James Hardie Industries shares have hit an 11-month high after the building materials company said it expected to make more profit this year than analysts had forecast.

James Hardie said operating profit for the year ending March 31 would be between $US328 million and $US360 million ($A482 million-$529 million) compared with analysts’ expectations of between $US325 million and $US365 million.

That company said net sales rose by 1.0 per cent in the three months to June 30 to $US656.8 million, driven by higher cement sales in North America and building products in Europe.

At 1144 AEST, James Hardie shares were up 14.1 per cent to $21.69.

Australia-Pacific sales volume was down 3.0 per cent to 134.4 million square feet and net sales were flat at $154.4 million.

The company described it as “solid financial results despite significant softening of Australian housing market”.

It said it expected its Australian market to experience “high single-digit per cent contraction in fiscal year 2020 compared to fiscal year 2019”.

James Hardie said that excluding asbestos-related expenses, its profit for the quarter was up 13 per cent to US$90.2 million.

James Hardie expected its fibre cement weatherboards to take market share from brick in Australia and there was a trend towards smaller lot size and lightweight construction.

Including those expenses, its net profit was down 5.0 per cent to $86.5 million.

“Our consolidated group results reflected very good performance,” James Hardie chief executive Jack Truong said.

Source: AAP

Image Source: James Hardie

(Note: The share price quoted above refers to that which was current at 11:44am on Friday August 9)