COURBEVOIE (dpa-AFX) - French building materials company Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA (CODGF.PK) said Thursday that its sales for the third quarter fell 3.3% to €10.37 billion from €10.73 billion in the same quarter last year, reflecting a negative Group structure impact of 3.0% and a milder negative currency impact of 0.3% thanks to the appreciation of the Group's main currencies against the euro over the past few months.
On a like-for-like basis, sales remained stable over the quarter. Third quarter volumes slipped 0.5%, hit by the downturn in construction markets in France and Germany, the decline in Exterior Solutions, and softer growth in Asia and emerging countries.
Sales for the first nine months of 2014 totaled €30.82 billion, down 1.8% from €31.38 billion in the same period last year. Like-for-like sales were up 2.7%.
Saint-Gobain has bought back about 3.8 million of its own shares at an average price of €35.35 over the past three months.
For full year 2014, Saint-Gobain continues to target a clear improvement in its operating income expected between 5% and 10% based on comparable structure and exchange rates and excluding Verallia North America.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX