1st Quarter Sales Figures

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain
26 April 2001

FIRST-QUARTER 2001 SALES: UP 4.4% ON A COMPARABLE STRUCTURE BASIS

Net consolidated sales of the Saint-Gobain Group for first-quarter 2001 were up
15.8% year-on-year (25.5% excluding Essilor), to EUR 7,268 million from EUR
6,275 million in first-quarter 2000.

Based on a comparable Group structure, sales rose 4.4% in euros and 3.2% in
local currencies.

This level of sales, compared to a particularly strong first-quarter 2000,
reflects the Saint-Gobain Group's ability to continue to grow despite a markedly
more difficult economic environment, especially in the United States. The added
weight of the high-growth businesses of Building Materials Distribution,
Ceramics & Plastics and Abrasives as well as Reinforcements, which are
relatively less sensitive to fluctuations in overall economic trends, explains
this resilience. In first-quarter 2001, the sales of these businesses, which
account for 51% of the Group's total sales, expanded by 5.2% on a like-for-like
basis, well above the Group average of 3.2%. Among the Group's historic
businesses, Flat Glass remained very buoyant, posting the Group's fastest growth
with an 8.5% gain year-on-year based on comparable structure and exchange rates.

The breakdown of sales by business sector, division and major geographical area
is as follows:

                                 Sales 3    Sales 3  Change  Change    Change
                                 months to  months to based   based    based
                                 March      March       on     on       on
                                  31         31      actual  comp-     comp-
                                 2001       2000     struc-  arable    arable
                                 (in EUR   (in EUR   ture    struc-    struc-
                                  mlns)      mlns)           ture      ture
                                                            in euros   and
                                                                       exchange
                                                                       rates
                                                                       (like-
                                                                        for-
                                                                        like)

BUSINESS SECTORS AND DIVISIONS
GLASS (1)
                                  2,870      2,669      7.5%     5.5%    4.3% 

Flat Glass                        1,107      1,010      9.6%     7.8%    8.5% 

Insulation & Reinforcements         815        761      7.1%     2.6%    1.0% 

Containers                          951        900      5.7%     5.3%    2.6% 

HIGH-PERFORMANCE MATERIALS (1)    1,069      1,458    -26.7%     5.0%    2.3% 

Ceramics & Plastics and Abrasives 1,069        974      9.8%     5.0%    2.3% 

Essilor*                                       485      

HOUSING PRODUCTS (1)              3,389      2,192     54.6%     2.7%    1.9% 

Building Materials                  715        722     -1.0%    -2.0%   -4.9% 

Building Materials Distribution   2,283      1,086    110.2%     8.0%    7.9% 

Pipe                                442        430      2.8%    -2.3%   -1.3% 

INTERNAL SALES                     (60)       (44)       

GROUP                             7,268      6,275     15.8%     4.4%    3.2% 
 
GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS
      
France                            2,271      2,070      9.8%     7.7%    7.7% 

Other European Countries          3,016      1,948     54.9%     2.9%    3.3% 

North America                     1,708      1,578      8.2%     1.4%   -5.2% 

Rest of the world                   566        454     24.5%    10.5%   15.3% 

Essilor*                                       484    

INTERNAL SALES                    (293)      (259)    

GROUP                             7,268      6,275     15.8%     4.4%    3.2% 


(1) including inter-division eliminations

* accounted for by the equity method from July 1 to November 15, 2000, at which
date the Group disposed of its entire stake in the company.

In all Divisions except Containers and Ceramics & Plastics, sales volumes in the
United States contracted in relation to first-quarter 2000, which had seen a
very strong 7.1% expansion. In Europe, however, sales volumes, and especially
prices, held firm, despite the negative impact on the building industry of the
very rainy winter experienced by several countries.

The Glass Sector kept up its growth, in line with its performance in 2000,
thanks to sustained demand and satisfactory selling prices for most of its
businesses in Europe and Brazil. In the United States, however, Insulation
sales, which had peaked in first-quarter 2000, continued to suffer from the
downturn in the building industry that began in the summer of 2000.

Based on comparable data, the High-Performance Materials Sector performed
slightly below the Group average. Ceramics & Plastics achieved dynamic growth,
but the Abrasives Division was affected by the slowdown in North America's
manufacturing output, particularly in the automobile industry.

The Housing Products Sector recorded mixed results: Building Materials
Distribution continued to develop through both organic and external growth; the
Pipe Division stabilized its performance; Building Materials sales, however,
fell compared to first-quarter 2000 due the slowdown in the U.S. building
industry. Nevertheless, this business did not decline compared to fourth-quarter
2000.

Outlook: the Saint-Gobain Group maintains as the target for 2001 a 10% increase
in net income before profit on sales of non-current assets, provided there is no
new and significant deterioration in the economic environment.

                          Investor Relations Department

Tel:  Florence TRIOU-TEIXEIRA  [phone] - mailto:florence.triou@saint-
                                                          gobain.com

Tel:  Lounis BEKKAT            [phone] - mailto:lounis.bekkat@saint-
                                                          gobain.com
                         Fax:  [phone]