James Hardie Announces Adjusted Net Operating Profit of US$73.8 Million for Q4 Fiscal Year 2019 and US$300.5 Million for the Full Year Ended 31 March 2019

James Hardie announces a fiscal year 2019 second half dividend of US 26.0 cents per security

James Hardie today announced results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019 and the full year ended 31 March 2019:

CEO Commentary

He concluded, "Our consolidated group results reflected good and disciplined financial performance in a significant inflationary cost environment. We enter fiscal year 2020 with our global team aligned on one global strategy that is centered around delivering growth above the market in all of our regions with strong financial returns."

Outlook

We expect to see modest growth in the US housing market in fiscal year 2020. The single family new construction market and repair and remodel market growth rates in fiscal year 2020 are expected to grow, albeit at a growth rate lower than that in fiscal year 2019. The Company expects new construction starts between approximately 1.2 million and 1.3 million.

We expect our North America Fiber Cement segment EBIT margin to be in the top half of our range of 20% to 25% for fiscal year 2020. This expectation is based upon the Company continuing to improve operating performance in our plants, improved net average sales price and mix, continued inflation for input costs and modest underlying housing growth.

In Australia, it is anticipated that our addressable underlying market will decrease in fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019. Net sales from our Australian business are expected to continue to trend above the average growth of the domestic repair and remodel and single family detached housing markets in the eastern states of Australia.

We expect our Europe Building Product segment to achieve year on year net sales and EBIT margin growth.

Further Information

Readers are referred to the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Analysis of Results for the fourth quarter and full year ended 31 March 2019 for additional information regarding the Company's results, including information regarding income taxes, the asbestos liability and contingent liabilities.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information; Australian Equivalent Terminology

Forward-Looking Statements

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