HeidelbergCement
HeidelbergCement's preliminary figures show a 5.8% increase in turnover last year to €11,764m and the EBITDA recovered by 6.5% to €2239m, having fallen by 28.6% in the previous year. The trading profit improved by 8.6% to €1430m. The results did benefit from a weaker euro and from a higher profit from the sale of emission rights. The benefit from the sale of emission rights rose by 26.7% to €147m. Group sales of cementitous materials declined by 1.2% to 78.4Mt, while the aggregates volume edged ahead by 0.1% to 239.7Mt. Ready-mixed concrete shipments were unchanged at 35.0Mm³, but sales of asphalt declined by 9.4% to 9.1Mt.
The northern & western European business saw turnover decline by 1.0% to €3811m, not helped by the early onset of the winter. The EBITDA was off by 0.6% to €683m and the trading declined by 6.4% to €407m. Shipments of cementitous materials were down by 6.3% to 19.7Mt, while the aggregates volume was off by 1.1% to 68.8Mt, ready-mixed concrete deliveries by 3.2% to 11.7Mm³ and sales of asphalt by 4.6% to 3.4Mt. Cement profits were boosted by the sale of emission rights, while in aggregates, increased volumes in Great Britain, Sweden and the Baltic states helped to reduce the impact of reduced volumes elsewhere.
In eastern Europe & central Asia, turnover declined by 11.2% to €1138m, with the EBITDA declining by 17.3% to €299m and the trading profit falling by 23.1% to €203m. The cementitous volume fell by 9.8% to 14.2Mt, with aggregates shipments declining by 5.7% to 20.1Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries by 4.5% to 3.97Mm³. The weather effect in the first and last quarters was more pronounced than usual, but demand is now picking up in Poland, the Ukraine, Russia and Central Asia. However markets in Romania and Hungary remain depressed.
The North American turnover improved by 4.9% to €3033m, helped by exchange rate movements, and the EBITDA benefited from the lower cost base and advanced by 31.6% to €448m and the trading profit more than doubled by rising by 119.4% to €188m. Shipments of cementitous materials were off by 1.1% to 10.0Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries by 4.2% to 5.4Mm³. On the other hand, sales of aggregates improved by 2.9% to 105.0Mt and sales of asphalt by 5.0% to 3.7Mt, with the strongest improvement being seen in the Canadian operations.
Asia-Pacific turnover was boosted by exchange rate effects and advanced by 18.0% to €2609m, with the increases in EBITDA and trading profit being ahead by 17.44% to €718m and by 17.6% to €586m respectively. Cement and clinker volume improved by 4.3% to 26.6Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries by 4.9% to 8.9Mm³. Influenced by lower Australian volumes, shipments of aggregates were off by 0.3% to 33.4Mt and asphalt sales fell by an underlying 19.8% to 1.6Mt.
In Africa and the Mediterranean region, turnover improved by 12.3% to €940m, but the EBITDA was off by 1.0% to €155m and the trading profit declined by 4.2% to €120m. Shipments of cementitous materials rose by 13.5% to 8.3Mt on the back of good African and Turkish demand. The Spanish downstream operations had a negative effect, limiting the advance in ready-mixed concrete deliveries to 8.9% at 5.0Mm³, with aggregates shipments declining by 5.8% to 14.3Mt and sales of asphalt dropping 36.8% to 0.4Mt.
