Nuplex Industries has posted flat first-half earnings as sales from its main resins business in Australasia fell 20 per cent.
Net profit was $NZ12.59 million ($A11.69 million) in the six months ended December 31, little changed from $NZ12.62m a year ago.
The specialty chemicals maker said full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation will be at the lower end of a forecast range of $NZ130m to $NZ145m, which compares to $NZ126m a year earlier.
Nuplex will pay an unchanged 10 NZ cents a share dividend on April 3.
The company expects to accrue costs of $NZ2.4m in the second half of its financial year to re-organise its Australian and New Zealand units.
"It's disappointing that earnings have remained flat over the past three years, particularly since we have invested significantly in growth via acquisitions," said chief executive Emery Severin.
"The continued structural decline of the ANZ markets and together with the strengthening of the New Zealand dollar against most of our trading currencies over the past four years has been the overwhelming cause of Nuplex's flat earnings."
Shares in Nuplex fell 3.7 per cent to a six-week low of $NZ3.35, making the stock the worst performer on New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 Index on Thursday.
Nuplex plans to re-organise the structure of its business in Australia and New Zealand into two "leaner" business units comprising resins and specialties and will cut 30 jobs, Mr Severin said.
The change is expected to cost about $NZ3.4m this financial year and produce savings of about $NZ1m, he said. In the 2015 financial year savings will be $NZ5.8m.
The streamlining of Nuplex's manufacturing network, started in late 2012, remains on track to reduce capacity by 30 per cent and realise $NZ6.5m in annualised cost savings in the 2016 financial year, the company said.
Its NuLeap cost cutting program is forecast to deliver $NZ15m of savings a year, up from an earlier estimate of $NZ12m.
First-half profit before one-time items of $NZ26m was lower than First NZ Capital's estimate of $NZ27 million and compares with $NZ24.5m in the year earlier period.
