James Hardie raises full-year outlook, beats third-quarter earnings estimates

Feb 11 (Reuters) - James Hardie Industries JHX.AX raised its full-year earnings forecast and reported better-than-expected third-quarter profit on Wednesday, bolstered by robust inorganic sales growth at its key siding and trim division.

The company's siding and trim business, its largest revenue generator and which includes operations from the recently acquired U.S. building products group AZEK, reported a 10% inorganic sales growth to $788.3 million during the quarter, driven by sales contribution from AZEK Exteriors.

On an organic basis, however, the division's net sales fell 2%, bogged down by lower volumes driven by soft housing demand.

"For Siding and Trim, market conditions remain challenged, consistent with our prior expectations," said CFO Ryan Lada, adding that channel inventories are expected to remain at seasonally normal levels for the remainder of fiscal 2026.

James Hardie, which is among the world's leading fibre cement makers, now expects adjusted operating earnings between $1.23 billion and $1.26 billion for fiscal 2026, up from the previous forecast of $1.20 billion to $1.25 billion.

The Dublin-headquartered firm report adjusted net income of $142.2 million for the three months ended December 31, beating the Visible Alpha estimate of $130.1 million but below the $153.6 million from a year earlier.