Posted July 29, 2010
Saint-Gobain sales up 3.9 percent
Saint-Gobain reported 3.9% organic sales growth for the first quarter and a 4.3% uptick for the first half of the year.
Net income rose to 501 million euros ($655 million) from 128 million euros a year earlier. Revenue in the second quarter rose 8.6 percent to 10.8 billion euros, the company said.
Growth was driven overall by emerging countries and Asia, along with businesses related to industrial output. Most of the Group's businesses linked to construction markets in Europe and North America also reported a relative improvement in trading over the second quarter, in terms of both volumes and sales prices, partly due to a favorable basis for comparison.
North America posted organic growth of 11.4% over first-half 2010 (16.3% in the second quarter), bolstered by a sharp rally in businesses linked to industrial output and a robust performance from all other businesses except Interior Solutions, which suffered from continuing weakness in construction markets.
