Ciments Francais, a unit of Italian cement group Italcementi, generated a turnover of Euro 3.595bn in 2005, up 17.5 per cent year-on-year, the company said in a statement on February 3, 2006.  The company said that the consolidation of Egyptian cement producer Suez Cement in April 2005 and of Egyptian cement company ASEC Cement Company in August 2005, added Euro 254.6m to its revenue. 
 
In the fourth quarter of 2005 Ciments Francais registered a progress in its turnover due mainly to sales of cement in Asian and Mediterranean countries.  Sales in the US registered a slight fall in the fourth quarter of 2005, compared with the year-ago period. Sales in Spain also decreased, due to a strike in the building sector in Andalusia.