James Hardie says no asbestos deal until June

SYDNEY - James Hardie Industries today said it expected a short delay in reaching its $1.5 billion asbestos compensation settlement, with the deal now not expected to be signed until early June.

However, the building products company said it did not expect victims would be affected, as payouts were still able to be met by the company's compensation fund.

James Hardie also said it still expected to hold a meeting of its shareholders to approve the compensation deal in late July, with payments under the deal to begin in late August or early September.

The deal was originally expected to be signed some time in March or early April.

James Hardie said the delay reflected "the complexity of the legal and administrative issues" surrounding the establishment of a special purpose fund that would channel compensation payments from the company to victims.

James Hardie has already pledged in principle to provide up to 35 per cent of its operating cash flow each year for the next four decades to compensate victims of the asbestos products it manufactured until the mid-1980s.

However, the money won't start flowing to victims until the company signs a final, binding agreement.

After that, it will still need an independent expert's report and will then take the deal to shareholders for approval.

"The agreement involves James Hardie making an unprecedented voluntary settlement amounting to some A$1.5 ($1.64) billion ... over the next 40-plus years," the company said in a statement today.

"Its finalisation involves a vast array of structural, legal, accounting and social issues.

"Given these complexities, it is not surprising that there will be a short delay in the signing of the principal agreement.

"This should not be taken as a sign of diminution of will or effort on behalf of any of the parties involved."

The company's statement follows earlier suggestions that the timetable for the compensation deal was running behind.

A review of the NSW asbestos system - a critical step leading up to the principal agreement - is still not finalised, although preliminary findings were released on March 8.

And James Hardie has also recently been at the centre of controversy over claims hundreds of residents of a small Aboriginal town in northern NSW, where the company used to own an asbestos mine, may miss out on compensation under the deal.

James Hardie has begun a review of the legal issues surrounding the Baryulgil residents, which is expected to take two to three weeks.

- AAP