Cement News tagged under: europe

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HeidelbergCement net loss widens, confirms 2013 outlook

08 May 2013, Published under Cement News

HeidelbergCement said its first-quarter loss widened in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a year ago as sales were impaired mostly by a weak European market. However, the German cement major reported a rise in operating income and has confirmed its 2013 outlook. Group share of the after-tax loss was  EUR235m in the first quarter of 2013, wider than the EUR208m loss a year earlier. Operating income before depreciation was higher on the year EUR219m from EUR212 in the same period a ...

CRH sees US operations offsetting weaker European market

08 May 2013, Published under Cement News

In trading statement released today, CRH said the first four months of 2013 were affected by adverse weather conditions but expects growth in the second half to be led by its US operations. Combined with a challenging economic environment, most of CRH’s European operations experienced lower activity and sales declined 12 per cent (approximately €0.3bn) in the first four months of the year compared to the same period of 2012. Wet and cold conditions also persisted in the US in the first ...

Euro area construction output down by 0.8%

18 April 2013, Published under Cement News

Construction output in the euro area declined for the fourth consecutive month in February, the latest data from Eurostat shows. Construction in the euro zone decreased 0.8 per cent from January, when it fell 2.1 per cent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. The January figure was revised lower from an initial estimate of a 1.4 per cent drop. However, from a year earlier, February construction gained 0.8 per cent. In Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, c...

Heracles to permanently close Halkis cement works, Greece

27 March 2013, Published under Cement News

Heracles Cement, the largest cement producer in Greece, is to permanently close the doors on its Halkis cement plant as the company restructures its business to adjust to the struggling domestic construction and cement sectors. The 2.6Mta Halkis plant has been idle since July 2011 and management have now made the decision to officially cease operations, as of 26 March 2013. The closure will result in job losses for 236 members of staff. The company stated that: “This decision comes afte...

Euro-area construction output falls 1.4%

20 March 2013, Published under Cement News

Euro-area construction in January 2013 fell 1.4 per cent from the month before as gains in Germany were offset by slumps in Spain and France, according to latest figures by Eurostat. Euro-area construction output fell the most in four months in January following December’s rise of 0.3 per cent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. The December figure had earlier been estimated as a 1.7 per cent drop. France, the euro area’s second-largest economy, show...

Dyckerhoff net profit down on European markets

18 March 2013, Published under Cement News

Buzzi Unicem's subsidiary Dyckerhoff has confirmed that net profit in 2012 fell as declines in Europe could not be offset by volume increases in Russia and the USA. The German-based cement major said in a release on Friday that net attributable profit for the year fell 59.2 per cent from the year before to EUR26.9m. Group EBITDA of fiscal year 2012 amounted to EUR 284.2m including one-time one-time effects of EUR4.8m mainly from the sale of a real estate property in Memphis, US. Positive on...

Cementos Molins to reduce workforce

15 March 2013, Published under Cement News

Spain-based cement producer Cementos Molins is to cut 56 jobs at its St Vicenc dels Horts works due to the ongoing crisis in the domestic construction market. The cutbacks will reduce the total number of employees at the plant by 29.3 per cent, according to reports in Cinco Días.

European cement sector: a strategic contributor to Europe's future – report

07 March 2013, Published under Cement News

A study published by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), commissioned by CEMBUREAU, outlines the competitiveness of the cement industry in Europe and its role in helping the region achieve its goals of developing a sustainable, resource efficient and innovative society. In a statement released yesterday, the European cement association said the report shows that the  cement and concrete industry in Europe contributes to the economy with a total production value of €74bn, a value added of €...

Holcim ahead despite Europe slowdown

04 March 2013, Published under Cement News

Annual results released by Holcim earlier this week show that cement sales for the Swiss major in 2012 were ahead in spite of lower European volumes and political instability in the Middle East. Turnover during the year rose by 3.9 per cent in 2012 to CHF21,544m and in euro terms the increase was 6.4 per cent to EUR17,867m. Operating EBITDA improved 6.2 per cent to EUR3502m before restructuring costs, after which the advance was a mere 0.7 per cent to EUR3304m. The trading profit fell by ...

Holcim less optimistic on European construction market

27 February 2013, Published under Cement News

Holcim said on Wednesday that it was less optimistic about the prospects for the European construction market in 2013 as it reported worse-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter. "While group regions Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America are expected to witness higher sales volumes, Holcim is somewhat less optimistic with regard to Europe and Africa Middle East," the Swiss company said. Like many building supply companies, Holcim has been hit by a slowdown in the European...