The estimated size of James Hardie's asbestos compensation bill has grown, and could blow out to $2.3 billion if the number of claims from victims continues to defy expectations.
Latest estimates by accounting giant KPMG show the amount James Hardie could have to pay to people with asbestos-related diseases has risen by $18 million to $1.87 billion.
The number and size of mesothelioma claims in the past two years have been higher than KPMG had expected, and if that continues over the next five years, James Hardie's liability could grow by another 22 per cent.
KPMG had previously expected mesothelioma claims to peak in 2010/11.
In the year to March, James Hardie paid out $131 million in compensation to people who contracted asbestos-related diseases through exposure to products made by former James Hardie subsidiaries.
That was up from $113 million paid out from James Hardie's special asbestos fund in the previous year.
The fund had $65.5 million in cash and investments at the end of March, and James Hardie expects to inject $US113 million in cash on July 1.
The federal and NSW governments have loaned cash to the fund in recent years to make up for a shortfall created by a slump in James Hardie's financial performance.
Details of the expected rise in compensation claims came as James Hardie reported that it had more than doubled its annual profit to $US99.5 million.
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