CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Reece Ltd. (REH.AX, REECF), an Australian distributor of plumbing and bathroom supplies, reported Monday weak profit in its first half of fiscal year 2026, despite growth in sales revenues.
Looking ahead, the company said it anticipates Group earnings before interest and tax or EBIT for fiscal 2026 to be within the range of A$520 million to A$540 million.
In Australia, the shares were gaining around 14 percent, trading at A$15.88.
Peter Wilson, Chair & CEO, said: 'Our half year result reflects the challenges we outlined last year, with subdued housing markets continuing to impact demand resulting in flat sales on a like for like basis... As we look ahead, we're cautious about the pace of recovery and don't expect a material shift in demand for the remainder of FY26.'
In the first half, the company's net profit after tax declined 20% to A$144 million from last year's A$181 million. Eearnings per share dropped 19% to 22.7 cents from 28.0 cents a year ago.
The company's EBIT declined 14% year-over-year to A$262 million, and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization or EBITDA decreased 6% from last year to A$448 million.
However, sales revenue increased 6% to A$4.648 billion from A$4.402 billion last year, supported by network expansion, while group like-for-like sales were flat compared to the same period in the previous year. On a constant currency basis, sales were up 5% to A$4.637 billion.
Further, the Board of Directors has declared a fully franked interim dividend of 5.44 cents per share, down 16 percent from 6.50 cents last year, with a record date of March 18 and a payment date of April 1.
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