Heidelberg cements place with revenue rise despite fall in profits
HeidelbergCement yesterday announced that net profit plummeted 26 per cent to €687m (£496m) for the 2014 financial year.
The German cement producer said the decline reflected a one-time loss and non-recurring charges, which pushed 2013 profit up to €933m. It said the crisis in eastern Ukraine had impaired its sales and results there, but that its operating activities in Russia had not been significantly affected.
However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the third largest cement maker in the world. Total revenue grew by four per cent to €12.6bn, from €12.1bn the year before, and operating income improved by five per cent to €1.6bn, buoyed by increased sales volume and price rises in major markets.
“HeidelbergCement is in the best shape of the last 15 years,” said Bernd Scheifele, the chairman of the company’s managing board. Revenue and operating income are experiencing a definite growth trend. With the sale of the building products business we have successfully repositioned the company towards our core products: cement and aggregates, as well as ready-mixed concrete and asphalt.”