HeidelbergCement falls within the objective of synergies Italcementi

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – HeidelbergCement noted on Tuesday for the third time in less than a year his goal of synergies from the purchase of the cement Italian Italcementi, the synergies that have enabled him to publish a gross profit higher than expected in the fourth quarter.

HeidelbergCement plans to now synergies of € 550 million by the end of the year and not more than 470 million.

Quarterly earnings from ongoing operations before depreciation and amortization increased from 16.5% to 892 million euros, exceeding the consensus Reuters who gave it to 855 million.

Price increases, synergies and transfer of a quarry exhausted in the Etatgs united States are all elements that have supported the benefit and the cement intends to take advantage this year of the economic situation in the United States and the euro zone.

“The continued commitment on efficiency and margin improvement and the successful integration of Italcementi, which has resulted in synergies higher than expected, contributed to this success”, says the chairman of the management board Bernd Scheifele.

Since the announcement of the acquisition of Italcementi, the shares have gained 20%, outperforming the 14% rise for the Stoxx 600 CONSTRUCTION and civil engineering. At the same time, the action of the competitor LafargeHolcim (PA:NHS) has lost 17%.

The quarterly revenue has increased from 0.6% to 4.26 billion euros, slightly less than the consensus Reuters who gave it to 4.38 billion.

(Christoph SteitzWilfrid Exbrayat for the French service)