Romanian Carpatcement Sees 2004 Sales Rise

Romania’s Carpatcement, a subsidiary of Germany’s cement producer HeidelbergCement, said on Thursday it expected its turnover to increase this year to some Euro 100m Euro 93.5m in 2003 due to a rise in construction activity in the country.  "The expectations for 2004 are in line with the general growth trend of Romania’s economy and especially the growth in the construction sector between 4 and 5 per cent," the company said in a statement.

The cement group said its turnover for January-March 2004 totalled Euro 13.5m and was higher than in the year-ago period due to the mild winter, which allowed an early start to building activity. Comparative figures for the first quarter of 2003 were not immediately available. Carpatcement was Romania’s cement market leader last year with sales of 1.7Mt and an operational profit of Euro 20.8m. The boost in 2003 turnover was mainly due to increased capacity following the acquisition of cement plant Romcif Fieni in October 2002. The plant has an annual output capacity of 1.2Mt Carpatcement said it was holding currently a 35 percent share of Romania’s cement market.