Wienerberger warns currency effects to hit 2016 earnings

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's Wienerberger gave a more cautious full-year forecast for its core profit on Wednesday, citing negative currency effects. The world's largest brickmaker said it still aimed to post 2016 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 405 million euros (350.22 million pounds), but added that including foreign exchange effects the figure would be 10 million euros lower. Wienerberger in particular feels a weakening of the sterling following Britain's decision to leave the European Union. It also said the depletion of inventories in the UK and muted demand in the run-up to the Brexit referendum had slowed business there, adding it was impossible to predict future demand. Britain is Wienerberger's largest single market, contributing 10 percent of annual group sales. The firm operates 13 production sites in the country. Underlying EBITDA came to 138.2 million euros in the April-to-June period, falling short of the average estimate of 142 million in a Reuters poll of analysts. The euro traded an average of more than 15 percent above the year-earlier period in the second quarter. "We continue to see highly diverging developments in our markets, in new residential construction as well as in the renovation and infrastructure sectors," Chief Executive Heimo Scheuch said in a statement. (This story has been corrected to read 10 percent in paragraph 5) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Maria Sheahan)