Italcementi’s underlying turnover in 2009 was up by 1.7% to €5,774.6m, though in absolute terms there was a 3.8% decline because of the non-consolidation of Calcestruzzi. Cement deliveries declined by an underlying 4.3% to 62.6Mt, with the relevant turnover increasing by 3.3% to €4,131.2m, while the corresponding numbers for aggregates and ready-mixed concrete showed decreases of 6.5% to 47.6m tonnes and of 6.0% to 13.9Mm³ respectively.
Cement and clinker volumes in western Europe declined by an underlying 6.7% to 24Mt, of which Italy represented 12.1Mt, with volumes being notably weak in Spain and in Italy. Ignoring the currently de-consolidated Calcestruzzi, aggregates declined by 7.0% to 43.7Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries were down by 8.9% to 7.4Mm³. Turnover declined by an underlying 1.2% to €3.331.4m, of which Italy represented around €1,202m.
Turnover from the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions rose by an underlying 13.7% to €1,358.9m, with cement and clinker shipments being 2.1% lower at 20.6Mt, with Turkey being a particularly weak spot. Aggregates shipments were 3.3% lower at 2.6Mt, but ready-mixed concrete deliveries improved by 7.1% to 4.4Mm³.
In Asia, turnover showed an underlying improvement of 8.8% to €449.5m, while actual cement deliveries improved by 4.4% to 11.3Mt, in spite of notably lower Kazakh volumes because of plant closure and production problems.
North American turnover fell by 17.4% to €500.4m as cement deliveries declined by 14.7% to 5.3m tonnes. The enlarged downstream operations in the USA and in Canada boosted actual ready-mixed concrete production by 17.5% to 1Mm³, though there was an underlying decline of 7.9%, while the actual aggregates production jumped by 64.2% to 0.5Mt. The international trading activities were suffered from a reduction in exports from Bulgaria and Egypt and the trading volume fell by an underlying 15.3% to 4.5Mt, but the actual decline was limited to 10.4% thanks to the addition of Hilal Cement in Kuwait.
The full 2008 results should be announced on the 6th of March.
