The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending €42 million to Cersanit SA, a leading Polish ceramic tile and bathroom equipment manufacturer with a large operation in Ukraine. This support is expected to play an important role in the reconstruction of infrastructure damaged by the war.
The long-term funding will help the company complete multiple investments in both Ukraine and Poland as well as manage its working capital needs. In particular, the EBRD finance will enable the Cersanit group to scale up tile and sanitaryware production in Ukraine and complete a project for manufacturing large-format ceramic tiles at the same plant in Ukraine.
Russia’s war against Ukraine forced Cersanit’s Ukrainian subsidiary, Cersanit Invest LLC, which employs about 1,200 staff, to temporarily halt production. The war also prompted the company to make a strategic decision to dispose of its assets in Russia, which had accounted for nearly one-fifth of the group’s total sales.