Imerys, growth during first semester

Aug 29, 2007

29/08/07 - The Imerys group, one of the main industrial mineral producers, closed the first semester of 2007 with turnover rising 2.3% to 1,704.9 million euro.

The influential factors during the first six months include the fluctuations of the American dollar with the Euro, of the Brazilian Real and the Japanese Yen and the rise in energy costs, compensated for by the positive progress in emerging countries and important acquisitions and discharges carried out by various divisions of the group.
Particularly, "Ceramics, refractories, abrasives & filtration" totalled a turnover of 641 million euro, rising by 3% compared to the same period of last year and equalling 37% of the group's total activity.

The progress of raw materials for the ceramic industry has remained steady in Europe, while seeing a decrease in the United States due to the difficult economic situation.
The extraction plant in Cornwall (England) has become operative.
Activity in Asia and the Middle East should see progress in the next months thanks to the acquisition of Jumbo Mining, an Indian producer of high quality feldspars with two extraction sites in the south-east of India. The acquisition was completed at the end of June.