French tropical hardwood specialist Rougier says its third-quarter sales were maintained at an identical level to the previous three quarters.
The €30.4m sales were down 23.2% on a year ago, while sales for the year to date were €91.5m, down 28%.
Its main Africa and international trade division posted €71.5m year-to-date sales, while the third quarter showed sequential business growth, with revenues for the period up 3.5% compared with the preceding quarter.
The France import-distribution division recorded €26.6m sales for the first nine months.
Sawn timber sales were down by 42% during the first nine months, with the product now making up less of the company’s product mix than a year ago. There was an increasing proportion of log and plywood sales during the period, with plywood benefiting from FSC certification during the third quarter.
Two previously shut industrial and timber sites were due to open again at a measured Pace at the start of the fourth quarter.
“The commercial efforts made, combined with the reduction in inventories within the import-distribution chain, are paving the way for a gradual upturn in sales in 2010,” said Rougier.
