Sales collapse

In the first six months of 2003 the building materials group Lafarge saw sales drop by 11.9 per cent to € 6.350 bn compared with the same period last year. The decline affected all divisions. Sales of cement were down by 14.6 per cent, aggregates and concrete by 10.7 per cent, roofing by 6.0 per cent and gypsum by 1.7 per cent. A slight underlying sales increase of 0.8 per cent resulted for all divisions excluding roofing after adjustment for currency fluctuations and on a like-for-like basis.