German-made glass is still in demand

The outlook for the glass industry is stable and the six-month figures show that the constant growth in the first quarter remained undiminished in the second quarter. Foreign sales are still the growth driver, whereas domestic sales have declined slightly.

The glass industry’s total revenue in Germany rose by 2.3 percent to around EUR 4.85 bn (2016: EUR 4.74 bn). Although domestic revenue declined slightly by 0.8 percent, strong growth in foreign revenue of 6.6 percent was recorded. The number of employees in the glass industry increased by 0.5 percent to approximately 53,300.

Segment results
The results in almost all segments for the period January to June 2017 have improved compared to the same period last year. The only exception is the flat glass manufacturing segment, where revenue declined by 2.1 percent to EUR 497 m (2016: EUR 507 m). In contrast, the flat glass finishing segment closed the first six months of 2017 with growth of 4.3 percent and total revenue of EUR 1.89 bn (2016: EUR 1.81 bn). Glass fibre manufacturers are also able to look back on a positive six months with 1.8 percent growth in revenue to EUR 504 million (2016: EUR 495 m). There is another growth trend in the special glass industry. It posted a total result of EUR 758 m which is 4.8 percent higher than the H1 2016 result (EUR 723 m).

Consistent development in the hollow glass industry
The hollow glass industry comprises the segments of container glass and tableware glass. In the first six months of 2017 it achieved revenue of EUR 1.20 bn and year-over-year growth of 0.1 percent.
BV-Glas President Dr Frank Heinricht commented: “The six-month results are very encouraging and they show that the positive first quarter trend has continued. Glass from the majority of the industry’s segments is still in demand and we're confident that developments will remain favourable in the second half of the year.”

Contact

Bundesverband Glasindustrie e.V.
Hansaallee 203
40549 Düsseldorf

Phone: +49 (0)211/ 902278 - 20
E-Mail: info(at)bvglas.de
Internet: www.bvglas.de