European building materials supplier Saint-Gobain reported sales for 2014 of €41.1 billion (US$46 billion), a decrease of 1.7 percent from the previous year. Profit increased 60.2 percent to €953 million (US$1067.2 million) from the previous year.

Fourth quarter sales were €10.2 billion (US$11.4 billion), a decrease of 1.4 percent from the same period the previous year.

Innovative materials sales were up 2.5 percent in 2014, while sales for the construction products sector were down 0.6 percent. Building distribution was up 0.2 percent, while packaging sales were down 25.2 percent for the year.

Geographically, sales in France were down 1.3 percent, other Western European countries were up 2.5 percent, North America was down 14.6 percent and Asia and emerging countries were up 0.6 percent.

“2014 confirmed the improvement in the Group’s results despite a challenging macroeconomic climate in France and uncertainty in Germany," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, CEO. “During the year, Saint-Gobain embarked on a significant reorganization of its business portfolio, with the plan to acquire a controlling interest in Sika and the launch of a competitive bidding process for the sale of Verallia.”