Ceramics company Villeroy & Boch released its 2015 third quarter report on Tuesday, revealing a consolidated turnover of €578.4 million and a 3.5% increase from the previous year.

Operational earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were also found to have grown, by 5.5% to €21.1 million. The Villeroy & Boch Group reported that on the basis of stable exchange rates compared to the previous year, turnover was raised 2.6%, with net turnover in the German domestic market growing 3.2% to €166 million and business generated on the international scale up 3.6% compared with the previous year, rising from €398 million to €412.4 million.

The company also experienced a considerable increase in volumes of orders, with the Bathroom and Wellness Division largely accounting for the growth from €17.2 million to €68.6 million from 1 January to 30 September 2015. During this period, EBIT rose from €1.1 million to €21.1 million, due in large part to measures aimed at improving the efficiency of the production network and optimising the quality of the company's turnover.

In terms of the real estate project in Gustavsberg, Sweden, €1.0 million was produced before 30 September 2015 from the transferral of three terrains in the municipality of Värmdö, against €3.2 million in the previous year. Given this reduced figure, global EBIT decreased annually from €23.2 million to €22.1 million. The Group stated that it estimated total proceeds from the property transaction to be around €17 million, of which €12.8 million has already been produced.

Compared to the previous financial year, the Bathroom and Wellness raised its turnover from €14.0 millions, constituting 3.9%, to €370.1 million. The positive development of turnover was also realised through ceramic products, due to a strong demand observed in DirectFlush toilet bowls and ViClean showers, as well as the introduction of new series in the consumer segment.

Whilst the German domestic market experienced a sales increase of 5.2% from the beginning of the year, the greatest international increases in this sector were recorded in Great Britain, at 24.4% and the Gulf States, at 23.0%. The economic environment however saw a deterioration in sales in Francem falling 7.6%, and Italy, down 6.7%, with these markets now stabilised in the third trimester.

From January to September 2015, the Tableware Division raked in a turnover of €208.3 million, demonstrating a €5.6 million and 2.8% increase. Net business amount to €199.4 million, down slightly from the previous year. This was attributed to the currency impact of fluctuations in the US dollar, pounds sterling and the Swiss franc. The Tableware Division revenue remained relatively stable in Germany but experienced a growth in the international market, accounting for a 31.6% increase in Japan; 26.1% in Norway,; 18.8% in Canada; and 9.3% in Australia.

In the first nine months of 2015, the Villeroy & Boch Group reported investments of €16.3 million, compared with €30.2 million in the previous year. The vast majority, 73.0%, came back to the Bathroom and Wellness Division and was mainly devoted to modernisation measures as well as new facilities for ceramic sanitary factories in Mexico, Romania, Hungary and Thailand. In the Tableware Division, investments were largely related to retail stores. The high amount of investments made by the Group in the previous year was attributed to the construction of the company's logistics and assembly centre in Sweden.

"For the full year 2015, we are continuing to build on moderate economic growth," commented Frank Göring, President of the Management Board of Villeroy & Boch AG. "Indeed, we believe that the low economic deveopments observed in emerging countries such as China will be offset by the positive development registered in the US and a large part of the euro zone. Based on this, and given the large volume of orders we recorded, we continue to expect an increase in our consolidated revenues in the order of 3 to 5%. Regarding the operating result, we are always aiming for an improvement of more than 5%".

 

Photo by Villeroy & Boch