17% increase in EBITDA for Clay Building Materials Europe Division
In 2016, the Clay Building Materials Europe Division generated revenues of € 1,681.2 million, up by 2% from the previous year. In a moderately growing European residential construction market with diverging regional trends, Wienerberger was able to increase its sales volumes at slightly increased average prices. The level of activity in Western Europe was satisfactory. The strong performance of the Eastern Europe region was supported by government funding for housing construction in several markets. The Division's operating result steeply increased to € 290.7 million, up by 17% from the previous year's level. Besides the excellent development of business, this was due to improved costs of goods sold, lower energy prices as well as the high share of innovative products and the growing popularity of bricks as a building material. Future-oriented products, such as bricks filled with mineral wool, accounted for approx. 25% of the Division's revenues.
Pipes & Pavers Europe: Drop in revenues and earnings
The Pipes & Pavers Europe Division experienced a decline in revenues by 5% to € 988.2 million in 2016. EBITDA dropped by 9% to € 98.5 million over the same period. In the plastic pipe business, solid growth in the Nordic core markets and in Austria was not able to offset the shortfall of demand in international project business. Moreover, business in all product groups - plastic pipes, ceramic pipes and concrete pavers - was characterized by extreme reticence of the public sector to invest in infrastructure projects in Eastern Europe, which in turn depressed the development of business in the Division.
Adjusted for one-off effects, earnings of North America Division increased by 5%
The North America Division reported satisfactory results of both the US brick business and the activities in Canada. Housing construction in the USA was positive, and Wienerberger benefited from the growing number of new housing starts in the single- and two-family home segment. In Canada, too, demand increased in the relevant markets. The North American plastic pipe business was exposed to intensive competition in the year under review, which put prices under pressure and had a negative impact on earnings in this segment. Overall, revenues increased by 5% to € 292.7 million, while EBITDA remained stable at € 32.7 million. Adjusted for contributions from real estate sales and the disposal of two production sites for concrete products, as well as optimization costs and foreign exchange effects, the North America Division recorded a 5% organic increase in earnings.
Wienerberger AG published this content on 22 February 2017 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 22 February 2017 06:39:04 UTC.
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Wienerberger AG is one of Europe's largest building materials producers. Net sales break down by family of products as follows:
- walls, ceilings and roofing (54%): perforated bricks, facing bricks, tiles (clay, concrete or chimney tiles). Wienerberger AG is the world's leading producer of bricks;
- pipes (27%): pipes for water conveyance and sewers and concrete floor tiles.
The remaining sales (19%) relate to activity in North America.
At the end of 2022, the group operated 216 industrial sites worldwide.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Germany (6%), the United Kingdom (8.2%), the Netherlands (8%), Austria (5.8%), Poland (5.5%), France (5%), Europe (30.5%), the United States (17.4%) and other (13.6%).
WIENERBERGER AG 
