Italcementi Q3 net flat to lower

Italcementi SpA’s third quarter net profit, due Friday, is expected to be flat to lower on the lack of last year’s exceptional gains, and on higher energy costs, analysts said. The net will be less than last year because there are no extraordinaries. Last year there was a Euro32m gain. I don’t expect anything similar this year,’ said a local analyst, who asked not to be named.

Higher energy costs will partly offset higher sales, he said, adding that Italcementi could reduce the impact of higher energy costs via access to own fuels such as industrial wastes. Energy costs will however continue impacting Italcementi’s prospects, the analyst said, adding he has not yet changed his full year forecast but could still do so after the company releases its third quarter results.

On Italcementi’s forthcoming trading updates, one analyst said he is waiting to hear about Suez Cement, the company’s 25 per cent-owned Egyptian affiliate, because the government there is delaying selling its majority stake.