By William Horobin and Inti Landauro
PARIS--French construction materials group Compagnie de
Saint-Gobain SA (SGO.FR) on Wednesday said net profit jumped in
2014 thanks to profits made on the sale of assets.
The company said net profit rose to 953 million euros ($1.08
billion) from EUR595 million a year earlier, chiefly buoyed by the
sale of bottle and jar maker Verallia North America. Revenue
declined slightly to EUR41.05 billion, down from EUR41.76 billion a
year ago as the company faced a weak construction sector in its
home market.
A group of analysts polled by FactSet expected an average net
profit of EUR1.19 billion out of sales of EUR41.1 billion.
"2014 confirmed the improvement in the Group's results despite a
challenging macroeconomic climate in France and uncertainty in
Germany," chief executive Pierre-Andre de Chalendar said in a
statement.
Operating profit rose to EUR2.8 billion in 2014 from EUR2.75
billion in 2013.
Like construction companies and other suppliers to the industry,
Saint-Gobain is still struggling to recover from the hit it took
following the sovereign debt crisis in Europe which led to housing
slumps in many countries and cuts in government spending in public
works in many others.
Still, the company expects to improve its operating profit this
year on a like-for-like basis.
-Write to William Horobin and Inti Landauro at
william.horobin@wsj.com; inti.landauro@wsj.com
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