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 Earnings Release, including a reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the equivalent GAAP measure, see the section titled "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" included in the Company's Earnings Presentation for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025. In addition, this Earnings 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. The Company prepares its consolidated financial statements under GAAP. The equivalent GAAP financial statement line item description for EBIT used in its consolidated financial statements is Operating income (loss). The Company provides investors with definitions and a cross- reference from the non-GAAP financial measure used in this Earnings 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 Company's Earnings Presentation for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025. This Earnings 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 March 31, 2025; 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; the proposed AZEK merger 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 Earnings Release except as required by law. This earnings release has been authorized by the James Hardie Board of Directors. View source version on Contacts Investor and Media Contact Joe Ahlersmeyer, CFA Vice President, Investor Relations+1 773-970-1213investors@
Global News
16-05-2025
- Health
- Global News
Students in Ontario school district uncomfortable using washrooms in schools, study suggests
A large portion of students at a school board in eastern Ontario do not feel comfortable using the bathroom facilities at their schools, with vaping being a part of the problem. A survey of students presented to members of the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) at a meeting on Wednesday night found that 41.3 per cent of students who responded felt comfortable using the washroom at school. The UCDSB conducts the surveys twice a year, in March and in October, and the spring findings were down six per cent from where things stood in the fall. Supt. Eric Hardie spoke to the board and said one of the issues was students vaping in the bathrooms at schools in the area. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy He said the location of the issue presents challenges in solving the problem. Story continues below advertisement 'So how we balance that privacy with also a respectful space where people can obviously go and use the washroom for its intended purposes is really important,' Hardie explained. He noted that there were measures the board was taking to try to resolve the matter, including one school that had created a QR code to help students, should problems in the washroom occur. 'One of the things that they did was they actually created a QR code,' the superintendent said. 'This was so students could report if there were problems in the washroom, they could report anonymously, and that note basically went to the vice-principal so the vice-principal could sort of follow up.' The UCDSB covers the easternmost stretches of Ontario, including Cornwall, Brockville and Carleton Place, basically surrounding Ottawa, but doesn't include schools in the nation's capital. The spring survey also noted that bullying had increased with 28.1 per cent of respondents reporting they felt bullied, and 10 percent of those saying it was physical issues they had to contend with. There were also positive results from the survey, including increases in the number of students who reported real-world learning, the number of students involved in extra-curricular activities and the number of students who knew where to go for mental health help.
