Bathroom Newsletter. February 07. Topics

Transcription

1 Bathroom Newsletter February 07 International Market Strategy Topics Bulgaria Denmark Germany India Switzerland Turkey UK UK USA AMERICAN STANDARD Sells Bulgarian Sanitary Ware Operations BALLINGSLOV INTERNATIONAL AB Acquires Danish 3BO A/S A Two-Digit Growth Rate for DURAVIT CERA to Market Italian Designer Sanitary Ware GEBERIT Set for Strong FY Sales Growth Turkish ECZACIBASI YAPI to Close Kartal Plant in Restructuring Move EUROBATH Announces Record Year WOLSELEY PLC Acquisitions Update JACUZZI Brands Expects Softer First Quarter Monthly Special Bathroom Furniture Markets in Europe International strategic market research and consultancy on building product and related markets

2 Bulgaria: AMERICAN STANDARD Sells Bulgarian Sanitary Ware Operations AMERICAN STANDARD Companies, one of the biggest U.S. investors in Bulgaria, will sell its sanitary ware and bathroom fixtures production units IDEAL STANDARD BULGARIA and IDEAL STANDARD VIDIMA as part of its corporate restructuring, Dnevnik daily reported on February 5, 2007 citing a report from the company s head office. The news was confirmed by the Bulgarian office of AMERICAN STANDARD. The restructuring is part of the company s decision to split its business into three. AMERICAN STANDARD plans to focus on its air conditioning systems business, has set up a company for vehicle control systems and will sell its bathroom and kitchen fixtures division which has a turnover of $2.4 billion (1.857 billion euro). The restructuring should be completed by the autumn of The two Bulgarian units of AMERICAN STANDARD in Sevlievo, in the northern part of the country, will continue to operate at top capacity and fulfil their annual contracts till the deal's finalisation, the Bulgarian office said. AMERICAN STANDARD set foot in Bulgaria in 1996 having so far invested over $125 million (96.7 million euro) in the country. IDEAL STANDARD BULGARIA and IDEAL STANDARD VIDIMA employ over 3,600. The two Bulgarian units of the U.S. company registered a 20 per cent year-on-year rise in output in Source: Balkans Business Digest 2

3 Denmark: BALLINGSLOV INTERNATIONAL AB Acquires Danish 3BO A/S Swedish kitchen fixtures manufacturer BALLINGSLOV INTERNATIONAL AB said on 9th January that it had acquired Danish company 3BO A/S. 3BO, based in Hillerod in Denmark, manufactures sliding-door wardrobes and shower walls for the Scandinavian market. The company has 60 employees and achieved a turnover of approximately SEK150m in In addition to fitting well with BALLINGSLOV's existing business the acquired operations will also provide opportunities for synergy benefits within purchasing and sales. The purchase price was not disclosed, but BALLINGSLOV said that it comprises both a fixed amount and additional payments based on future performance. BALLINGSLOV INTERNATIONAL AB, headquartered in Ballingslov in Sweden, is one of the leading manufacturers of kitchen fixtures in Scandinavia and the United Kingdom. The company has production facilities in Sweden, Denmark and the UK and is expected to have a turnover of SEK2.5bn in BALLINGSLOV INTERNATIONAL AB is listed on the Nordic Exchange in Stockholm. One British pound (GBP) is worth approximately Swedish kronor (SEK). Source: Nordic Business Report Germany: A Two-Digit Growth Rate for DURAVIT For 2006, the management board of the German bathroom specialist estimated an increase in turnover of 23%, to reach an aggregated turnover of 216 million. DURAVIT continues to offer a full range of products (ceramics, furniture, hydrotherapy, baths, and now also lighting specially designed for bathrooms), with the emphasis on design. An example of this is the D-CODE collection by the Sieger brothers. Source: Négoce 3

4 India: CERA to Market Italian Designer Sanitary Ware Ahmedabad-based CERA Sanitary ware recently said that it had entered into a tie-up with Italian premium sanitary ware manufacturer, POZZI-GINORI, to market its range of designer products in India. The company would source the designer products from Italian company and would be responsible for selling and marketing the products across the country. "We would initially launch POZZI-GINORI's five products in India and plan to offer at least one new product every year," CERA Sanitary ware CEO Kothari said. The initial range of designer sanitary ware products would be available in a range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 1,00,000 with the company planning to introduce products as expensive as Rs 14 lakh within a couple of years, he said. Source: The Press Trust of India Ltd. Switzerland: GEBERIT Set for Strong FY Sales Growth GEBERIT AG, the Swiss sanitary installations manufacturer, is expected to once again report higher full-year sales, boosted by the impact of the recent good weather in Europe on the building sector, analysts said. Analysts' sales forecasts range between CHF billion, or billion on average, up from billion last year. GEBERIT has predicted full-year sales growth of around 10 per cent. Analysts will be looking for comments on the group's underperforming US business as well as the outlook for the remainder of the year. Zuercher Kantonalbank (ZKB) analyst Martin Huesler said he expects organic growth in its European main market to reach 12 per cent, while the much smaller US market should grow by around 5 per cent. Huesler said he expects the good weather during the fourth quarter to have had a positive impact on GEBERIT's sales, in line with other European construction companies. GEBERIT is also thought to have benefited from the increase in the German value added tax, which came into effect on Jan 1. Source: AFX International 4

5 Turkey: Turkish ECZACIBASI YAPI to Close Kartal Plant in Restructuring Move Turkish ceramic sanitary ware and fittings producers ECZACIBASI YAPI GERECLER said that it has decided to close its plant in Istanbul s Kartal district by the end of June 2007, in an effort to restructure operations. Kartal s production will be moved to the plants in Russia and Bozuyuk, western Turkey, the company said in a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange on January 15, ECZACIBASI YAPI's decision to close the plant is also a result of the fact that investments in the factory will be limited by Istanbul s new development plan, which envisages Kartal to be left out of the city s industrial zone. ECZACIBASI YAPI produces ceramic sanitary ware, faucets, bathroom cabins and accessories under the Vitra and Artema brands. ECZACIBASI YAPI is owned by ECZACIBASI HOLDING ( with operations in pharmaceuticals, building materials, consumer products, finance, information technology, electronic cards and welding technologies. Source: Turkish Business Digest UK: EUROBATH Announces Record Year EUROBATH announced 2006 as a record year with a growth rate of 37% from 2005 to 2006 in a market growing by an average of 2%, with turnover up from 8.1 million to 11.1 million. Turnover has more than doubled in 5 years, and due to large upfront investment during the last number of years in its infrastructure, people, product development and customer support. 'We are achieving increasing profits as the turnover grows more rapidly than our cost base. This aggressive investment remains in order to continue expanding, with similar growth rates expected for 2007 and Last year alone we invested in new IT systems, more technical resource, expanded our sales team, invested hugely in design and tooling for new products and experienced 4 record months', the company says. With the launch of the kitchen mixer catalogue La Cucina and the addition of 271 new products across both the EUROBATH portfolio and Il Bagno portfolio everything is in place for the success to continue in Source: THE KBZINE 5

6 UK: WOLSELEY PLC Acquisitions Update WOLSELEY PLC, the world's largest specialist trade distributor of plumbing and heating products to professional contractors and a leading supplier of building materials, announced four further acquisitions. In a full year, these acquisitions are expected to add approximately 116 million to total revenue. Since the beginning of the financial year on 1st August 2006, a total of twenty-nine bolt on acquisitions in Europe and North America have been completed for an aggregate consideration of approximately 328 million. These twenty nine acquisitions are expected to add approximately 560 million to Group revenue in a full year. Goodwill and intangible assets related to these acquisitions are estimated to be around 219 million. In addition, on 25th September 2006, WOLSELEY PLC completed the acquisition of DT Group (formerly known as DANSKE TRAELAST) for an estimated consideration of 1,353 million which brings aggregate acquisition spend for the year to 1,681 million. North America On 29th December 2006, CAL-STREAM SUPPLY, Inc. and affiliated corporations ('CAL STREAM') were acquired from Stuart D. Corvin, Dana A. Corvin and Adele K. Corvin. CAL STREAM is a distributor of plumbing products with ten locations, primarily in the San Francisco Bay area. This acquisition will add to WOLSELEY's established strength in the residential and commercial plumbing segment and will benefit from WOLSELEY's new Stockton, California, distribution centre due to be completed later this year. In the year ended 31st December 2005, CAL STREAM had revenue of $148.6 million ( 76.6 million) and gross assets of $21.9 million ( 11.3 million) at that date. On 18th December 2006, FERGUSON acquired the assets of GUNTERSVILLE FABRICATION AND SPRINKLER CO., Inc. and GUNTERSVILLE PIPE AND SUPPLY ('GUNTERSVILLE') from Tim Bice. GUNTERSVILLE is a distributor and fabricator of fire protection systems with three locations in the south-eastern region of the USA serving Ohio Valley, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. This acquisition supports WOLSELEY's strategy of expanding its presence in the distribution and fabrication of fire protection systems market. In the year ended 31st October 2006, GUNTERSVILLE had revenue of $31.5 million ( 16.2 million) and gross assets of $6.7 million ( 3.4million) at that date. Europe On 22nd December 2006, WOLSELEY UK acquired R J HOSKING BUILDING SUPPLIES LIMITED ('HOSKING') from Roger and Sandra Hosking. HOSKING operates from a single branch in Porthleven, Cornwall that offers a wide range of building materials with an emphasis on heavy side materials such as bricks, blocks, aggregates and timber which will complement WOLSELEY UK's existing businesses in the area. In the year ended 30th April 2006, HOSKING had revenue of 3.9 million and gross assets 1.0 million at that date. On 22nd December 2006, WASCO acquired KOPEX GROOTHANDEL IN SANITAIRE INSTALLATIE ARTIKELEN B.V., KOPEX APELDORN B.V., KOPEX TILBURG B.V. and VAN DEURSEN TECHNISCHE HANDELSONDERNEMING B.V. ('KOPEX') from Roverts Beheer B.V. KOPEX is a distributor of sanitary products operating from nine locations around Holland supplying professional 6

7 plumbers. This acquisition supports WASCO's strategy of expanding its product range and increasing its presence in the repairs, maintenance and improvement markets. In the year ended 31st December 2005, KOPEX had revenue of euro 29.0 million ( 19.6 million) and gross assets of euro10.5 million ( 7.1 million) at that date. Source: THE KBZINE USA: JACUZZI Brands Expects Softer First Quarter JACUZZI Brands Inc., which produces branded bath and plumbing products, recently said it expects to report weaker results for its fiscal first quarter, due mostly to soft demand for whirlpool baths and spas in the U.S. The company said it anticipates income from continuing operations of about 6 cents per share, compared with 16 cents per share for the same period last year. JACUZZI Brands expects to report revenue of about $272 million, compared with $267.1 million in the previous year. JACUZZI Brands said income from its bath segment fell by about 40 per cent, mostly due to weak demand for whirlpool baths and spas in the U.S. The company blamed the weak demand on slowdowns in both new residential housing sales and the replacement market, as well inventory reductions among its customers because of unfavourable market conditions. The company further noted that the first fiscal quarter is historically its softest quarter for sales. Source: AFX Asia ProFeed 7

8 Monthly Special: Bathroom Furniture Markets in Europe BRG Consult is currently updating 5 bathroom furniture reports with 2005 and 2006 market information. This research will include market volumes, market supply, production and distribution flows. The countries covered are France, Germany, Spain, UK and Russia. Report publication date: 28 February 2007 The base year for the study is The study will show broad trends where possible back to 1998, with forecasts to Segmentation is as follows: Base Units - by countertop material: o synthetic o ceramic o MDF o marble o glass o others - by base unit furniture (casing) material: o chipboard o MDF o solid wood o others - by type of basin: o washbasin only o countertop basin o monobloc-countertop Mirrors and Mirror Cabinets - by type of product o mirrors o mirror cabinets - for mirror cabinets, by type of material: o chipboard o MDF o solid wood/others Separate Cupboard Units - by positioning: o floor-standing o wall-hung - by material: o chipboard 8

9 o o MDF solid wood/others. For further information on the above or to receive a quote, please contact Marie Vermeulen ( ) mvermeulen@brgconsult.com 9