Wavin, Europe's biggest maker of plastic pipes for sewers, said first half profit fell 44 per cent as home
building and road construction in Europe slowed.
Net income slid to €24.1 million from €43.4 million euros in the year-earlier period, the Dutch-based company said in a statement today.
The company's CEO Philip Houben cut 300 jobs in the first half of the year, as new home sales in Ireland and the UK fell, eroding demand for plastic pipes. In March, Wavin announced it was to cut a quarter of its Irish workforce in Balbriggan in north Dublin because of the decline in the construction sector.
Wavin is relying on growth in central and eastern European countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, where sales increased 8.9 per cent, the company said.
Wavin fell as much as 31 cents, or 5.6 per cent, to €5.26 in Amsterdam this morning. The stock traded at €5.30 as of 9:49am extending this year's decline to 42 per cent. That compares with a 46 per cent drop for its main rival, Finland's Uponor Oyj.
Wavin first sold shares publicly in October 2006 for €11 apiece.
"The construction markets in Europe have weakened significantly in the first half of 2008," Mr Houben said in a statement.
"The impact of the credit crunch on building activities is apparent throughout Europe and is affecting us severely in the UK and Ireland," he added.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg