- Shares of Australia's Brickworks fell nearly 12% on Thursday to emerge as the top loser on the benchmark index, after the building materials maker posted a 32% drop in earnings amid rampant labour shortages and a raw materials crunch.
The building materials maker and property developer's full-year underlying net profit after tax came in at A$508 million , down from A$746 million a year ago. Managing Director Lindsay Partridge attributed the earnings hit to "supply challenges" across the industry reflecting higher operational costs and a wide range of planning and approval issues.