GERMANY – Although Pfleiderer has managed to maintain its market position amidst a continuous difficult environment, the group reported consolidated sales in 2013 of  € 928.3 million, a 2.7% drop against the previous year’s value of € 954.1 million.

In the Core West business unit (Western Europe region), despite market conditions, Pfleiderer benefited from its reorganized branding as well as from its competitive production facilities. The Core East business unit (Eastern Europe region) was able to exceed its expectations in a stable sector environment.

The operative result before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) rose in the business year 2013 by 17% to Euro 104.4 million. This meant an improvement in the EBITDA margin from 9.4% to 11.2% of sales. This is primarily due to the different measures to increase efficiency and to cost savings achieved thanks to a leaner organization.

In 2013, Pfleiderer invested euro 59.2 million in modernizing its eight plants in Europe. A highlight during the past year was the all-round renewed particleboard plant II in Neumarkt, which with a single investment of more than euro 25 million is the largest and most efficient plant in the Pfleiderer Group.