Franco Swiss global building materials giant
The Group’s first half of 2018 revenues also rose by 4.8% on a like-for-like basis. LafargeHolcim’s recurring EBITDA was up 1.5% for Q2, but down 1.4% in H1 2018 on a like-for-like basis.
Jan Jenisch, CEO of LafargeHolcim, said: “I am very satisfied with the sales growth we achieved in the first half of the year, especially as we gained momentum in the second quarter. Increasing energy prices and cost inflation have been challenging. Operational issues in some markets have been addressed and we expect to deliver increasing margins as we capture the upward trend in demand through the second half of 2018.
“We remain focused on delivering Strategy 2022 – ‘Building for Growth.’ Recent bolt-on acquisitions in the US and France demonstrate our focus on capturing the growth opportunities in our most attractive markets. The beneficial effects of simplification and cost reduction are also becoming more visible. We continue to focus on delivering our 2018 targets.”
LafargeHolcim continues to forecast net sales growth of 3 to 5% in 2018, compared to the previous year. The Group sees strong market trends in Europe, continued solid growth in North America, and good growth prospects in most countries in Latin America. It also considers the India and China markets to “remain supportive”, and Southeast Asia to “stabilise”. However, LafargeHolcim refers to a “challenging outlook” in a number of countries in Middle East Africa.
