Business News

May 6, 2009, 7:52 GMT

Brickmaker Wienerberger goes into the red in the first quarter

Vienna - Wienerberger AG, one of the world's leading brickmakers, on Wednesday reported it had gone into the red in the first quarter with a net loss of 61 million euros (82 million dollars), as demand plummeted particularly in Central Eastern Europe. The Austrian company had made a net profit of 30 million euros in the first three months of 2008. The recent shutdown of nine plants and the associated restructuring costs led to quarterly operating losses of 29 million euros, compared with positive earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 43 million euros in the same period of last year. Sales dropped by 37 per cent to 360 million euros, owing to bad weather conditions and weaker markets. In Central and Eastern Europe, where currency devaluations added to the negative effects, revenue plummeted by 54 per cent to 93 million euros. Wienerberger said it expects volumes to continue declining less sharply in the economically more stable Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, than in Hungary, Romania and Russia. While the situation in Western Europe is also expected to deteriorate further, Wienerberger's management is slightly optimistic about North American markets. Chief operating officer Johann Windisch said that 'stabilization may be possible after this summer since we already saw an extremely low level of residential construction during the second half of 2008.' The brickmaker has closed 27 plants in 2008 and has started shutting down 20 more this year.

And Also

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups

Look Back at the Worst Celebrity Breakups - PopEater
GASP: Goldstriker creates world's most expensive iPhone - The Tech Herald
Sneak Peak: Smallville - Absolute Justice - Cinema Blend
Guide to Avoiding Red Carpet Faux Pas - PopEater
A&E series 'Hoarders' and 'Intervention' premiere Monday, Nov. 30th, preview

Your Talkback on this Story

Similar articles

Austrian steelmaker voestalpine back in profit in past quarter
Brickmaker Wienerberger's quarterly profit shrinks by 83 per cent
Builder Strabag boosts profits by 29 per cent in second quarter
Austria's biggest steel maker phases out short working hours
Steelmaker voestalpine makes quarterly loss as demand stays weak

Latest Headlines in Business

Older Talkback

Business: Index

: News; Features; Currency Conversion

Latest Pics

From Sites we Like

Pictures of the ugly ass bonobo born at the Jacksonville Zoo [Florida]
The choice is to save your wife or your son. This man had to make that choice. What would you do? [Sad]
While news organizations were trying to figure out how two people slipped past the Secret Service to crash a state dinner, CNN was scooping them all on the real story of the day: Menugate [Fail]

More Not News from Fark

In Monsters and Critics

: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Lifestyle; Movies; Music; News; People; Science & Nature; Sport; TV; Archives
Other Languages and Sites: Deutschland (Monsters and Critics); The Tech Herald; Free Games

Entertainment: Arts; Books; DVD; Gaming; Movies; Music; People; Soundtracks; TV
Media: Celebrity Photos; Movie Pictures; Movie Trailers; Movie Posters; Theatre Stills; Celebrity Video; Music Video
Released this week: Movies - USA; Movies - UK; DVD - USA
Distractions: Online Games; Daily Crossword; Sudoku Classic; Daily Jigsaw

World News: US; UK; Americas; Europe; Middle East; Asia Pacific; South Asia; Africa; Business; Education; Health
Science and Tech: Science and Nature; Technology
Lifestyle: Autos; Fashion; Life; Travel

Corporate

: About; Advertise; Contact; The Team; Vacancies; Privacy; RSS; Site Map; Terms; Webmasters

The Fine Print

© 2003 - 2009 by Monsters and Critics.com, WotR Ltd. All Rights Reserved. All photos are copyright their respective owners and are used under license or with permission. * Note M&C cannot be held responsible for the content on other Web Sites.

Servers supplied by Servint