Improving demand helped Belgian profile manufacturer Deceuninck (Hooglede-Gits; www.deceuninck.com) to achieve a 9.3% year-on-year rise in sales to EUR 140m in the fourth quarter of 2010. Volumes in the period increased by 4.7% compared with Q4 2009 and exchange rates contributed a similar rise.

The company said that sales had fallen in western Europe but were particularly strong in Turkey and the US and that increases in central and eastern Europe were driven by strong demand in Germany and Russia. Full year 2010 sales were EUR 558m, a 10.1% increase over 2009, with volume increases accounting for 6.4% of the rise.

Sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 in western Europe were EUR 48.6m, a year-on-year fall of 6.7%. While demand in the fourth quarter continued to grow in Belgium and Italy and France remained stable, market conditions in the UK, Spain and Holland were weak. Full year 2010 sales decreased by 0.5% to EUR 207m. In central and eastern Europe (including Germany) fourth quarter sales increased by 6.5% year-on-year to EUR 43.4m, supported by a strong recovery in Russia and Germany. Full year sales in the region increased by 6.6% to EUR 172m. Growth in Germany was aided by the termination of economic stimulus packages at the end of 2010. Fourth quarter sales in Turkey increased by 37.6% year-on-year to EUR 28.8m thanks to increases in both domestic and export demand. At constant exchange rates sales grew by 17% because of the relatively strong Turkish lira compared with the euro. Full year sales increased by 34% to EUR 108m, a 21% rise at constant exchange rates. In the US, fourth quarter sales increased by 34.5% year-on-year to EUR 19.3m, up 17% at constant exchange rates, while full year 2010 sales increased by 25.6% to EUR 70.2m (15% at constant exchange rates).

Growth was supported by demand from the residential renovation segment, where the expiry of tax credit incentives at the end of the year stimulated demand. Looking forward, Deceuninck CEO Tom Debusschere said: “For 2011 sales we continue to be cautious. In Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom most of the economic stimulus packages have expired. It remains unclear if public budget cuts in other countries will impact the residential renovation market. Long term, energy-efficient construction and renovation will continue to grow as an engine of our industry. PVC windows remain the best value solution for energy savings.”