Cementir’s turnover was ahead by 10.4% for the first nine months of the year to €696.6m. While the EBITDA advanced more slowly by 8.7% to EUR91.7m, because of higher energy costs, the trading profit showed a strong increase of 46.2% to EUR 29.3m. Financial costs, much of it to do with hedging, produced losses and the pre-tax profit dropped by 76.7% to EUR6.69m, which is still an improvement on the EUR1.9m loss reported at the half-way stage.  Net debt at the end of September was 11.2% higher at EUR373.7m.

The trading performance was good in the Nordic area, Turkey and the Far East. Italy, which had been weak during the first half, improved in the third quarter, thanks to better pricing, to be up in the year to date. The Egyptian output has continued to feel the negative effects of the political unrest and uncertainty that had been evident earlier in the year. The trends going into the final quarter are positive, with the exception of Egypt. On the waste management side, the Turkish subsidiary Recyldia has secured a 25-year contract to handle 0.7Mt of municipal waste in Istanbul.

The grey and white cement volume was 4.6% higher at 7.92Mt. The aggregates tonnage was a modest 2.5% higher at 2.79Mt and the third quarter showed a 5.3% decline, but the other two main product categories both showed increases, particularly in the case of ready-mixed concrete. Ready-mixed concrete deliveries for the nine months advanced by 22.1% to 2.86Mm³. The workforce was 1.5% lower that a year earlier at 3243 employees. 
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