Hagebau Group: Sales up

Soltau-based Hagebau estimates that the group increased its centrally invoiced sales by 3.4 per cent to € 3.931 bn in 2008. Revenue in Germany rose 3.6 per cent to a total of € 3.660 bn. Centrally invoiced sales in the building materials, timber and tiling trade rose by 3.9 per cent to € 2.246 bn. The engine of growth here was the builders’ merchant trade with an increase of 5.5 per cent. The tiling trade was almost able to maintain the previous year’s level (-0.4 per cent). Centrally invoiced sales in the timber sector went down slightly by 1.2 per cent, which Hagebau attributes mainly to the decline in prices for sawn or planed timber, and for wood-derived products. On the DIY side, the 294 Hagebaumarkt stores succeeded in increasing their sales by 3.9 per cent.