Advertisement
Australia markets closed
  • ALL ORDS

    8,153.70
    +80.10 (+0.99%)
     
  • AUD/USD

    0.6494
    -0.0042 (-0.64%)
     
  • ASX 200

    7,896.90
    +77.30 (+0.99%)
     
  • OIL

    81.93
    +0.58 (+0.71%)
     
  • GOLD

    2,220.50
    +7.80 (+0.35%)
     
  • Bitcoin AUD

    108,362.76
    +338.68 (+0.31%)
     
  • CMC Crypto 200

    885.54
    0.00 (0.00%)
     

Construction group St Gobain first-half profits fall but hopes for better second-half

The Saint-Gobain logo is seen on top of the company headquarters building at the La Defense business district in Courbevoie, outside Paris

PARIS (Reuters) - French construction materials group St Gobain <SGOB.PA> reported lower first-half profits on Thursday, although the company hoped for a better second-half performance, echoing comments from rivals LafargeHolcim <LHN.S> and HeidelbergCement <HEIG.DE>.

First-half operating profits fell 49.5% from last year to 827 million euros ($976 million). Sales slid 18.1% as the global construction industry has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has closed down building sites, but St Gobain said it had seen signs of a pick-up in June.

"In a macroeconomic and health environment which remains affected by uncertainties, our earnings growth in June and outlook for the third quarter suggest that our operating income for the second-half of 2020 will improve significantly on the first-half of 2020," said St Gobain chairman and CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Hugh Lawson)