Australia: Boral set for building price boost

Price increases for building materials products suggest Boral Ltd shares could go higher, says Deutsche Bank.

Dow Jones reports that the broker notes suppliers of construction materials such as cement are targeting price increases of 8-20 per cent from April.

"While price increases were relatively unsuccessful in 2014, we believe there is a greater likelihood of success this year given demand conditions are more robust, and industry discipline appears to have improved (particularly in Queensland)," analyst Emily Smith says.

Turnover from Boral’s Australian cement sales declined by six per cent to AUD151m (EUR103m) in the six months to the end of December 2014,  while the trading profit was only marginally lower at AUD56m (€38m).