Australia's Boral sees U.S. arm returning to profit in 2nd half

SYDNEY, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Australian building materials maker Boral Ltd BLD.AX said on Wednesday it expects strong improvement in its construction materials arm, its biggest business, and a return to the black for its U.S. business in the second half of this year.

Boral reported a 73 percent rise in profit before one-offs to A$90 million ($81 million) for the six months to Dec 31, in line with its forecast on Jan 28.

"We expect the underlying performance in each of Boral's four divisions to improve in the second half of the financial year compared to the prior comparable period," Boral Managing Director Mike Kane said in a statement.

Boral said it was on track to complete a joint venture with USG Corp to make plasterboard and ceilings by the end of February.

"Markets in the U.S. are also continuing to strengthen, with losses from our Boral USA division down 23 percent in the first half and strong volume growth experienced across all of our U.S. businesses," Kane said.

($1 = 1.1072 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang and Sonali Paul; Editing by John Mair)

((maggie.luyueyang@thomsonreuters.com)(+61 2 93731819)(Reuters Messaging: maggie.luyueyang.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Keywords: AUSTRALIA BORAL/EARNINGS