Fletcher has had to contend with weaker construction activity due to tumbling property prices. Home prices have retreated sharply from the highs recorded when interest rates were at record lows. In December, Fletcher made a NZ$150 million provision for the costs to rebuild New Zealand International Convention Centre and Hobson Street Hotel project as it exceeded the insurance proceeds, impacting its bottomline for the half year. Earlier this week, Fletcher lowered its earnings before interest and tax forecast for fiscal 2023, driven by adverse weather conditions since the start of the year, and warned of further headwinds into 2024.
Inclement weather, the latest being cyclone Gabrielle, in New Zealand since early January has affected construction work as multiple roads and rail lines remain shut in the country's largest city Auckland. For the six months ended Dec. 31, New Zealand's largest construction firm posted a net profit after tax of NZ$92 million ($58.25 million) compared with NZ$171 million a year earlier.
It declared an interim dividend of 18 New Zealand cents per share, the same
which was announced the previous year.
($1 = 1.5793 New Zealand dollars)
(Reporting by Archishma Iyer and Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh
Kuber)
