Heidelberg Cement has reported turnover of €2.18billion for the first three months of this year, a 7.6% decline on sales in the same period in 2009. The company has said that its figures were not only affected by economic influences, but also to a considerable degree by seasonal factors.
In a statement the company said, “Long-lasting wintery conditions were experienced both in large parts of North America and in Europe and had a further negative impact on sales development. To which extent the sales volumes decline is caused by the bad weather conditions or the economic development can not be judged reliably. After the end of the cold period, demand for building products increased noticeable in March but could not compensate the volume losses of the previous months.”
Heidelberg CEO Dr Bernd Scheifele said, “We consistently continued the strict cost management in the first quarter and were able to compensate most of the negative effects of the weak demand in North America and Europe on our operating income. Our “FitnessPlus 2010” programme is on track and we already recognised additional savings of EUR 63 million in the first quarter.
“Heidelberg Cement continues to expect a noticeable positive business development in the Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean Basin Group areas. For North America and Europe, Heidelberg Cement anticipates overall declines in sales volumes in the first half of the year, partly because of the weak first quarter. After a significant increase in promotional funding for road construction in the US in the month of March, a continued recovery of the business development is expected in the second quarter of 2010.”
