Sizeable losses

Placemakers, the New Zealand builders’ merchants and DIY retailers, concluded their financial year in June 2009 with sales down by 18 per cent to NZ $ 883 mio. The group’s EBIT went down by 59 per cent on the previous year to NZ $ 30 mio. According to a statement from its parent company Fletcher Building, it was above all the weak level of new building activity in New Zealand that had a negative effect on sales. However, he also said that Placemakers had managed to retain its market share.