Belgium: Etex's cladding and building board sales revenue rose by 5% year-on-year to Euro1.44bn in 2015 from Euro1.38bn in 2014. It attributed the growth to a strong market in the UK, stabilised performance in construction markets in Germany and the Benelux region and recovery in most of South America.
Overall the company reported that its revenue rose by 2.3% to Euro3.05bn from Euro2.99bn. However, its profit fell by 60% to Euro37m from Euro95m. This was attributed to restructuring in Argentina, France and Germany and impairment charges. The cladding and building board business represents 47% of Etex's building products portfolio. It built three gypsum wallboard plants, in Peru, Brazil and Romania, in 2015.
Etex expects to achieve modest growth in revenue and profit in 2016.
