Company case
Boral: how much of the margin came from price?
Quarry prices up 15%. Quarry volumes down 11%. That was Boral's FY24, and its EBIT margin rose from 6.7% to 10.5%. By FY26 the margin was 14.1%. How much of that came from price?
The business: Boral makes and supplies concrete, cement, quarry products, asphalt and recycled materials in Australia. Seven Group Holdings (SGH) completed its purchase of the rest of Boral early in FY25 and reports it as a segment. FY26 revenue was A$3,788 million. Sources S1–S4.
This read covers Boral's FY23 results and SGH's FY25 and FY26 results. Each financial year ends on 30 June. SGH's 2026 AGM, on 13 November, falls after this read.
1. What happened to the margin?
Reported: Boral's EBIT margin was 3.8% in FY22 and 6.7% in FY23, on FY23 revenue of A$3,460.6 million and EBIT of A$231.5 million. S1, PDF page 1.
Reported: under SGH it was 10.5% in FY24 and 13.0% in FY25. S2, PDF page 6. In FY26 revenue was A$3,788 million, EBIT A$535 million and the margin 14.1%. S3, PDF page 12.
Our reading: from FY23 to FY26, revenue rose about 9% and EBIT rose about 131%. That is our arithmetic on the reported figures. The margin nearly quadrupled in four years.
For your pricing: when your margin moves, can you split the change into price, volume, mix and cost?
2. What did prices and volumes do?
Reported: SGH's FY26 presentation shows Boral's volume and price changes by product. S3, PDF page 12.
| Product | FY24 volume | FY24 price | FY25 volume | FY25 price | FY26 volume | FY26 price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete | −3% | +11% | +1% | +4% | +7% | +3% |
| Quarries | −11% | +15% | −6% | +5% | +1% | +2% |
| Cement | −3% | +8% | +3% | +2% | +2% | +2% |
Our reading: FY24 is the year price did the work. Prices rose in all three products and volumes fell in all three. FY26 is different: volumes rose everywhere and prices rose 2% to 3%. Compounded over the three years, quarry prices rose about 23% and quarry volumes fell about 15%. That is our arithmetic on SGH's rounded figures.
For your pricing: in the year you raised prices hardest, which products lost the most volume?
3. Did Boral give up volume to get price?
Reported: in FY25, SGH put lower quarry volumes down to "softer roading activity" and "the impact of a customer dispute". S2, PDF page 6. An analyst asked whether Boral was holding back volume to push price. SGH's chief executive answered: "No, definitely not the latter." S2, PDF page 18.
Reported: in FY26, "Volumes grew across every product". S4, PDF page 5. On share, the chief executive said "we're probably taking some share". S4, PDF page 24.
Our reading: SGH rejects the reading that Boral traded volume for price. The filings can't settle it, because they give no market volumes beside Boral's own.
For your pricing: when volume falls after a price rise, what evidence would tell you whether the price caused it?
4. What did costs do?
Reported: in FY23 Boral said: "Improved reporting and other measures are identifying pricing opportunities and reducing potential price leakage." S1, PDF page 2.
Reported: in FY25 SGH credited the margin to "pricing discipline" and cost and operational progress. SG&A to sales improved by 1.6 per cent, to 6.7%. S2, PDF page 6. In FY26 the margin rose 113 basis points "on operational leverage". S3, PDF page 12.
Our reading: price and cost moved in the same years, and SGH does not split the margin gain between them. Boral's FY23 account starts with reporting: finding where price leaked.
For your pricing: who in your business could tell you how much of last year's margin came from price?
5. What belongs in the pricing meeting?
| Question | Evidence to bring | Suggested owner |
|---|---|---|
| How much did price add? | Margin bridge split into price, volume, mix and cost | Finance |
| Where did price leak? | List-to-invoice gap by product and customer | Commercial lead |
| Which volume was lost, and why? | Lost accounts and lost tonnes, with the reason given | Sales management |
| What did the market do? | Industry volumes beside your own, by region | Sales operations |
| What will hold next year? | Price change planned against expected cost change | Decision owner |
Your own pricing · two minutes
Where does your price leak before the invoice?
Boral's quarry prices rose 15% in FY24 while its quarry volumes fell 11%. Its FY23 results credited better reporting with reducing potential price leakage. Start with your own business.
Six questions. Pick the answer that is true today. Nothing you pick is stored.
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Coverage and limits
The price and volume figures are SGH's rounded chart values, and SGH does not define "price". FY23 figures are Boral's own as a listed company; later figures are SGH's segment reporting. Company explanations are quoted as their own. This is an outside reading of public filings: it claims no client relationship and gives no score or investment view.
Sources used
Source passages checked 6 November 2026. PDF pages count from the first file page, including covers. All documents are ASX announcements.
- S1: Boral FY23 results release, 10 August 2023, PDF pages 1–2.
- S2: SGH 2025 full year results: presenters' notes and Q&A, 12 August 2025, PDF pages 3, 6 and 18.
- S3: SGH FY26 full year results investor presentation, 11 August 2026, PDF page 12.
- S4: SGH FY26 full year results presenters' notes, 11 August 2026, PDF pages 5 and 24.
- Send a factual correction with its supporting source.
Responsibility and method
Responsible author: Andrew Wilson. Publisher: onestepright.
Substantive update: . Boral’s FY23 results and SGH’s FY25 and FY26 results keep price, volume and margin on the companies’ own figures.