11/03/2008 10h40
Sales of house building material raises 34%
Gazeta Mercantil - 11/03/08
The Brazilian Association of the House Building Material Industry (Abramat) reviewed upwards, for the third time in the year, the forecast of growth in 2008. After growing 15% in 2007, the business started this year projecting a high of 12%. The good results of the first quarter expanded the calculation to a 15% high in 2008; in July it was reviewed to 18% and, last Friday, after the closing of the month of September, the expected high went up to 23%, which means sales of R$ 96 billion (US$ 43.6 billion). In the period between January and September, sales accumulated R$ 76.5 billion (US$ 34.7 billion), a 34.8% high over last year's same period. Only in the month of September, the income was R$ 10.4 billion (US$ 4.7 billion), 4.3% above August's and 52.9% over the same month of 2007. From 2009 on, however, Fox already counts on a consumption slowdown and, at that time, the growth expectation of the sector was cut practically in half. "We were working with a forecast of 12% for 2009 before, and, at this moment, we reduced to a margin between 6% and 8%", said the executive. "We did this review due to the GNP, which the Government is already signaling with a reduction. The new forecast is based on a growth of 3% to 3.5% in the Country's economy", said the president of Abramat.
