Industrial chemicals, explosives and consumer products company Orica Ltd
(ASX:ORI) says it still expects to report net profit after tax growth in the 2009 financial year.
CEO Graeme Liebelt told investors that while the company remains vigilant about still uncertain external economic conditions, Orica maintains its guidance for profit to be higher than that reported in 2008.
Mr Liebelt says the company’s mining businesses continue to see very mixed conditions in the second half, with the quarry and construction sector experiencing a very low level of activity and has probably bottomed.
He says Orica’s consumer products business is being impacted by weaker consumer sentiment, saying that since October last year, the company has seen the paint market slow down, which may have not quite bottomed out yet.
Mr Liebelt says so far Orica sees no signs of a sustainable broad based recovery, and there is little sign of benefit from the various stimulus packages that have been proposed by governments in response to the economic crisis.
Orica’s 2008 net profit was $539.6 million.
