Wienerberger AG: Wienerberger acquires brick company in the USA

Expansion of market footprint in the Northeast of the USA

Wienerberger acquires Watsontown, USA

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Vienna (pta018/13.12.2018/13:30 UTC+1) Entry into urban areas, such as New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington D.C. and Baltimore
- Product portfolio enlarged through facing bricks for commercial buildings and high-quality architectural projects
- Further step towards active market consolidation in North America

Through its US subsidiary General Shale, the Wienerberger Group acquires Watsontown Brick, a highly profitable company based in Pennsylvania. With this move, Wienerberger broadens its market footprint in the Northeastern US regions of New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania, which together represent one of the most interesting markets for high-quality brick products, and in Canada.

Wienerberger CEO Heimo Scheuch: "We are pursuing a strategy of active market consolidation in the USA. The reorientation of our activities initiated a few years ago is producing the desired results, as confirmed by the highly satisfactory development of earnings in North America. Watsontown Brick, a leading supplier of high-quality facing bricks, is a perfect fit for us. Moreover, this acquisition strengthens our business in the urban construction market in major agglomerations. By swiftly integrating Watsontown Brick into our existing US platform, we will drive the optimization of the company's performance in terms of costs and products. As we see enormous potential in our US business, we intend to continue on our growth path in this region in the years to come."

Watsontown Brick operates a modern and highly efficient production site with four manufacturing lines and a production capacity of 92 million standard brick units. The company has about 50 employees and looks back on a history of 110 years, which makes it one of the oldest and most traditional US producers of bricks for residential and commercial applications. With its subsidiary General Shale, Wienerberger is a premium supplier of facing bricks and plastic pipes as well as concrete and calcium silicate products in North America. The Group operates 37 sales outlets and production sites (excluding Watsontown Brick) in North America and employs a workforce of 1,350 people.

The acquisition of Watsontown is part of a strategy of value-generating growth. It is in line with Wienerberger's investment criteria and makes a direct contribution to the Group's net profit. It has been agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Wienerberger Group
Wienerberger is the world's largest producer of bricks (Porotherm, Terca) and the market leader in clay roof tiles (Koramic, Tondach) in Europe as well as concrete pavers (Semmelrock) in Central and Eastern Europe. In pipe systems (Steinzeug-Keramo ceramic pipes and Pipelife plastic pipes), the company is one of the leading suppliers in Europe. With its total of 195 production sites, the Wienerberger Group generated revenues of Eur 3,120 million and EBITDA of Eur 415 million in 2017.

For further information please contact
Karin Steinbichler, Head of Corporate Communications Wienerberger AG
t +43 1 601 92 - 10149 | communication@wienerberger.com

Klaus Ofner, Head of Investor Relations Wienerberger AG
t +43 1 601 92 - 10221 | investor@wienerberger.com

Wienerberger AG is a pure free float company, whereby the majority of shares are held by Austrian and international institutional investors. Additional information on the shareholder structure is provided under https://wienerberger.com/en/investors/share.

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Emitter:	Wienerberger AG Wienerbergstraße 11 1100 Wien Austria
Contact Person:	Karin Steinbichler
Phone:	+43 1 60192-10149
E-Mail:	communication@wienerberger.com
Website:	www.wienerberger.com
ISIN(s):	AT0000831706 (Share)
Stock Exchange(s):	Vienna Stock Exchange (Official Trade)