Saint-Gobain sales fall by 1.7%
Saint-Gobain reported sales of 41.05 billion euros ($45.9 billion) in 2014, 1.7 percent lower than the 41.76 billion euros ($46.7 billion) reported in 2013.
Net income jumped 60 percent to 953 million euros ($1.06 billion) from 595 million euros ($665.3 million) the previous year.
Sales climbed 2.2% on a like-for-like basis in 2014. Based on reported figures, sales were down 1.7% due to the negative 1.5% currency impact and the negative 2.4% impact resulting from changes in Group structure, chiefly related to the disposal of Verallia North America.
North America saw continued brisk trading on the construction market and a significant improvement in the Group's industrial activities, as the region posted 2.8% organic growth. Only Exterior Products had a negative impact on sales and margin.
"2014 confirmed the improvement in the Group's results despite a challenging macroeconomic climate in France and uncertainty in Germany. Other regions reported good levels of growth. We continued to cut costs on all fronts," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer of Saint-Gobain. "During the year, Saint-Gobain embarked on a significant reorganization of its business portfolio, with the plan to acquire a controlling interest in Sika and the launch of a competitive bidding process for the sale of Verallia. This marks an acceleration in the roll-out of the strategy we unveiled in November 2013."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The March/April issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about Joyce Lansdale and Vallen. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dirk Beveridge, Frank Hurtte, and David Kahle, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
