A total of 33 million tonnes of cement were sold by the firm in the quarter (+52% on Q3 2015), 80 million tonnes of aggregates (+11%), and 12 million m³of ready-mixed concrete (+29%). HeidelbergCement Group revenue in the quarter rose by 25% to €4.5 billion – from €3.6 billion in the third quarter of 2015. The Group’s operating income before depreciation (OIBD) increased by 17% to €1 billion (€865 million Q3 2015).
HeidelbergCement completed its acquisition of Italcementi after gaining 100% of the Italian building materials producer’s shares on 12 October 2016. The sale of HeidelbergCement’s business activities in Belgium and the USA is said to be almost completed, as a condition of the antitrust authorities. Divestment proceeds gained by HeidelbergCement in Q3 2016 totalled €1.14 billion (€100 million above planned).
In a statement, HeidelbergCement said that the integration of Italcementi into the HeidelbergCement Group (HG Group) had been faster than expected. Management changes have been made in all key Italcementi country organisations, the company’s redundant headquarters has been closed, and reductions in former Italcementi staff have been made much faster than predicted. This has, the company stated, left the HG Group well on course to exceed its €400 million synergy target. Furthermore, HeidelbergCement still expects to achieve a moderate increase in revenue and a high single to double-digit increase in operating income for the full 2016 year.
“The swift completion of the Italcementi takeover and the rapidly progressing integration give us reason to be very positive about the further development,” explained Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. “We are very confident that we can exceed the synergy target of €400 million. Moreover, as part of the integration we have created two new global competence centers for ready-mixed concrete and sales management, which should enhance the margin potential in these areas.
“Overall, we consider ourselves to be well positioned to successfully advance our strategic priorities: shareholder returns and continuous growth. Our declared aim is still to achieve a solid investment grade rating. In operational terms, we will continue to focus on the four strategic levers: high operating leverage, maintenance of cost leadership, pronounced vertical integration, and optimal geographical positioning. In this way, we will increase our efficiency and the satisfaction of our customers, especially in the world’s rapidly growing metropolitan areas. Our global programmes to optimise costs and processes and to increase margins will once again be consistently pursued in 2016. These include, in particular, the Continuous Improvement Programmes for the aggregates (“Aggregates CI”) and cement (“CIP”) business lines, as well as “FOX” for purchasing.”
