HeidelbergCement mulls sale of non-core assets

HeidelbergCement is considering the sale of non-core assets, its CEO Bernd Scheifele told local press in a recent interview.

Speaking to the Boersen-Zeitung on Tuesday, Mr Scheifele said that markets such as Britain and the USA, where HeidelbergCement has non-core activities, are recovery and at the same time there is higher interest from private equity firms.

The German cement major has implemented a number of measures to boost margins with price increases being a top priority.  HeidelbergCement's first half trading profit was up by 6.9 while pre-tax profit rose by 52.1 per cent to €254m. The company posted a net attributable profit of €175m compared with a €27.3m loss a year earlier.  In its outlook for the remainder of 2013, HeidelbergCement reiterated it expects to increase revenue and operating income this year, while “significantly” increasing pretax profit.

Capital expenditure for the year, meanwhile, is expected to be in the region of €1100m, while the €720m spent in the six months included €301.9m spent on sizeable acquisitions in Australia, Russia and England.