SGO Cie de SaintGobain

   By Euan Conley 
 

French construction-materials producer Saint-Gobain SA (SGO.FR) on Thursday posted a 5.6% increase in third-quarter sales, bolstered by growth in all of its divisions, and backed guidance for the year.

Sales for the three months ended Sept. 30 were 10.16 billion euros ($11.89 billion), up from EUR9.76 billion in the same period last year, with the company's flat glass and high-performance materials divisions both performing well.

Like-for-like sales in France were EUR2.48 billion, up 3.4%, which the company attributed to good momentum in new-builds and improvement in renovation activity. Sales were also up in Asia and emerging markets, with 11% growth in sales over the quarter.

Saint-Gobain confirmed it was on track to meet its full-year objective of a like-for-like increase in operating income. It also expects the like-for-like increase in the second half to exceed the first half of the year, despite continuing inflationary pressure on costs.

"We continued to see a good price effect against a tougher basis for comparison, but not yet sufficient in all of the Group's businesses given the more inflationary raw material and energy cost environment," said Pierre-Andre de Chalendar, Saint-Gobain's chairman and chief executive.

The Paris-based company has expanded its reach in recent months, with takeovers of Argentinian waterproofing systems maker Megaflex and Norwegian insulation manufacturer Glava in October this year.

Write to Euan Conley at euan.conley@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 26, 2017 12:28 ET (16:28 GMT)

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