Heracles General Cement Company has reported consolidatedprofits before tax of Euro 134.1m in 2005 and earnings for the parent company of Euro 123.4m in the same year.The Heracles Group of Companies posted sales of Euro 609.1m for 2005,up 3.6 per cent compared to a year earlier. Parent company sales totalled Euro 544.2m, showing a 4.6 per cent increase, management said in a statement."In the light of expectations for a significant decline in the market resulting from the finalization of main infrastructure public works that were developed for the Olympic Games, increased consumption in the sector of private works had a counterbalance effect," the statement said. Prices generally increased due to inflation while production costs were affected by a high increase in fuel costs, which had a negative impact onoperating efficiency.
Heracles, a member of the Lafarge Group, owns three cement production plants in Greece: Volos, the largest cement production facility in Europe; and the Halkis and Milaki plants.Total production capacity of the Group is 9.6Mt. The Group alsooperates in aggregates and concrete production.
