New Zealand: Fletcher Building says that its Golden Bay Cement plant in Auckland was forced stop its cement mill for four weeks in September 2018. It said it had insurance to cover this but that its earnings for its 2019 financial year are likely to be impacted by up to US$8m. Generally, the building materials producer reported that, until the end of October 2018, its business in New Zealand had been flat. In Australia it is facing ‘challenging’ conditions with growing input prices and a slowing residential sector.
