Following a plant tour we refresh our view on Brickworks Limited (ASX:BKW) and Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Limited (ASX:SOL). (Click on company code for our previous research on BKW & SOL)
BKW is a manufacturer and distributor of building products with operations in all states of Australia and New Zealand. It is Australia’s largest manufacturer of bricks and has extensive property developments and as a result the legacy of brick pits are located near a number of capital cities.
BKW listed on the ASX in 1962, has paid a dividend every year and has had only one capital raising from shareholders.
Bricks have been in use for nearly 10,000 years and their impact on the development of society has been truly profound. The story of bricks in Australia starts with the arrival of the first fleet when 5000 bricks were stowed away to help build the first structures of European settlement. From there they were made by hand with clay sourced from what is now Darling Harbour. Today, the process has been largely automated where robots and machines do much of the heavy lifting.
Figure 1. A decade of change and growth
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics; BKW: Results Presentation 2011
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