Aug 23 2005
BlueScope Steel Limited, Australia's leading steel company, today announced its third consecutive record result with net profit after tax (NPAT) for the year to 30 June 2005 of A$1,007 million. The result was 72%, or A$423 million higher than the FY2004 NPAT of A$584 million.
BlueScope Steel's Directors declared a final ordinary dividend for FY2004 of 24 cents per share and a special dividend of 20 cents per share both fully franked. Total dividends payable for FY2005 of 62 cents per share resulted in an increase of 22 cents per share, or 55% over FY2004.
Highlights for the year included:
- Record net profit after tax (NPAT) of $1,007 million, up 72%
- Earnings per share (EPS) growth of 77% to $1.37
- Record revenue growth of 38% to $7.9 billion
- Annual production records at Port Kembla Steelworks, North Star BlueScope Steel, and New Zealand Steel
- North Star BlueScope Steel paid its first dividend of $125 million to BlueScope Steel
- Investment of over $600 million in capital projects.
- In commenting on the annual results, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of BlueScope Steel, Mr Kirby Adams, said:
"This has been another very successful year for BlueScope Steel on nearly every measure. The Company achieved record annual results for its third consecutive year.
"These results, delivered by the people of BlueScope Steel, have enabled our Board to reward shareholders with a final ordinary dividend of 24 cents per share together with a special dividend of 20 cents per share, delivering a total increase of 55% over last year.
"We continued our focus on capital management through additional share buy-back programs, repurchasing and cancelling approximately 42 million shares, to further improve Earnings per Share and shareholders' return. Since public listing in July 2002, the Company has repurchased some 102 million shares at an average cost of $5.98 per share.
"Revenue growth of 38% to nearly $8 billion reflects stronger pricing and demand for our strong and colourful steel products across our global markets and the achievement of more than $1 billion revenue in each of our Asian and North American businesses for the first time ever. Revenues were also enhanced by record production levels in many operations, increased market penetration for steel, and the introduction of exciting new downstream products.
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