Saint-Gobain sales inch higher
Saint-Gobain reported sales of $14.4 million (€10.9 million) for the third quarter, a gain of 1.8% percent compared to the same period last year.
The company said trading in the third quarter confirms the slowdown observed in the second quarter. With the exception of packaging segment Verallia, which delivered 3.2% organic growth in the quarter, all of the group's business sectors and divisions saw sales volumes decline in the three-month period.
For the first nine months of the year, sales increased 2.9% to €32.5 billion ($42.16 billion) compared to €31.6 billion ($40.9 billion) in the same period one year earlier.
"Saint-Gobain's trading performance in the third quarter confirms the general economic slowdown observed in Western Europe since May, as well as difficulties in the Group's main markets in Asia and emerging countries," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer. "In the U.S., exceptionally strong third-quarter 2011 comparatives (boosted by severe storms) significantly curtailed the positive impact of the ongoing improvement in residential construction in the quarter. Against this backdrop, we maintained our focus on sales prices with the aim of passing on the rise in raw material and energy costs over the year as a whole."
INDUSTRIAL SUPPLY MAGAZINE
The May/June issue of Industrial Supply magazine features an in-depth cover story about GHX Industrial. Plus, we're featuring articles by contributing writers Dr. Bharani Nagarathnam and Frank Hurtte, as well as interviews with numerous product and distribution industry experts.
