Portuguese conglomerate Semapa SGPS, which controls local cement producer Secil, announced net profits of Euro 334m for 2005, a rise of 76.7 per cent from a year earlier.   However, the company said the years were not directly comparable as in 2005 it benefitted from extraordinary gains, notably the the sale of its Enersis renewable energy division which resulted in a gain of Euro 384.6m.
 
 Group sales came in at Euro 1.530bn, consisting of Euro 1.029bn, up 5.2 per cent, at its Portucel paper and pulp subsidiary and Euro 461m, up three per cent, at its Secil cement affiliate, semapa said. 
 
Group EBITDA reached Euro 727m, including Euro 427m from continuing operations. The cement business posted a margin of 33 per cent and in the paper and pulp operations the margin was 25 per cent.  Net debt fell to Euro 1.222bn at end-December from Euro 2.105bn a year earlier.  
 
 This year Semapa said it will be difficult to achieve net profit of the ’same magnitude’ because it won’t include the one-time gain on the Enersis disposal.   In Portugal, Secil is likely to face deceleration in the construction business this year, Semapa said.   Portucel’s performance is likely to be much the same as in 2005 in the absence of major changes to the leading economies, it concluded.  
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