RMC Group PLC said that with nearly four months gone this year, nothing has caused the company to change its view that, with the exception of Germany and the US, trading conditions will be similar to last year.
’Overall, the group is well on track to deliver the earnings recovery reflected in market expectations for the full year,’ chairman Sir John Parker told the company AGM.
’In the UK, we still remain cautious with regard to how market conditions will develop,’ he added.
’We are implementing a challenging reorganisation of the UK businesses and removing significant costs this year and in 2005. At the Rugby cement plant, we have recently experienced some additional production downtime following the annual maintenance shut down in February and this will have an effect on the UK’s performance in the first half.’
He said he expects to see a significant improvement in Germany following a restructuring. ’In the US, we are benefiting from the improving market conditions we identified in the autumn last year, and we have seen a strong start to trading in the first quarter of 2004’.
Group Chief executive David Munro added that the company is planning to make some further organisational changes and adjustments.
