Producers upbeat about future prospects

Although it was a mixed bag of first-quarter results for the major aggregates and cement producers, company chiefs remain upbeat about prospects.

725 Lafarge and 680 Holcim, preparing for a “merger of equals” had differing results. Lafarge saw a 2014 first-quarter net loss of €135 million (loss of €117 million in 2013) and Holcim an operating profit of CHF 295 million (approximately €241 million) , an increase of 9.3%. On a like-for-like basis the growth in operating profit was 28.4%.

“Our first quarter results confirmed the positive trends experienced at the end of 2013,” says Bruno Lafont, chairman and chief executive.

“Our volumes were supported by continuing growth in emerging markets and the progressive improvement in several European markets. Our outlook for the year is confirmed and we expect to see cement demand growth in our markets of between 2% to 5% in 2014.”

Bernard Fontana, CEO at Holcim, says: “Holcim reported a significant increase in operating profit during the first quarter of 2014, mainly driven by higher like-for-like cement volumes in all group regions and the continued strong momentum of the Holcim Leadership Journey coupled with strict cost management across the group.”

Looking ahead, Holcim says it expects the global economies to show another year of uneven performance but there is expected to be varying growth in all regions.
While Heidelberg Cement’s revenue and sales volumes increased in the first quarter of 2014, it made a net loss for the period of  €108 million (€187 million loss for Q1 2013).

“Business development in the first quarter has strengthened our confidence in the outlook for the 2014 financial year,” says Dr Bernd Scheifele, 674 HeidelbergCement's CEO.

At 643 Cemex, Fernando A. González, recently appointed chief executive officer, says: “We are pleased with the growth in our operating EBITDA during the quarter, on a like-to-like basis, adjusting for the seasonal maintenance and inventory-drawdown effects, which we expect will revert throughout the rest of the year.”