Boral flags weak second half BUILDING products maker Boral expects strong profit growth for the first half of the financial year, but has flagged weaker earnings for the second half. Boral expects its net profit for the six months to December 31 to be in the order of $90 million, a significant improvement on the $25 million loss recorded for the same period a year ago. The company said favourable weather conditions, strong volumes from major projects and a significant turnaround in its building products division contributed to the profit growth. But it warned its full year earnings would be significantly skewed to the first half, due to expectations of a lower contribution from major projects, and the partial sale of its Boral Gypsum business. Boral also said it had received lower than expected profits from property sales during the 2013/14 financial year, which in previous years have boosted second half results.