Exhibit 99.1
12 August 2010
Address to 2010 Annual General Meeting
Mike Hammes, Chairman, James Hardie Industries SE
We are very pleased to be here for our first AGM in Ireland. As you know, our re-domicile
to Ireland was approved by shareholders with over 99% of votes cast in favour. We believe
the size of the positive vote reflects the significant advantages to James Hardie and its
shareholders of having our domicile in Ireland.
This is also our first “simulcast” AGM and we hope and expect that this will be one of the
ways that we maintain good communication with our shareholders world-wide.
As we all know, the last 12 months — in fact the last few years — can only be described
as “very challenging”, especially for companies in the building materials industry.
I wish I could say that from an industry demand situation, this current fiscal year is
shaping up differently, but frankly, in our major market — the US — the situation for
overall demand remains quite uncertain.
We have had more favourable results and trends occurring in other markets, particularly
Australia and the Philippines, but the overall results (as we know) are heavily influenced
by the US market situation. Louis will be discussing this in some more detail shortly.
Within this exceptionally challenging business environment for the building materials
industry, your Board has concluded that James Hardie has continued to perform exceptionally
well, both from the point of view of putting in place necessary near term actions and also
in terms of continuing to put in place critical foundations for continued long-term value
creation at James Hardie. Again — Louis will touch more on the details in his discussion.
We are also pleased that major progress continues to be made in having the historical
legacy issues resolved and put behind us.
Related to this, the Board transformation that we have gone through over the last three or
so years is also now largely completed.
One of the issues that we know is an important question to all of us as shareholders is the
issue of the resumption of dividends. The Board has considered this issue very carefully.
At this stage, we believe the general economic situation is still so uncertain — and the
situation in particular for the building materials industry is even more uncertain — that
we do not believe it would be in shareholders’ long-term interests to resume dividends at
this point. However, your Board will keep the matter of dividend policy under regular
review.
Media/Analyst Enquiries:
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Sean O’Sullivan |
Vice President, Investor and Media Relations |
Telephone: +61 2 8274 5225 |
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Disclaimer
This company announcement contains forward-looking statements. James Hardie may from time to time
make forward-looking statements in its periodic reports filed with or furnished to the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 20-F and 6-K, in the annual reports to
shareholders, in offering circulars, invitation memoranda and prospectuses, in media releases and
other written materials and in oral statements made by the Company’s officers, directors or
employees to analysts, institutional investors, existing and potential lenders, representatives of
the media and others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements and
such forward-looking statements are statements made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of forward-looking statements include:
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statements about the Company’s future performance; |
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projections of the Company’s results of operations or financial condition; |
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statements regarding the Company’s plans, objectives or goals, including those
relating to its strategies, initiatives, competition, acquisitions, dispositions and/or
its products; |
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expectations concerning the costs associated with the suspension or closure of
operations at any of the Company’s plants and future plans with respect to any such
plants; |
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expectations that the Company’s credit facilities will be extended or renewed; |
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expectations concerning dividend payments; |
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statements concerning the Company’s corporate and tax domiciles and potential changes
to them, including potential tax charges; |
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statements regarding tax liabilities and related audits, reviews and proceedings; |
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statements as to the possible consequences of proceedings brought against the Company
and certain of its former directors and officers by the ASIC; |
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expectations about the timing and amount of contributions to the AICF, a special
purpose fund for the compensation of proven Australian asbestos-related personal injury
and death claims; |
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expectations concerning indemnification obligations; |
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statements about product or environmental liabilities; and |
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statements about economic conditions, such as the levels of new home construction,
unemployment levels, the availability of mortgages and other financing, mortgage and
other interest rates, housing affordability and supply, the levels of foreclosures and
home resales, currency exchange rates and consumer confidence. |
Words such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “intend,” “target,” “estimate,” “project,”
“predict,” “forecast,” “guideline,” “aim,” “will,” “should,” “likely,” “continue” and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of
identifying such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements and all such forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety
by reference to the following cautionary statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and
assumptions and because forward-looking statements address future results, events and conditions,
they, by their very nature, involve inherent risks and uncertainties, many of which are
unforeseeable and beyond the Company’s control. Such known and unknown risks, uncertainties and
other factors may cause the Company’s actual results, performance or other achievements to differ
materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed, projected or
implied by these forward-looking statements. These factors, some of which are discussed under “Key
Information — Risk Factors” beginning on page 6 of the Form 20-F filed with the US Securities and
Exchange Commission on 30 June 2010, include, but are not limited to: all matters relating to or
arising out of the prior manufacture of products that contained asbestos by current and former
James Hardie subsidiaries; required contributions to the AICF, any shortfall in the AICF and the
effect of currency exchange rate movements on the amount recorded in the Company’s financial
statements as an asbestos liability; proposed governmental loan facility to the AICF; compliance
with and changes in tax laws and treatments; competition and product pricing in the markets in
which the Company operates; seasonal fluctuations in the demand for our products; the consequences
of product failures or defects; exposure to environmental, asbestos or other legal proceedings;
general economic and market conditions; the supply and cost of raw materials; the success of
research and development efforts; the potential that competitors could copy our products; reliance
on a small number of customers; a customer’s inability to pay; compliance with and changes in
environmental and health and safety laws; risks of conducting business internationally; compliance
with and changes in laws and regulations; the effect of the Company’s transfer of its corporate
domicile from The Netherlands to Ireland to become an Irish SE including employee relations,
changes in corporate governance, potential tax benefits and the effect of any negative publicity;
currency exchange risks; the concentration of the Company’s customer base on large format retail
customers, distributors and dealers; the effect of natural disasters; changes in the Company’s key
management personnel; inherent limitations on internal controls; use of accounting estimates; and
all other risks identified in the Company’s reports filed with Australian, Irish and US securities
agencies and exchanges (as appropriate). The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is
not exhaustive and that other risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially
from those in forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they
are made and are statements of the Company’s current expectations concerning future results, events
and conditions.