PARIS: Saint-Gobain has forecast a double-digit percentage rise in operating profit this year after profit rose 41% in 2010. The company said that it would increase capital expenditure by €500m this year and was targeting free cash flow of €1.3bn.
Operating income rose to €3.12bn last year from €2.22bn a year earlier, underpinned by cost savings, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Saint-Gobain has seen a sustained recovery in its main markets except in the United States where the construction sector is still struggling.
Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive, Saint-Gobain, said: "In 2010, in a global economy still recovering from the crisis, our sales volumes got back on an upward trend and our priority focus on sales prices paid off. We delivered a sharp upswing in our results, driven in particular by the significant cost savings achieved over the past few years."
