NEWS Aliaxis declines in first half of year


Aliaxis, the Belgium-based manufacturer of pipes and fittings, claimed a “resilient” performance in the first half of the year. The company reported


Vanlancker: “We delivered good operating profit, despite softer market conditions”


sales of €2billion (US$2.6bn) for the period, a decrease of around 5% against H1 2023. At the same time, net profit fell to around €123m (US$136m), down 44%. “We continue to deliver good operating profitability, despite softer market


conditions,” said Thierry Vanlancker, CEO of Aliaxis. In the Americas, revenue fell by 5% and profitability was down by nearly 12%. Profit in North America was affected by fixed cost investments, especially a new ERP system. Latin America saw increased volumes but lower prices. Revenue in EMEA fell by nearly 8%, and profits fell by around 24% because of fixed cost increases due to


Polypipe sales and profits fall


UK-based Genuit, which owns Polypipe, reported a fall in both sales and profits in the first half of the year. Sales fell to around £272 million (US$356m), a near-11% fall compared to H1 2023. This led to a pre-tax profit of around £15m (US$20m) – around half that of the same period in 2023. The company said the decline was due to lower volumes in a “subdued market”.


“We demonstrated continued operating margin improvement in the first half of the year,” said Joe Vorih, CEO of Genuit. “As we look to the second half, we anticipate market conditions to remain, offset by contin- ued operational and strategic progress.” Revenues fell in both the sustainable building and water management divisions, by 13% and 11%, respec- tively. In climate manage- ment, sales fell by 7%.


The company closed two


UK manufacturing facilities – in Rochdale and Moreton – in the first half of 2024 and will now serve local custom- ers from alternative facilities. Despite the closures, it said there had been no reduction in manufacturing capacity. In H1 this year, recycled


materials accounted for over 51% of all the com- pany’s material use, up from 48% in H1 2023. It plans to raise this to 62% by 2025. � www.polypipe.com


Deceuninck posts higher profits


Belgian profiles maker Deceuninck reported higher profit (EBITDA) in the first half of 2024.


Adjusted EBITDA grew


nearly 10% to exceed €65 million (US$72m) for the period – which the company said was mainly due to a strong performance in Turkey. The result came despite a near-9% decline in sales


www.pipeandprofile.com


volume – mostly in Europe. This led to sales declining by just over 1% in the period, to around €421m (US$465m). Sales in Europe fell by 11% in value, and those in North America by nearly 3% – while those in Turkey and emerging markets rose by nearly 17%.


“Given the general slowdown of the construc-


tion market, we have mixed results over H1,” said Francis Van Eeckhout, executive chairman of Deceuninck. “Market sentiment in Europe remained low leading to a decrease in activity mainly in Western Europe.” The company expects slow activity to continue, so will continue to focus on cost reduction. � www.deceuninck.com


inflation. In Asia, sales crept up by nearly 2% while profitability rose by around 16%. Aliaxis expects market conditions to remain challenging in the second half of the year. In August 2024, it


acquired Johnson Controls’ CPVC pipes and fittings division. The business gener- ates an annual revenue of around US$100m and employs over 100 people. � www.aliaxis.com


Eurocell reports dip in H1 sales


UK-based window profiles manufacturer Eurocell has reported reduced sales but higher profits for the first half of this year. First-half sales of £176 million (US$230m) were down 5% compared to the same period last year. Pre-tax profit for the period was £7.6m (US$10m), more than double that of the same period in 2023. “Trading conditions continue to be tough in 2024,” said Darren Waters, CEO of Eurocell. “Custom- ers remain cautious, resulting in lower invest- ment in home improve- ments and subdued activity in residential construction.” Profile sales fell 95 and volumes by 3%. An overall equipment efficiency of 71% was below the firm’s 75% target. � www.eurocell.co.uk


Autumn 2024 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 5


IMAGE: ALIAXIS


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