What Will Be The Next Move From James Hardie Board?
The James Hardie (ASX: JHX) share price is on watch this Friday. Hence, this follows news that there has been a surprise and immediate change in the building products company’s board.
James Hardie has announced the exit of its chief executive officer, Jack Truong, with immediate effect. According to the release, Mr Truong has had his employment terminated after employees raised concerns about his work-related interactions. The release explains that the James Hardie Board undertook extensive due diligence. This included retaining outside counsel and a third-party consultant.
Although, based on additional employee complaints, the Board undertook further due diligence. After which, the Board ultimately concluded that Mr Truong’s behaviour breached the company’s Code of Conduct.
The James Hardie Board advised that it took this action to uphold the company’s core values and to maintain the continuity of the management team that has been instrumental in its transformation.
Interim CEO appointed
James Hardie is appointing Mr Harold Wiens as its Interim CEO. Harold has been an independent non-executive director since May 2020 following a career with 3M Company where he led several of its largest business segments based in the USA, Asia, and Europe.
Due to this significant event, James Hardie shares lost 4%. Nevertheless, over the last twelve-month period, JHX gained an impressive 41%. This corroborates with the company’s upgrading of its guidance for FY22.
James Hardie expects FY22 adjusted net income to be between US$605 million and US$625 million. This compared to the prior guidance of US$580 million and US$600 million. This new guidance represents an increase of 32% to 36.5% recorded in the prior corresponding period.
Regarding its share price performance, JHX did pretty well over the last rolling twelve-month. Indeed, JHX outperformed its peers Brickworks (ASX: BKW) and Adbri Ltd (ASX: ABC) by far. Brickworks gained more than 28% whilst James Hardie appreciated by 41%. On the other hand, Adbri shares depreciated by -12%.
