Rewrites throughout and adds share moves

By Roshan Thomas

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia-listed shares of James Hardie Industries JHX.AX rose 6% on Wednesday, after the fiber cement maker reported third-quarter profit above estimates.

The Dublin-based firm posted adjusted net income of $153.6 million for the three months ended December 31, beating a Visible Alpha consensus estimate of $148 million.

The stock was on track to record its biggest one-day jump since November 13, while the benchmark index .AXJO was down 0.7% at 0001 GMT.

However, James Hardie reported 15% drop in net income from a year ago due to headwinds in raw materials from its key North American operations.

Rising mortgage rates, volatile interest rate expectations and high home prices have led customers to reduce new home purchases and renovation activities, adversely impacting the North American segment, its biggest revenue-generating division.

Net sales from the North America segment fell to $719.3 million, driven by a weak homebuilding market, compared to $727 million reported an year ago.

"The (building) market still appears tough, with limited new evidence of green shoots and volumes still declining," Samuel Seow, vice president at Citi, said in a note.

The company said it was planning for growth and margin expansion across regions for fiscal year 2026, without offering details.

James Hardie also projected its fiscal year 2025 capital expenditure to be $420 million, down from the previous forecast range of $420 million to $440 million.

"While it is still too early to quantify our expected results for fiscal year 2026, we are planning for sales growth and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin (EBITDA) expansion across each of our segments, and for the company as a whole," said CEO Aaron Erter.

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi and Varun H K)

((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com; Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com))