Buzzi Unicem 2004 EBITDA

Italian cement and concrete company Buzzi Unicem will post 2004 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in line with the 2003 results, company vice president Franco Buzzi said on September 6, 2004.  Buzzi Unicem will end the first half of 2004 with results lower than the managers’ forecast, the vice president said.

The residual stake of 24.19 per cent in German cements group Dyckerhoff will be bought by the Italian company by the end of September 2004, Buzzi confirmed. At present, Buzzi Unicem holds a 67.01 per cent stake in Dyckerhoff’s capital. Buzzi Unicem registered a net profit of 159.3 mln euro ($192.2 mln) for 2003, a 23.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The company’s EBITDA decreased by 5.9 per cent year-on-year to 434 mln euro ($523.6 mln) in 2003.

Buzzi Unicem said its capital increase, completed on July 23, 2004, had been 99.34 per cent subscribed. The funds raised from the operation, equal to 205.8 mln euro ($248.3 mln), will be used as partial financing for the acquisition of the residual stake in Dyckerhoff.