Increased sales revenues from steel fibres in tunnel projects helped improve results in the Bekaert’s advanced wire products division in 2006 over the previous year, the Belgium-based company told T&TI.
Like the rest of the building products unit in the division, the steel fibres sales benefited from the mild winter in many areas, particularly Europe and Asia, said a spokeswoman. The materials’ use in shotcrete in tunnelling projects also saw improvement, she added.
Sales volumes of steel fibres were also higher in the financial year, which would indicate that no squeeze on margins was experienced by the international operation. However, Bekaert declined to comment on the point and neither were figures disclosed at the revenue or earnings levels.
The building products unit – of which steel fibres is a “good”, though unquantified, part – saw revenues rise 11% in the year over last time.
At divisional level, consolidated sales of advanced wire products improved 5% to US$2.29bn. The company as a whole posted sales up 5% to US$2.67bn.
