NEWS Sales up, profits down at Aliaxis


Belgian pipe manufacturer Aliaxis reported increased sales in 2022 – though a reduction in net profit. The company posted a turnover of €4.3 billion (US$4.6bn) in 2022, an increase of 11% compared to the previous year. However, net profit in 2022 fell by around 7% to reach €371 million (US$398m). After adjustment for non-recurring items, it said this would be a 3% increase. “In 2022, we matched the great performance of 2021 – despite significant inflation,” said Eric Olsen, CEO of Aliaxis. Sales in the Americas rose by


India to boost UAE exports


Plexconcil, India’s plastics export council, has signed a deal to boost trade with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the rest of the Middle East. It said that exports of


plastic products from India to UAE reached US$626 million in 2021-2022. This is about 7% of UAE’s total plastic imports of US$9 billion. “The Middle East – es- pecially UAE – is an important export destina- tion for Indian plastics,” said Hemant Minocha, chairman of Plexconcil. “India has the potential to increase exports to around US$5bn.” Products with potential


for export to UAE include film and sheet, consumer and houseware products, and medical items. � www.plexconcil.org


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nearly 13%. In North America, this was due mainly to a “robust housing market, together with infrastructure and irrigation investment”. Here, the first half of the year was strong, but the second half slower – due to high inflation, increased interest rates and a tight labour market. In the EMEA region, sales rose 5% driven by a strong start to the year – though the war in Ukraine, higher energy prices and inflation caused sales to slow later in the year. In Asia, sales rose nearly 18%, but a


strong start was undermined by volatile material pricing, which affected


margins. There was also reduced demand – especially in agriculture. The Pacific region saw strong


growth – with revenue up 11% – driven by the Australian building and infrastructure segments and New Zealand building segment. During the period, Aliaxis made a number of acquisitions, including US fittings producer Harco, and Italian pressure pipe manufacturer Lareter. The company expects “moderate


market headwinds” this year, in North America and Europe but “positive growth for the year overall”. � www.aliaxis.com


New products and cost savings help Polypipe raise 2022 sales


UK-based Genuit Group – which trades as Polypipe – raised sales by nearly 5% last year. Sales grew to just over £622 million (US$756m), while ‘underlying’ pre-tax profits were flat at around £91m (US$111m). Sales in the residential systems market – which comes mainly from the UK – rose by nearly 6% to £394m (US$479m). Underlying profit in the division rose by 8%, exceeding £79m (US96m). Growth here was helped by new product develop- ments and cost savings, said the company. Results in the commercial


and infrastructure sector were more modest: revenue increased by almost 3% to £227m (US$276m) while underlying profit fell by 14% to £19m (US$23m). Reasons for these results included a tougher operating environ-


Polypipe said growth was helped by new product developments and cost savings


ment and a cyber attack in Q2 – which caused tempo- rary disruption to manufac- turing and sales in April and May 2022.


While the company has invested in multi-layer extrusion technology to help it boost the use of recycled materials, its use of recyclate fell slightly in 2022, to nearly 49% of total material use. However, it


said the investment will help it meet its target of 62% recyclate use by 2025. “While short-term market instability will likely remain through 2023, our self-help measures and investment for growth should help us deliver our financial and strategic commitments,” said Joe Vorih, CEO of Genuit. � www.polypipe.com


March/April 2023 | PIPE & PROFILE EXTRUSION 5


IMAGE: POLYPIPE


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