Australia: Cement and lime manufacturer Adelaide Brighton Ltd (AB) has announced that its half-year profit for the first six months of 2011 declined by 10.6% amid weakness in the housing sector. The company stressed, however, that it was confident with regard to its future earnings. AB's net profit fell to USD64.67m for the six months to 30 June 2011 from USD72.0m in the first half of 2010. Its revenue declined by 2.2% USD531.5m.

While outlining a mixed to steady outlook of demand for its building products, AB said that it was, "confident on future earnings due to its strong exposure to infrastructure and resources."

Covering off the furore over Australia's potential CO2 tax, AB said that it had, "already significantly reduced its carbon footprint by using alternative fuels and sourcing alternative raw materials." It added that it had already closed inefficient clinker facilities and was now the largest importer of cement and clinker into Australia. This, it said, has helped to reinforce a strong position for the company relative to domestic cement and clinker competitors.

AB's apparent stance is distinctly opposed to those of the members of the public (who came out in protest in the capital Canberra on 16 August 2011), Opposition politicians, BCG Cement and the Cement Industry Federation, which have variously warned of massive job losses in the cement industry, price increases and emission leakage to countries with weaker environmental regulations.

Chris Harris from AB said that the company believed that the carbon tax, as proposed, would not have any significant impact on the continuation of AB's successful growth strategy of the past decade and that AB would continue its successful long-term strategy of operational improvement, growth in the lime business and vertical integration into downstream markets.