The glass sector of French manufacturer Saint-Gobain achieved only moderate growth in the first half of 2003, according to the firm's interim report. While the group overall announced sales growth of 2% and a 0.6% rise in operating income, glass sector sales rose 1.6% but operating margin fell from 10.6% to 10.2%. This was mainly due to lower margins at the glass containers business, put down to soaring energy costs in the US, and in the insulation and reinforcements sectors caused by lower selling prices. Flat glass turned in the best operating income performance in Saint-Gobain as a whole as strong sales in emerging markets and to EU automotive manufacturers offset the continuing fall in demand from the EU construction industry. Saint-Gobain's business also includes high performance materials, reporting a 7.2% improvement in operations but only 1.1% sales.
