Flooring and panels group Egger saw profits climb on flat sales in what the group described as. ‘satisfactory’ year.
EBITDA jumped by 9.7% to €541.3m from almost static sales of €4.12bn (-0.1%).
The Decorative Products division (products for furniture and interior design) saw sales edge up 0.5% to €3.64bn in the year to the end of April.
‘Although we would like to see a more ambitious development, we can be really satisfied given the economic environment. Stability in such volatile times is a significant achievement. Our global team proves once again that Egger is not only crisis-proof, but even uses crises as an opportunity,’ says Thomas Leissing, Egger Group cfo.
‘Our business is closely linked to the construction sector in the respective countries. We have seen a particularly weak development in our core markets in Western and Central Europe. The weak construction industry is negatively impacting the demand for our products, particularly in the building products segment, but also downstream for our decorative products. Naturally, this weak demand resulted in strong price and volume competition. However, we were able to hold our own very well overall in this environment,’ says Michael Egger Jr, Egger Group chief sales officer.
Investment fell from €568.6m to €435m during the year. The largest project being implemented is the expansion of the plant in Markt Bibart, Germany, which was bought in 2023. The group is investing more than €200m in the plant in sustainability, upgrading and automation by 2026: the first expansion stage is described as ‘well advanced’ and in a few weeks the new recycled wood processing facility for chipboard production will begin operations.
The implementation of the climate strategy with the commitment to Net Zero by 2050 also continues to characterise investment activity. ‘71% of the energy we use already comes from renewable sources. The construction of our second power plant in St Johann in Tirol, through which we will generate even more renewable energy from biogenic fuels, is progressing well. Thanks to a new thermal oil boiler, our plant in Caorso, Italy works without natural gas during normal operation. We were also able to start operating three new Timberpak recycling collection sites during the financial year and expand our processing capacities in our plants,’ says Hannes Mitterweissacher, Egger cto.
Some 66% of the wood that Egger uses in its wood-based materials comes from recycling or by-products from the sawmill industry.
The group says it is cautious over the prospects of the coming year, citing subdued demand in the construction sector and challenging geopolitical conditions. ‘We are ideally positioned for a market recovery. With our state-of-the-art industrial basis, we have created major production advantages that we will utilise accordingly. Our clear goal for the current financial year is to maximise our capacity utilisation. Together with our international team of around 12,000 employees and our many satisfied customers worldwide, we want to continue to grow sustainably,’ says the company.
