Eurobaustoff feels the effects of the construction crisis and remains below the previous year until May

The decline in sales at Eurobaustoff has continued in the current year, but has slowed considerably. From January up to and including May 2024, the centrally invoiced purchasing volume fell by more than 4 per cent compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the decline last year was double-digit: the purchasing volume in 2023 fell by 15.41 per cent to EUR 7.687 bn compared to the record year of 2022. The retail sector accounts for 9.33 per cent of centrally invoiced sales. As of today, Eurobaustoff's central turnover is 3.6 per cent below the previous year's figure.

These figures were announced at the shareholders' meeting of the co-operation in Vienna today. The representatives of the current 446 shareholder companies - which operate a total of 1716 locations - came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Eurobaustoff, which was formed in 2004 from the merger of Interbaustoff and Interpares Mobau. The co-operation has been represented in Austria for five years.

All of the morning's speakers pointed out the crisis in the construction sector. For example, construction industry turnover in residential construction in Germany fell by 11 per cent in real terms in 2023, while approval figures for the first quarter of 2024 were 22.2 per cent below the previous year's level. The trend in Austria is similar. Here, turnover in the building materials trade fell by 19.9 per cent to EUR 3.236 billion.

"Now we have the crisis of confidence in the banks for construction, now we have the demand crisis in private construction," said Boy Meesenburg, Chairman of the Eurobaustoff Supervisory Board, summarising the mood. In this situation, however, Eurobaustoff has "proven to be robust", emphasised CFO Jörg Hoffmann.