Fletcher Building chief sells shares

The chief executive of Fletcher Building has sold almost 25 per cent of his shares in the company to meet an existing financial commitment.

The sale of 350,000 shares leaves Ralph Waters, an Australian who moved to New Zealand in 2001, with a stake worth nearly $8 million.

He said he did not anticipate selling any further shares in Fletcher during his tenure as chief executive.

Mr Waters' stake was previously worth around $10.6 million, after he expanded his holding last year.

His confidence in the listed building materials manufacturer, supplier and distributor was displayed on September 27 when he exercised his option to buy 1 million shares for $2,280,000.

In November, he paid a further $50,944 for 9417 shares and on April 6 this year paid $58,854 for another 8542 shares.

The transactions were disclosed in the company's annual report on September 23, which also showed he was paid $2,245,000 in the June year.

Following today's sale -- with shares selling around $7.65 each -- Mr Waters new stake of 1,032,587 shares is worth $7.9 million.

The regulatory disclosures in the annual report showed no director had sold shares in the last year, but all had increased their stake.

That was until today.

Shares in Fletcher Building were trading at 765c in mid-afternoon trading, down 5c on Friday's close. Shares have traded between 842c and 576c in the last year.

- NZPA