Cement sales steady in 3Q17 at HeidelbergCement

Cement and clinker sales were up 4.7% in Asia Pacific at 8.67 million t. Indonesia was a particular bright spot, with the market there showing significant recovery on the back of increased construction activity in the infrastructure sector. Cement and clinker sales were up 5.2% as a result, although prices suffered on greater levels of competition.

Elsewhere, cement and clinker sales grew in all geographies, except North/East Europe and Central Asia, where sales were down 1.7%.

In North America, HeidelbergCement sold 4.73 million t, an increase of 2.1%. In Western and Southern Europe, cement sales were up 1.8% at 7.46 million t. In Africa-Eastern Mediterranean Basin, sales were up 3.3% at just under 5 million t.

Year-to-date, sales volumes were up substantially on the consolidation of Italcementi into HeidelbergCement’s results. Cement and clinker volumes were up 29.2% at 94.4 million t with deliveries showing an improvement in all group areas.

Incorporating Italcementi figures for 1H16 into the results, however, and cement and clinker sales were level with the previous year.

Company revenue was up 4% to €4.61 billion on a like-for-like basis, while earnings were up 7% to 1.06 billion, beating analysts’ expectations. The company also said it had beaten its synergy target from the Italcementi acquisition with €409 million realised as of 3Q17, compared to a total target of €470 million by the end of 2018.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/africa-middle-east/08112017/cement-sales-steady-in-3q17-at-heidelbergcement/