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| Holcim announces 1st half year results 2014  Bernard Fontana, CEO, comments on the results: "Holcim increased sales of both cement and aggregates in the first half of 2014, despite an uneven development of the global economy. Group regions North America, Africa Middle East, and Europe recorded particularly strong cement sales. Mild weather conditions at the beginning of the year supported building activity, especially in Europe where the Group continued to restructure activities in 2014. In Asia the market situation stabilized, and as a result ACC and Ambuja Cements in India, Holcim's largest Group companies in the region, were able to increase cement sales."On a like-for-like basis operating EBITDA increased slightly and operating profit was up, too. Higher cement volumes across many parts of the Group combined with the ongoing momentum of the Holcim Leadership Journey and strict cost management were the main reasons for this positive development. However in Swiss Francs the operating performance continued to be negatively impacted by exchange rate effects. Restructuring and merger costs of CHF 50 million also impacted operating EBITDA. On a like-for-like basis higher operating profit was recorded in Group regions North America and Europe in particular, while the development in Africa Middle East was stable. Helped by the restructuring measures taken in 2013, strong growth in operating profit was seen in Europe while North America benefited from the better economic environment especially in the United States. Despite progress in a number of countries in Asia Pacific negative exchange rate effects continued to be a main burden on the Group region's financial results. In addition, postponed projects in the energy and resources sector negatively impacted the financial performance in Australia. The impact of the restructurings in 2014 amount to CHF 59 million on operating profit level. Operating profit margin before restructuring and merger costs of 11.3 percent increased compared to the previous year. Compared to the first half 2013, ROIC before taxes improved from 7.1 percent to 8.4 percent while net financial debt decreased. write your comments about the article :: © 2014 Construction News :: home page |