1.  Background and Basis of Presentation

Nature of Operations

James Hardie Industries plc (“JHI plc”) manufactures and sells fiber cement building products for interior and exterior building construction applications, primarily in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Europe.

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements represent the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of JHI plc and its wholly-owned subsidiaries and variable interest entity (“VIE”). Unless the context indicates otherwise, JHI plc and its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries and VIE (as of the time relevant to the applicable reference) are collectively referred to as “James Hardie”, the “James Hardie Group” or the “Company”. The consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”). The US dollar is used as the reporting currency.

Reporting Segments

During the year ended 31 March 2016, the Company changed the name of its USA and Europe segment to the North America and Europe segment to better reflect the segment’s geographic nature; however, the composition of the segment remained the same. Refer to Note 18 for further details on segment reporting.