The beer and wine group also said its 2005/06 annual result would include $45 million in pre-tax charges from its Project Invest restructuring initiative, or $32.2 million on an after-tax basis.
Lion Nathan has restructured its logistics operations in Australia to form a 50-50 joint venture with Linfox, effective from next Thursday, October 26.
The new business, called BevChain, will provide warehousing and distribution services to the total Lion Nathan group and other industry participants in Australia, the company said.
Lion Nathan chief executive Rob Murray said the placement of all of the brewer's volumes under the management of a single logistics supplier working through a shared infrastructure would deliver economies of scale.
"Our customers will benefit from a consistent national approach to logistics with built-in flexibility to meet changing customer requirements and more efficient delivery schedules," he said.
"BevChain will allow other industry participants to take advantage of an industry-leading logistics platform, with broad reach and scale, and we expect BevChain's offer to be very competitive for its customers."
Lion Nathan said restructuring costs associated with the implementation of the new Linfox joint venture formed part of Project Invest, a two-year investment program designed to build brand strength, lift business and operational efficiency and reduce costs.
The Project Invest charges fall outside the company's guidance for its net profit from operations.
Lion Nathan has forecast a net profit after tax, before significant and one-off items, of $255.5 million for fiscal 2006.
Its underlying net profit after tax, before significant items, was $230.4 million in the year to September 2005.
The company will announce its 2005/06 result on November 13.
Lion Nathan announced pre-tax restructuring costs of $3 million with its interim results in May.
Wednesday it said that further pre-tax restructuring cash costs of $20.6 million had been incurred in the second half, along with non-cash asset writedowns of $21.4 million.
Source: AAP NewsWire