Saint-Gobain Lowers Expectations After Weak Third Quarter
October 28 2015 - 2:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French construction materials group Compagnie de
Saint-Gobain SA on Wednesday lowered its profitability target after
a weak third quarter when the macroeconomic environment was tougher
than expected.
The company said it now expects to maintain its operating profit
on a like-for-like basis in 2015 and that it will be at least the
level of last year, while three months ago it expected an
increase.
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.
"The third quarter reflects a disappointing economic climate
versus our expectations, with a contraction in France - which is
not yet showing any signs of improvement - as well as moderate
growth in other Western European countries," the company's Chief
Executive Pierre-André de Chalendar said in a statement.
Business in Brazil will slow down, while it will grow slightly
in other emerging markets, the French company said.
Third-quarter sales fell to 9.97 billion euros ($11.07 billion),
down from 10.37 billion euros in the same period last year, though
when excluding the effects of currency swings and asset sales and
acquisitions as well as changes in accounting, sales rose 2.2%,
Saint-Gobain said.
According to FactSet, analysts expected average sales of 10.08
billion euros.
The company doesn't disclose profitability data for the third
quarter.
-- Write to Inti Landauro at Inti.Landauro@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2015 14:20 ET (18:20 GMT)
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