Braas Monier: 4% revenue growth in the first six months of 2014

Braas Monier has managed to outperform in a number of countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, Malaysia, Sweden, Poland or Austria. Revenues in the first half of 2014 rose by 3.9% to € 565.3 mill. (H1 2013: € 544.3 mill.). The weakening of some currencies against the Euro negatively impacted revenues by € 11.2 mill. (2.1%). This increase was mostly driven by increased volumes in roofing tiles (+3.8%). Slightly positive average selling prices backed this positive volume growth.

Central, Northern and Eastern Europe showed the strongest revenue growth of all roofing segments within the Group, in particular in Germany and Poland. Also Western Europe, where the UK performed very strongly, recorded high growth rates, closely followed by Asia and Africa (in local currency). In a challenging environment, most of all in Italy, revenues declined in Southern Europe.

For the second half of the year, the management anticipates strong growth to continue in the UK and Poland. The German market is still foreseen to grow in 2014 with a low single-digit percentage figure. The French market is expected to decline in the second half of the year and the management has assumed that Italy will also stay difficult. For Malaysia and China, management assumes a flat development, while India and Indonesia should experience higher growth rates. For South Africa, the current growth path is expected to continue.

The components business is expected to further profit from its strong position in the market and from the rising demand for energy-efficient building envelopes. The revenue outlook for Chimneys and Energy Systems is positive for the second half of 2014.

Outlook

For the full year 2014, Braas Monier is assuming slight revenue growth for the Group close to the growth rate reached in the first six months.

Looking beyond 2014, in principle management is very positive with regard to the residential market development in continental Europe, Asia and South Africa. However, political issues might negatively influence future developments. The same is true for European or national governmental policies, such as the current political debate in Germany on limiting rental price increases. On a positive note, governmental policies, such as the “help-to-buy loan scheme” in the UK clearly had a positive impact on the market and similar programmes are also being contemplated in France.