Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT) were up 2%, or 5% after adjusting for an ownership structure change of the company's
Orica Managing Director and CEO
'This is a particularly positive set of operational and financial results, given they come from a period that had severe bushfire and weather issues in
'The safety of our people has been our number one priority throughout the pandemic, and we have strict protocols in place around the world to protect our employees and communities. It has been inspiring to see how our company has responded with flexibility and resilience, ensuring we continue to service our customers with minimal disruption.
'During the half we also announced the major strategic acquisition of
The Burrup Technical Ammonium Nitrate plant is now operational, and production is ramping up. The plant, which is strategically located close to Orica's customers in the Pilbara region of
Capital Management and Dividends
Group gearing at 33.7% provides for a strong balance sheet and the company maintains a strong liquidity position.
The Board has declared an unfranked interim ordinary dividend of
Outlook
Commenting on the full year outlook,
'We hope more countries will be able to ease restrictions in the second half and take the first steps towards restarting their societies and economies. Mining will play a crucial part in that global economic recovery, and all of us at Orica are proud of our role in that.
'While it is almost impossible to forecast what will happen in the next six months, we currently expect our volumes in the second half to be somewhere between 10 to 15% below the pre-COVID-19 expected volumes.
'Our balance sheet remains strong. We are prudently managing capital expenditure and investing in projects that are positioning us to hit the ground running when mining activity normalises.
'Following the normalisation of mining activity globally, we currently expect volume growth to be in line with long term trends.
'We have much to look forward to going forward with the
'All this, together with ongoing improvements in manufacturing and the increasing commercialisation of our world-leading technology products, continues to provide the momentum for profitable growth.'
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