Boral shares soar after lift in earnings guidance

The news: Share of construction materials supplier Boral jumped after it lifted its full-year earnings guidance as higher prices and cost management boosted its July-October performance.

The numbers: The company now expects full-year underlying earnings to be in the range of $300 million to $330 million, up from its previous estimate of $270 million-$300 million. The upgrade helped Boral shares rise more than 8% to $5.08 in early trading on the ASX.

The context: Boral CEO Vik Bansal said the year-to-date performance reflected greater discipline in the pricing and cost for the company’s operating model. “Price realisation remains extremely important in the current inflationary environment,” he said. “Volumes year to date have been relatively steady and at this stage, we expect this to continue through the remainder of FY24.” Boral, controlled by West Australian billionaire Kerry Stokes, has been looking to turn around after taking a hit during the pandemic.