NORTH AMERICA
Coated and Building Products
WE ARE DELIGHTED TO SEE BUTLER'S BUSINESS TURNING AROUND AS WE EXPERIENCE STRONGER MARKETS AND PRICING, AND EXPECT TO SEE FURTHER IMPROVEMENT OVER THE COMING YEAR.
turnaround underway
Comprising the Butler Buildings and Vistawall architectural products businesses, this group showed an encouraging improvement for the year, achieving the strongest shipment and profit performance since 2001.
Higher sales volumes and despatches for both Butler and Vistawall contributed to the $79 million increase in sales revenue to $1.2 billion. Overall EBIT of $27 million, which was a $45 million turnaround on last year's $18 million loss, was largely due to the higher volumes and improved margins for both businesses.
Butler Buildings
BUTLER® is the world's premier brand in pre-engineered steel building systems. Butler Buildings manufactures and supplies PEBs for a diverse range of building applications from rural buildings, churches and warehouses to aircraft hangars, retail, schools and stadiums. It is the market leader in non-residential PEBs in North America and is supported by a sales network of 1,100 Butler Builders®.
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We are delighted to see Butler's business turning around as we experience stronger markets and pricing, and expect to see further improvement over the coming year.
At the start of the 2005/06 financial year, our Butler specialty plant in Jackson, Tennessee, came on stream. As well as a four per cent increase in despatches, delivery performance improved to 93 per cent in the second half of the year. We are seeing major benefits from our initiatives such as the change to a regional, customer-based organisational structure, improved systems and more efficient manufacturing.
Our market share rose, and we attracted a range of new customers. We also introduced new products, such as acrylic coated purlins, which have been well received by our customers.
Vistawall
Vistawall, which manufactures and markets windows, skylights, and extruded aluminium store-fronts for use in non-residential building and construction applications, continues to expand its portfolio of attractive aluminium and glass architectural products.
The Tennessee extrusion plant expansion, completed in late November 2005, added 22 million pounds of extrusion capacity. This expansion allowed Vistawall to service a rapid growth in orders during the second half of 2006.
The new specially designed Terra Swing terrace door has successfully provided an entry into the residential high-rise market.
Demand for terrace doors and window products, supplied through the Moduline brand, has been strong.
Aluminium despatches increased by four per cent on last year. The weekly order intake rose 30 per cent, and revenues were 12 per cent higher.
In December 2005, Vistawall was awarded a significant order for the Gaylord National Resort in Washington, DC. A new Service Centre opened in Charlotte, North Carolina, expanding Vistawall's geographic coverage in the southeast region of the United States.
