Sales up for Saint-Gobain in first three quarters of 2006

Sales reached $39.3 billion in the first nine months of the year for French glass giant Saint-Gobain Group, company officials announced in an Oct. 24 investor conference call.

This marks a 20.1 percent increase over the same period last year, taking into account contribution from acquisitions and the net of disposals. The increase in sales for 2006 on a like-for-like basis reached 6.3 percent over 2005, according to the report.

Sales in the first three quarters of the year for the flat glass sector reached $4.7 billion, up from $4.4 billion during the period in 2005.

By geographic area, emerging countries and the Asia-Pacific region saw the largest growth at 11.9 percent, based on comparable structure and exchange rates. Sales for the first nine months of 2006 in the region reached $5.5 billion, up from $4.0 billion during the same period in 2005.

Western European countries, not including France, captured the most sales, at $17.3 billion, up 5.8 percent on a like-for-like basis from $14.0 billion in the same period of 2005. France saw $11.8 billion in sales for the period, and North America saw $6.7 billion.

Company officials said during the press conference that growth in the European markets helped balance the impact of the slowdown in U.S. housing starts.