Join +750K new investors every month who copy stock picks from billionaire's portfoliosSign Up Free

UPDATE 1-Australia's Orica slashes sales volume forecast, dividend

Published 09/05/2016, 10:35 am
Updated 09/05/2016, 10:40 am
© Reuters.  UPDATE 1-Australia's Orica slashes sales volume forecast, dividend
ORI
-

* Underlying H1 profit down 10 pct

* FY16 explosives sales volume forecast cut by 9 pct

* H1 dividend slashed to 20.5 cents from 40 cents

* Shares drop as much as 7 pct (Adds analyst, S&P comment)

By Sonali Paul

MELBOURNE, May 9 (Reuters) - Orica Ltd ORI.AX , the world's largest maker of mine explosives, slashed its forecast sales volumes and halved its dividend to weather a prolonged mining slump after reporting a 10-percent fall in half-year profit.

After predicting a year ago that 2015 would mark the trough for the mining downturn and earnings would rise modestly this year, the Australian company said on Monday that conditions had worsened sharply in January and February.

"Market conditions deteriorated more than we anticipated during the half, marked by increased volatility. It is expected that the market will remain challenged for the foreseeable future," Chief Executive Alberto Calderon said in a statement.

Orica's shares fell as much as 7 percent after the results were released in a broader market down just 0.1 percent.

Underlying profit for the six months to March dropped to A$190 million ($140 million) from A$211 million a year earlier, in line with a forecast of A$191 million from Macquarie.

The change in Orica's dividend policy was expected and the magnitude of the dividend cut just reflected that shift, said CLSA analyst Scott Hudson.

"Of more concern is the downgrade to the volume guidance," he said.

Ammonium nitrate sales volumes fell 8 percent to 1.71 million tonnes in the first half. The company said it now expects full-year volumes of 3.45 million tonnes, down from an earlier forecast of 3.8 million and down from last year.

The company's weaker forecast for this year was well below UBS estimates.

"(The) outlook for challenged markets for the foreseeable future is also likely to result in consensus downgrades beyond current year, in our view," UBS said in a note.

Orica sliced its interim dividend to 20.5 cents a share from 40 cents a year ago, and said it would pay out 40 to 70 percent of underlying earnings each year, looking to protect its investment-grade credit rating.

It also slashed planned capital spending for this year to A$320 million from an earlier forecast of around A$450 million.

Standard & Poor's said the more flexible dividend policy and cut in capital spending should help preserve Orica's 'BBB' rating.

($1 = 1.3569 Australian dollars)

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.