Spain: Saint-Gobain España’s sales rose by 8% year-on-year to Euro1.18bn in 2017. In an interview with the Expansión newspaper, Mediterranean Region chief executive officer (CEO) Gianni Scotti said that increased housing construction in Spain had driven demand for building products. He added that Spain represents 58% of the sales from the eight countries in the company’s Mediterranean region. The majority of the division’s sales come from products for the construction industry including gypsum wallboard and insulation. However, Scotti wanred that high energy costs in Spain are making the country less competitive compared to other parts of Europe.