Austrian group Wienerberger, one of the world''s top producers of bricks and the second largest operator on the European roof market, has seen its sales climb 80% in the first half of this year, compared with the same period last year, company representatives say.
"This growth in sales is primarily due to new residential constructions, which rose significantly in the first half," the company officials explained.
New constructions are the most dynamic sector on the constructions market, estimated at a yearly 5 billion euros, and over recent years have attracted a number of investment projects from foreign companies.
Although new construction in Romania still only represents a small proportion of overall construction works, the growth rate is the highest.
Wienerberger entered the Romanian market in 1998 and has so far invested some 38 million euros. The Austrian group last year announced they would raise their stake on the Romanian market with investment plans worth a total of 100 million euros by 2009 in brick, tile and pavement factories.
Wienerberger owns two brick stores in Romania - one in Sibiu and one in Gura Ocnitei (Dambovita) - in which it has invested over 27 million euros. By opening the plant at Gura Ocnitei, Wienerberger Sisteme de Caramizi became the largest producer of ceramic blocks in Romania. By the end of the year, the plant will reach a maximum capacity of 140 million normal formats.
The domestic branch of the Austrian company last year doubled its turnover to 51 million RON (14.4 million euros), from 26.2 million RON (7.4 million euros) the previous year.
Wienerberger International raised the share capital of Wienerberger Sisteme de Caramizi by 3 million euros. In the wake of the raise, the capital of Wienerberger Sisteme de Caramizi reached 33.4 million RON (9.4 million euros), divided into approximately 334,000 shares with a value of 100 RON. catalin.lupoaie@zf.ro
