Vicat turnover advances, brings two new lines on-stream
Vicat’s turnover advanced by 6.2% in 2010 to €2,014m, which represents a marginal underlying improvement of 0.3%. Turnover in cement improved by 8.8% to €1,034m, while aggregates and concrete showed a more limited 3.0% increase to €716m. Other activities improved by 5.5% to €264m. Cement accounted for 53.0% of turnover, slightly higher than the 52.1% seen in 2009, while the concrete and aggregates share eased further from 33.4% to 32.6%. Group cement deliveries rose by 11.5% to 16.18Mt, helped by strong growth in Turkey and the initial consolidation of Bharathi Cement in particular.
The French turnover was off by 1.5% to €832m, with the winter weather negatively influencing sales in more than usual the first and in the last quarter and the first quarter also still being affected by a weak economic environment, that then began to improve. Cement volumes for the full year still improved by 1.2%, thanks to advances of respectively 4.9% and 3.3% in the second and third quarters.
In the rest of Europe, turnover improved by 6.6% to €318m. A 13.6% increase in the Swiss turnover is reduced to just 0.9% on a like for like basis. Cement turnover rose by an underlying 10.7%, but the average price was slightly lower because of the mix.
The United States turnover declined by an actual 10.0% and by an underlying 14.3% to €168m. The cement turnover fell by 17.6% as volumes declined by 4.6% and prices weakened. Signs of a better pricing environment were being seen in the south-east in the final quarter, but not yet in California.
The turnover in Turkey rose by 23.3% to €208m, with prices showing a solid improvement.
Turkish cement volumes rose by in excess of 10% last year, and by more than 15% in the final quarter. For the year, cement turnover advanced by 16.1% and an increased percentage was sold on the domestic market.
The initial contribution from Bharathi Cement in India added €47.3m of turnover for the seven months that it was consolidated and over 1Mt of cement and clinker was sold in that period. The second production line at Bharathi Cement came on stream shortly before the end of the year, with Vicat Sagar Cement following in 2012. Last December also saw the commissioning of the 1.1Mt Jambul Cement works in Kazakhstan.
The West African and Egyptian turnover was up by 7.2% to €441m. In Egypt, turnover rose by 7.2% to €209m and volumes were up by 7.4%, with a record month being had in October and prices were stable throughout the year. In January 2011production continued as normal, with more than 0.3Mt being delivered. In West Africa, turnover rose by 3.7%, as cement shipments increased by 6.2%. The lower average price reflects increased export shipments to other parts of Western Africa.
Published under Cement News
