Saint-Gobain has booked sales for the first nine months of 2014 at EUR30.8bn, down 1.8% from EUR31.4bn in the same period one year earlier.
The currency impact was a negative 2.2%, due to the depreciation against the euro of Latin American and Scandinavian currencies as well as the US dollar – chiefly in the first half.
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Volumes rose 1.7% during the first nine months of the year but slipped by 0.5% in Q3, hit by construction markets in France and Germany, although there were positive trends in the UK as well as in US new-build and industrial markets.
“The Group’s organic growth in the third quarter reflects the contraction in certain economies in Western Europe, milder growth in Asia and emerging countries and a downturn in the roofing business in the US,” said Saint-Gobain chairman and CEO, Pierre-Andre de Chalendar.
“The positive trends in the UK and Scandinavia, and in US new-build and industrial markets, continued apace. The Group has stepped up measures to address this uncertain macroeconomic environment, including the planned 2015 cost cutting programme.
“For full-year 2014, the Group continues to target a clear improvement in its operating income expected between 5% and 10% based on comparable Group structure and exchange rates and excluding Verallia North America, as well as a high level of free cash flow.”
