Mapei Ltd. Expects 14.8% Sales Growth This Year

Mapei Ltd., a Hungarian member of the international Mapei Group, a manufacturer and distributor of construction materials, expects 14.8% sales growth this year, despite the fact that the Hungarian market for construction materials is not expected to expand in 2025, said Béla Markovich, the company's CEO, at a press conference in Budapest on Thursday.

According to his statement, their net sales in 2024 were HUF 33.4 billion and their profit after tax was HUF 4.2 billion. Based on market trends, their profit growth will be modest this year, at HUF 4.3 billion, he said. He noted that they will have two major investments in 2025, a plastering factory and a training center.

Given subdued demand and market uncertainty, many construction firms prefer to focus on price stability and avoid the risk of price increases, fearing they could lose orders in a price-sensitive market. "Less work, more competition. Stability has become more important than price increases," said Béla Markovich, presenting this year's results of their annual survey on the state of the construction industry, which this year summarizes the responses of 1,800 professionals.

According to the survey data, the shortage of skilled workers has not changed significantly: while in 2024 the average waiting time for a skilled worker was 52 days, this year it is 53 days.

The CEO explained that 64% of skilled tradesmen would like to raise their prices, but this is only the intention, as last year tradesmen were planning an average increase of 12%, instead the average labor rate fell by 7%.

The survey also showed that many people remain pessimistic about the construction sector, but the trend is improving. While 47% of construction professionals feel the sector is heading in the wrong direction, the proportion has fallen by 11 percentage points in a year. Twenty-four per cent perceive improvement (+8 percentage points), while 29% perceive stagnation (+3 percentage points). Luca Damia, manager of the international Mapei group, said that they do not yet know the exact figures for 2024, but their turnover has increased by 5% to EUR 4.2 billion (around HUF 1,680 billion), according to a preliminary estimate. The group is present in 57 countries with 102 subsidiaries, 90 manufacturing plants on five continents and more than 11,900 employees.