Blasting and chemical services giant Orica predicts continued strong momentum in earnings through the second half of the financial year after posting a 58% increase in underlying earnings for the six months to end-March.
The Australian company lifted first half sales revenue from continuing operations to $A3.05B, from $2.4B pcp. EBIT rose to $244.9M (H1FY21: $155.1M) before individually significant items resulted in a net loss after tax of $84.6M (profit $79M).
MD-CEO Sanjeev Gandhi forecasts steady commodity growth will continue to drive demand for Orica’s products and services, despite its planned exit from Russian operations, supply chain challenges and the end-2021 divestment of its Minova business.