According to the Romanian Association of Cement Producers (CIROM), sales of cement went down by 5%-8% compared to 2012.
All three major players in the Romanian cement industry–Holcim (Switzerland), Carpatcement (Germany) and Lafarge (France)–reported lower sales volumes, while in 2011 and 2012 they had managed to revert to growth in some cases.
After Lafarge and Carpatcement have recently announced their 2013 cement sales volumes dropped in Romania by 15.6% and 14%, respectively, against 2012, Holcim yesterday published last year figures indicating a 4.3% decline in cement and clincher sales.
“Cement wholesale volumes fell in 2013 mainly due to the slower pace of infrastructure works and the lower level of foreign direct investments. Also, Romanians’ sliding purchasing power led to lower sales of cement bags,” explains Florian Aldea, general manager of Carpatcement Holding, the Romanian subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement.
Carpatcement Holding generated revenue of around EUR181 million in 2012, while its net profit hit EUR34 million, according to Finance Ministry data.
Holcim Romania posted EUR213 million in revenue in 2012 and losses of EUR8.5 million. On the other hand, Lafarge Cement, the main company through which French Lafarge is present in Romania, was in 2012 the most profitable player in the industry, with a net result of EUR37 million against revenue of EUR192 million.
Cement companies have been among the most profitable in the Romanian economy both in the boom period and during the crisis.
Like in each of recent years, cement companies’ hopes are linked to the resumption of infrastructure works and an increase in housing development.
“It is hard to predict what will happen on the market (in 2014) since on the one hand there’s a high pressure on costs, which are rising every year, and also on prices owing to market contraction. We do not expect any spectacular trends this year, either,” says Mihai Rohan, CIROM president.
The three large cement producers do not specify the average price per sack of cement and do not provide any data on their Romanian output.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)