The cement and aggregates manufacturing heavyweight says that continuing positive market dynamics enabled "robust" sales volume growth in all its business lines in Q2 2018.
Group revenue rose by 4% to €4.8billion (compared with €4.6bn in Q2 2017), while profit for the period increased by 8% to €429million (previous year: €397mn).
The Group’s Q2 cement and clinker sales volumes rose by 3% to 33.7 million tonnes (previous year: 32.6 million tonnes). Adjusted for the disposal of the white cement business in the USA, the deconsolidation of Georgia and the acquisition of
Deliveries of aggregates rose by 5% to 85.7 million tonnes (previous year: 81.4 million tonnes). With the exception of Africa-Eastern Mediterranean Basin, all Group areas recorded increasing volumes. Adjusted for consolidation effects, growth amounted to 4%.
Deliveries of ready-mixed concrete increased by 4% to 12.7 million cubic metres (previous year: 12.2 cubic metres), with all Group areas recording a volume growth. Asphalt sales volumes improved considerably by 18% to 2.9 million tonnes (previous year: 2.4 million tonnes) due to the positive development of demand in the UK and in California as well as consolidation effects in the northwest of the USA and Australia. Excluding consolidation effects, the increase amounted to 9%.
“The solid development of results in the second quarter indicates a positive trend reversal after a weather-related difficult start of the year,” said Dr. Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board at HeidelbergCement. “The growth of revenue and sales volumes in all business lines reflects the strong market dynamics."
HeidelbergCement expects development of its business to further improve in the second half of the year.
The company says it continues to expect to benefit from the good and stable economic development in the industrial countries, particularly the USA, Canada, Germany, the countries of Northern Europe, and Australia.
It adds that the continued economic upturn, particularly in Eastern Europe, France and Spain plus -¬¬ to a lesser extent - in Italy, will also be to its advantage. These countries generate approximately 75% of HeidelbergCement's revenue. In the growth countries, such as Egypt, Indonesia, Thailand, India, and Morocco, as well as in Western and Eastern Africa, we anticipate an ongoing economic recovery.
In view of the overall positive development of demand, the company projects an increase in the sales volumes of its core products of cement, aggregates, and ready-mixed concrete.
“With the positive underlying market dynamics, we’re confident about 2018,” Scheifele said.
