The group’s latest figures show cement volumes up 4%; aggregates volumes up 6% and ready-mixed concrete volumes up 4% while the group revenue was stable at €3.9 billion (like-for-like +5%), although operating income before depreciation (OIBD) decreased by 7% to €811 million (like-for-like -2%; excluding prior year gain from exhausted quarry sale +4%) .
HeidelbergCement reports that margin improvement programmes are well on track; it had successful price increases in principal markets, and its FOX 2013 plan has already achieved full-year target after nine months and energy costs were lower.
Earnings per share more than doubled to €3.10.
Third-quarter sales volumes benefited from a recovery in Europe and North America as well as sustained growth in emerging countries as sales volumes improved in all business lines compared with the third-quarter of 2012 due to the continued recovery of demand for construction materials in Europe and North America as well as the sustained growth in Asian and African countries.
During the third quarter, the group’s cement and clinker sales volumes increased by 4.1% to 25.3 million tonnes (previous year: 24.3 million tonnes). The North America Group area experienced the strongest growth in sales volumes, followed by Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean Basin.
Deliveries of aggregates rose significantly by 6.3% to 73.1 million tonnes (previous year 68.8 million tonnes). Adjusted for consolidation effects, the increase amounted to 5.5%, and in North America, aggregates sales volumes increased considerably.
Deliveries of ready-mixed concrete rose by 4.5% to 11.0 million m³ (previous year 10.5 million m³). Key growth drivers were the markets in Asia, especially in Indonesia.
Asphalt sales volumes fell slightly by 0.6% to 2.8 million tonnes (previous year 2.9 million tonnes).
“The positive development of sales volumes, prices, and costs shows, that we continue to be operationally well on track”, says Dr. Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board.
“Thanks to the cost savings measures implemented at an early stage, we see a significant increase in results in North America and the United Kingdom. On group level, however, we had to face growing headwind in revenue and operating income in the third-quarter, due to the significant strengthening of the euro. Our efficiency improvement programmes continue to progress according to plan.”
Additional ordinary result of the third-quarter improved by €295.3 million to €236.3 million (previous year: -€59 million), mainly due to a non-cash effective profit from the unwinding of an obsolete corporate structure of Hanson in the UK. Furthermore, the same quarter of the previous year included a loss of €43.8 million from the disposal of business units in North America.
In its latest forecast, the
For 2013, the IMF expects a growth rate of 2.9% only, compared to 3.2% in the previous year. However, this remains subject to the industrial countries in North America and Europe continuing unabatedly with their efforts to resolve the debt crisis and to achieve budgetary consolidation. The euro debt crisis, the high level of debt in the USA, and the armed conflicts in the Middle East continue to pose political risks to the development of the world economy.
In North America, HeidelbergCement continues to expect an on-going economic recovery and consequently a further increasing demand for building materials, especially from residential construction and the raw materials industry. A three-layered economic development is anticipated in Europe and central Asia: The markets in Germany, Northern Europe, and the United Kingdom should continue to develop positively.
Markets in central Asia should stabilise, and in Benelux and Eastern Europe a continuing weak development of the economy and demand for building materials is anticipated. In Asia and Africa, HeidelbergCement expects no changes in the sustained growth in demand.
In terms of costs, the group anticipates a light to moderate increase in the cost base for raw materials and personnel. For energy costs, HeidelbergCement expects a stable or slightly declining development overall for 2013, following the slight decline in the first nine months of the year.
The company says that based on various assumptions, the managing board is continuing with the objective of further increasing revenue and operating income in 2013 and significantly improving profit before tax.
