Share price movements in the Australian listed industrial space on Monday revealed the winners and losers from tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.
Orora was the hardest hit, with its share price closing down 6.75 per cent, while Amcor and BlueScope were flat.
Meanwhile, James Hardie shares closed almost 5 per cent lower on the back of fears surrounding higher US inflation due to the tariffs, which will cool housing demand.
The building materials group has a sizable business in the US.
Orora’s sale of its packaging business to the Clayton Dubilier & Rice’s Veritiv for $US1.2bn last year means that it won’t have the same benefit of upside from Trump’s reform to help businesses operating in the US, but analysts still believe the sale was the right call, because it can now buy back stock.
UBS analysts say that when Orora reports its half-year results on February 13, it is expected to deliver $196m of earnings before interest and tax, as the market focuses on the Saverglass acquisition.
It now has $500m, which could also be used for more mergers and acquisitions.
BlueScope, which has a large steel-producing business in the US, is considered a beneficiary, as is Australian listed packaging giant Amcor, which purchased the $13bn US-based rival Berry last year, although the market may be cautious about a weaker US economy with inflation.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley say they would be looking for more detail on the Amcor-Berry merger when Amcor reports its results.
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