Cement prices declined 1.2% in Romania in lei last year. On the aggregates market, Holcim registered a 6.1% decline in sales in Romania, but prices rose 13.6%.
The company’s cement sales in Romania declined 1% last year, to 26.4 million from 26.7 million tons in 2013, due to weak recoveries in European economies and political instability in some countries.
Sales volumes in Europe rose slightly in the fourth quarter, driven by activity in the UK and Romania, which compensated for declined in France, Belgium and Switzerland, the company said.
On a global level, the group registered 1% growth in cement sales, from 138.9 million tons in 2013 to 140.3 million tons last year, while aggregate sales declined 0.9%, to 153.1 million.
Holcim and France’s Lafarge agreed to merge in April last year, creating the world’s largest cement manufacturer, with annual sales of around EUR40 billion.
The companies decided one of them would sell their operations in Romania, Germany and Hungary. In Romania, Holcim will keep its assets, while the local assets of Lafarge will be sold to Irish cement manufacturer CRH .
Holcim Romania had 792 employees at the end of 2014 and an output capacity of 6.1 million tons of cement.