France: Saint-Gobain’s sales rose by 1.9% year-on-year to Euro20.8bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro20.4bn in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell very slightly to Euro2.07bn.
"The second quarter marks a return to supportive trends in all our main markets. After a disappointing first quarter, affected by harsh winter weather in Europe, which weighed on results, the second quarter was far more encouraging in terms of volumes and prices. The group succeeded in further raising sales prices amid continued raw material and energy cost inflation. Despite a combination of temporary one-off factors, our first-half results progressed once again,” said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Saint-Gobain.
The group’s Interior Solutions division, including gypsum wallboard and insulation production, reported 7.1% organic growth, with rising sales prices in the period although raw material and energy costs inflated. The group noted that although its operating margin was held back by weather conditions in Europe in the first quarter and by the on-going shift from synthetic to natural gypsum, it benefited over the half-year period from a positive price-cost spread in terms of raw materials and energy.
