Cementir hit by hard Nordic winter

Cementir's first-quarter turnover eased by 0.3 per cent to €194.7m and the EBITDA declined by 26.9 per cent to €9.2m as the cement major was hit by a hard Nordic winter weather.

The trading loss increased by 56.1 per cent to €12.4m, but at the pre-tax level the increase in the loss was a more modest 20.3 per cent up to €13.7m. The severe winter weather in Scandinavia and Italy had a particularly negative effect in the month of March. As a result, Scandinavian cement shipments were down by a fifth and ready-mixed concrete deliveries declined by 12 per cent, leading to a €9m reduction sales. Italian demand weakened yet again and turnover was off by some €3.6m as cement deliveries were down by a further 15 per cent and ready-mixed concrete deliveries dropped by 28 per cent.
 
Turkey, on the other hand, presented a much more favourable picture with cement deliveries rising by 15 per cent and ready-mixed concrete deliveries being up by 11 per cent. Prices were stable and cement shipments rose both domestically and for exports. The Turkish turnover emerged some €6m higher, though the waste business developed a bit slower than planned. Egypt presented dome very conflicting pictures, with domestic deliveries more than doubling but prices easing by some seven per cent, while exports dropped by about 30 per cent though export prices showed a substantial advance. The Far Eastern turnover increased by €1.3m thanks to a strong performance in China, where volumes were ahead by 13 per cent. On the other hand, lower sales were reported from Malaysia because of lower exports to Australia in the period.
 
The grey and white cement volume was off by a further 0.7 per cent to 1.88Mt, reflecting the poor weather in Scandinavia and the continued weakness in Italy that could not be fully compensated for by increases elsewhere. Ready-mixed concrete deliveries declined by 3.4 per cent to 0.80Mm³, while the aggregates volume dropped by 33.9 per cent to 0.48Mt. The workforce increased by 1.9 per cent to 3286 people.