Fletcher 1H profit gain held to 5 percent by strong kiwi, full-year guidance affirmed

Fletcher 1H profit gain held to 5 percent  by strong kiwi, full-year guidance affirmed
By Jonathan Underhill Feb. 20 (BusinessDesk) – Fletcher Building, the biggest company on the NZX 50 Index, posted a 5 percent gain in first-half profit as sales growth was constrained by a high kiwi dollar. Fletcher affirmed its guidance for the full year. Profit was $154 million, or 22.4 cents a share, in the six months ended Dec. 31, from $146 million, or 21.3 cents, a year earlier, the Auckland-based construction and building products group said in a statement. Sales fell 2 percent to $4.27 billion. Operating earnings grew 7 percent to $...