InfraBuild announces 2024 half-year results

InfraBuild has delivered net profit for the first half of financial year 2024 of $40 million, from revenue of $2.5 billion, with adjusted EBITDA of $218 million and adjusted EBITDA margin of 8.7%.

The robust result comes amid continued softening in the domestic steel market from peak-cycle levels, with sales volumes abating due to lower residential activity and price moderation.

InfraBuild CEO Francisco Irazusta said the company continues to deliver on its strategy.

“During the period, we remained focused on safety, customer service excellence, and ensuring we continue towards our ambitions to be carbon neutral by 2030,” Mr Irazusta said.

“As part of our work on our ambition to be carbon neutral by 2030, in the half we began piloting with select partners a new steel reinforcing bar made from 100% recycled scrap steel, manufactured with less raw recycled material, that is higher in strength and will deliver lower embodied carbon. We are also progressing plans for the transition of our electric arc furnaces to renewable energy.

“Safety continues to improve with our Total Recordable Injury Frequency Rate for the half at 5.6, down from 6.6 in the prior year. This improvement is due, in part, to our systematic approach to improving safety and our award-winning behavioural safety program called Safety Connect that has been delivered to more than 90% of our employees.

“To ensure InfraBuild continues achieving sustainable results through the cycle, we are working hard on delivering on our customer promise, ensuring our mills perform to plan, and focusing on productivity improvements, cost management, and operating leverage.

“For the half, we have reinvested significant capital expenditure of around $66 million back into our operations to enable productivity and operational benefits such as investing in our New South Wales mesh business to provide more competitive products and solutions to our customers, purchasing new equipment and machinery, and upgrading our operating assets, ensuring their optimal performance and reliability, enabling us to deliver the best service for our customers.

“We continue to deliver on our performance even though residential sector housing approvals have softened, leading to lower home building commencements, impacting steel volumes. Pleasingly non-residential and engineering construction work remain at high levels,” Mr Irazusta said.