Australia's Brickworks rises as Citi stays bullish despite first-half profit miss

Shares of Brickworks BKW.AX rise 0.4% to A$23.89, their highest levels since March 11

Citi says BKW's first-half underlying profit of A$76 million ($48.16 million), which fell short of consensus, was due to EBITDA miss

Brokerage adds that the shortfall seems to be largely driven by firm's previously announced non-cash impairment of A$55 mln in its North American business, which produced A$3 mln EBITDA loss

However, Citi says that despite a profit miss, BKW continues to project strong medium-term demand growth for its warehouse, driving Property net rental income

Maintains "Buy" rating at the price target of A$32.50/shr

Firm declared an interim dividend of 25 Australian cents apice, up from 24 Australian cents last year

BKW stock down 6.9%, YTD

($1 = 1.5780 Australian dollars)