KPMG To Review Fletcher's Biggest Projects

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--Construction and building materials firm Fletcher Building Ltd. (FBU.NZ) has confirmed auditor KPMG is reviewing four of its major projects after losses in its construction division helped the company's full-year earnings fall 80%.

Fletcher was responding to media speculation that it had hired KPMG, and said the auditor would review its two largest construction projects and two largest infrastructure projects to "augment existing governance processes."

New Zealand's construction industry is at capacity, struggling to find enough skilled workers to match the demand for new homes and infrastructure, which is in part fueled by the country's rapidly growing population.

In August, Fletcher's buildings and interiors unit, part of its construction division, reported a 292 million New Zealand dollar ($214 million) loss after issues including "inadequate project management" and capacity pressures in New Zealand hurt two major projects, one in Auckland and another in Christchurch. This weighed on its net earnings, which were down sharply despite revenue rising 4% to NZ$9.4 billion.

--Write to Ben Collins at ben.collins@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2017 17:07 ET (21:07 GMT)