The James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) share price is on fire on Wednesday.
In morning trade, the ASX 100 share is up 12% to $46.32.
This follows the release of the building materials company's second-quarter update, which revealed record earnings.
ASX 100 share jumps on record earnings
- Global net sales flat at US$998.8 million
- Record global adjusted EBITDA of US$285.5 million
- Adjusted net income up 2% to record of US$178.9 million
- Record first-half operating cash flow of US$459.1 million
What happened during the quarter?
For the three months ended 30 September, James Hardie reported flat net sales of $998.8 million but a 2% lift in adjusted net income to a record of US$178.9 million.
This reflects margin improvements in the ASX 100 share's key North America Fiber Cement segment. Although its net sales declined 2% to US$734.4 million, its EBIT increased 9% to a record US$232.7 million. This was driven by a higher average net sales price and lower freight and input costs, primarily pulp.
Elsewhere, the Asia Pacific Fiber Cement segment's net sales increased 7% to a record A$225.1 million and EBIT increased 21% to A$67.9 million. This reflects its higher average net sales price which offset higher cost of goods sold per unit.
Finally, the Europe Building Products segment posted a 5% increase in net sales and a 161% jump in EBIT to 11.5 million euros. This was driven by strategic price increases and growth in high value products.
Management commentary
James Hardie's CEO, Aaron Erter, commented:
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 first half, and a record quarterly result for Adjusted Net Income.
I believe our last three quarterly 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 to deliver strong financial results again in the third quarter 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.
