Fletcher Building has initiated quarterly volume reporting for its key product lines, commencing with the fourth quarter of the 2025 fiscal year. This move seeks to enhance transparency for shareholders amidst a difficult environment in the construction sector. Fletcher Building is a construction and building materials company with operations in New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. It manufactures and distributes a wide range of products used in residential and commercial construction.
The company noted that volumes have been consistently decreasing across most product categories since reaching their peak in 2022. Chief Executive Andrew Reding has cautioned that a substantial recovery is not anticipated before 2027. The volume data is indexed against a 2019 baseline and will be updated on a quarterly basis to provide ongoing insights into market trends.
Notable declines in the most recent quarter include residential and apartment settlements, which plummeted 72 per cent compared to the previous quarter and 51.4 per cent year-on-year. Reinforcing steel volumes also experienced drops, decreasing by 7.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 12.5 per cent year-on-year. Additionally, Stramit and PCC volumes decreased by 11.9 per cent and 15.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively.
However, there were some areas of growth. Plastic pipe sales within Iplex NZ saw an increase of 1.9 per cent over the quarter and 10.1 per cent annually. Frame and truss sales at PlaceMakers also rose by 4.6 per cent year-on-year, despite remaining flat compared to the previous quarter. While concrete sales experienced modest declines quarter-on-quarter, Humes concrete pipe volumes dropped 15.1 per cent year-on-year despite a quarterly rise.