The local units of the three cement producers Lafarge, Holcim and HeidelbergCement have generated more than EUR900 million in cumulated profits for their parent companies in the last five years, according to ZF’s calculations based on the Finance Ministry and Trade Registry data.
The year 2011 was the first after the onset of the crisis when cement producers’ sales resumed growth, even though it was nothing spectacular.
The rebound of the industry was also proven by the fact that the local cement production rose 10% in volume last year, according to the information previously provided by CIROM, the association of the companies in the cement industry.
On the other hand, the cement market amounted to some EUR600 million to EUR700 million last year, according to ZF’s estimates based on existing data on the market.
Cement producers are still among the most profitable companies in the construction industry, but they also have some of the highest margins in the entire economy every year.
Lafarge Ciment remained the most profitable of the cement industry last year, with its EUR42.5 million net profit. Revenue stood at more than EUR180 million.
However, the margin dropped quite a lot compared with the previous years. Whereas it reached almost 33% in 2010, in 2011 it fell to some 24%, despite the growth of 6% of the French-held company’s business in Romania.
Lafarge Ciment contributed some 7% to the total net profit of the French group, even though sales accounted for just a little over 1% of the total revenue of its parent, according to ZF’s calculations based on the Trade Registry data and the group’s annual report.
Lafarge Ciment officials did not comment on last year’s results.
On the other hand, Swiss-held Holcim was the only one whose profit margin on the local market went up compared with 2010, though it remained below 8%. The net profit amounted to some EUR17.5 million, while sales reached over EUR222 million.
Holcim Romania posted EUR7.9 million profit in 2010, while revenue stood at over EUR196 million.
The year 2011 was similar to the previous year in terms of profitability, and the difference came from the adjustment of the asset value of 2010, explained Holcim Romania’s chief executive Daniel Bach.
The local subsidiary generated 1.3% of the revenue of the group and 3.2% of the total net profit, according to ZF’s calculations.
Carpatcement Holding, the subsidiary of Germany’s HeidelbergCement, posted EUR191.8 million in revenue last year, up almost 2% on the previous year. Carpatcement’s profit margin stood at 17.5% almost half of the 2010 level, 30%.
The local subsidiary of HeidelbergCement generated almost 8% of the parent company’s profit and 1.4% of its revenue.
Carpatcement officials had not returned ZF’s calls for comment on the financial results of 2011 by the time the story was ready for posting.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)