Latest news with #Iplex
West Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- West Australian
BGC accused of throwing spanner in the works on home repair orders
Long-suffering BGC customers in homes prone to leaks and flooding due to faulty piping have been dealt a major blow. Builder BGC is taking legal action to overturn orders by the WA Building Commissioner that they remediate homes damaged by multiple pipe bursts. The State Government has pledged to fight the move. BGC clients were already in a worse predicament than other homeowners impacted by the Iplex pipe debacle because they were excluded from a deal brokered by the State Government last year to address the situation. The latest development means the Building Commissioner's orders to fix their homes could be squashed in the State Administrative Tribunal. 'Companies within the BGC Housing Group have commenced proceedings to overturn remedy orders made by the Building Commissioner in complaints related to the piping,' a spokesperson for the industry regulator, Building and Energy, confirmed this week. 'The State Government is taking steps to vigorously defend the proceedings in the interests of affected homeowners.' Thousands of homes across WA have been damaged by water leaks and bursts related to the Pro-fit (Typlex 1050) polybutylene piping, manufactured by Iplex Pipelines Australia. BGC, which is suing Iplex, claims the pipes weren't fit for purpose, while the manufacturer has defended its product and claims the pipes failed because they weren't installed correctly. BGC companies built 50-60 per cent of the affected homes. The State Government was frustrated last year when the building giant refused to join an agreement that followed months of negotiations between builders and Iplex, mediated by former Supreme Court Justice, the Hon John Chaney SC. Former Commerce Minister Sue Ellery hailed the agreement, known as the Industry Response, as a 'great outcome' for affected homeowners. Some 37 other builders signed up to the deal, which provides remedial work proportionate to the number of leaks experienced. Owners who had suffered three or more leaks have the choice of a full or partial replacement of all pipes. The State Government contributed $30 million to a fund to help pay for the works. Although excluded, BGC customers could alternatively seek building remedy orders from the Building Commissioner, the Government said. BGC has long been urging the Government to issue a product recall. 'BGC continues to respond to the Iplex faulty pipe issue, having now spent $49m repairing 4800 bursts and completing 2000 ceiling repipes,' a spokesperson said on Friday. 'BGC is committed to a full and final resolution that addresses this issue for every impacted homeowner, while holding the manufacturer accountable. 'To ensure this is the case, BGC has commenced its own action against Iplex in the Federal Court, alongside the consumer class action, which is the appropriate jurisdiction to resolve this matter. 'BGC maintains its position that the fastest and most comprehensive path to a permanent solution is via a State Government enforced product safety recall. Impacted customers widely support this solution.' 'An expert report commissioned by WA's Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety determined that the primary cause of the pipe failure was due to the way it was manufactured,' the spokesperson added. 'BGC's proposal to the Government is a staged recall that follows the same burst response guidelines of the Joint Industry Agreement, balancing trade and funding constraints while providing certainty for all homeowners.' West Australians whose homes were fitted with Iplex polybutylene pipes but built before mid-2017 have received no assistance because the pipe manufacturer switched to a different resin from that time. The Government claims water bursts were more frequent after the Typlex 1050 resin was added to the product. However, the earlier cohort complain their pipes have also failed on multiple occasions, flooding their homes and wreaking misery. A support group with more than 4000 members claims about 1500 had the pre-2017 pipes.
RNZ News
23-06-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Fletcher Building announces hundreds of millions more in restructuring costs
Fletcher Building chief executive Andrew Reding said a strategic review of the business revealed its losses. Photo: Supplied Fletcher Building has announced hundreds of millions of dollars of new restructuring and impairment costs, and continued a suspension of its dividend as it focuses on paying down debt. At an investor day briefing it disclosed estimated losses for the current financial year between $573 million to $781m of significant items which will hit its full-year results to be announced in August. Chief executive Andrew Reding said a strategic review of its businesses revealed the losses. "We expect FY25 EBIT (earnings before interest and tax -- before significant items) to be in the range of $370m to $375m." Specific provisions detailed included the already disclosed $251m writedown of its Australian plumbing business Iplex; $58m lost on the sale of Australian distribution business Tradelink; $12m-$15m on the International Convention Centre; $10m-$15m for defending legal action for the West Australian leaky pipes issue; and just disclosed $16.4m loss on the Puhoi to Warkworth highway. Reding said the additional losses related to restructuring and redundancy costs, goodwill and brand impairments, closure costs and exiting onerous technology contracts. The company said there would be no dividends for shareholders until its net debt level has fallen to the mid-range of $400m to $900m, when the dividend policy would be reviewed. The new guidance was subject to market conditions for the remainder of June which is Fletcher Building's financial year-end. The uncertainty in the estimates related to the timing of housing settlements in its Fletcher Living unit. The company's share price tumbled nearly 4 percent to $2.96 in early trading. In materials presented for the investor day the company said it had made savings of about $200m and cut staff by about 620 full time positions. It said its medium term focus would be on manufacturing and distribution of building products and materials, in a simple and decentralised structure. In February, Fletcher Building reported half-year losses of $134m, and said it expected economic pressures to persist for the remainder of the year. The strategic review has been aimed at streamlining its businesses in New Zealand and Australia, but it did not release any details of businesses that might be sold. The company is also being sued by Sky City Entertainment for hundreds of millions of dollars over delays in completing the International Convention Centre in Auckland. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
