Annual Report 2014

Activity report
Cladding & building boards
2.1
Cladding &
building boards
By far Etex’s biggest
business segment,
cladding and building
boards made of fibre
cement and gypsum
managed to put up an
overall moderate to fairly
positive performance in
2014 — posting varying
results around the globe.
Not only is Etex a world-leading provider
of building boards for both internal and
external building applications, we also offer
a wide range of decorative fibre cement
cladding boards.
In Europe, Etex is among the top players in
the cladding sector, for large panels as well
as sidings. Outside Europe, we are pursuing
further growth in various fibre cement
markets of Latin America, Africa and Asia
Pacific.
A leader in
fibre cement
Fibre cement in Europe:
challenging but overall
rewarding
From size to look and feel: historical
habits account for market-specific product
requirements across Europe. We constantly
renew our broad portfolio to meet our
customers’ demands. Especially in terms
of architectural design and sustainable
construction.
Our priorities in Europe
These local differences aside, building
methods do not vary greatly from one
European country to another. The economic
situation in our business territories, on the
other hand, influences our cladding and
building boards business to a larger extent.
Our fibre cement cladding activities
continue to grow globally, posting mixed
results depending on the business territory.
Our main priority is to boost further
growth in this segment. In terms of volume
and financial results, we expect both our
turnover and bottom line to increase
throughout 2015
Highlights of our European markets
In Belgium, our cladding activities
achieved strong operational results.
Cedral Click, our fibre cement
product with a tongue-and-groove
interlocking, and our architectural
façade brand Equitone continue
growing.
Also in France, our sidings business
grew substantially. Our Cedral range
was off to a very good start.
Although Spain’s gross domestic
product (GDP) returned to positive
growth, its cladding sector still posted
lower sales than in 2013.
We see a different picture in Poland,
where our cladding business is
performing well. This is especially true
for Equitone, which posted impressive
growth figures in all of Europe. As for
Cedral, just like in Ireland, Spain and
Norway and Sweden, we have set
up a separate sales organisation in
Poland. This investment is expected to
produce further favourable results.
In Lithuania and the other Baltic states,
our growth in this unique market
is mainly driven by renovation. As
the European Union is subsidising
the reconversion of old buildings,
this offers quite some growth
opportunities for our fibre cement
cladding.
Our business in Russia enters a crucial
year, after five difficult years. We have
put a bigger sales team in place, which
resulted in increased sales figures and
excellent promotions. However, we
remain vigilant with respect to the
country’s economical and political
uncertainty. Russia remains a good
market for Cedral. Our upper-range
product is an excellent alternative for
pvc, metal or wood.
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