Slovenia’s largest cement maker Salonit Anhovo said that its net profit in 2003 surged by 98 per cent on the year to SIT1.19bn (US$6m) on the wave of growing building activity in the country and cost cutting.
"We attribute the rise in 2003 net profit to favourable conditions in the local construction sector and especially the continuing activities under the national motorway programme, which prompted healthy cement sales," Salonit spokeswoman Suzana Colja told SeeNews.
Salonit sold 773,000t of cement last year, which was up by 11 per cent compared to 2002. The company exported 101,753t of cement in 2003 or 13.2 per cent of total sales versus 16.3 per cent of exports in the previous year.
"Another reason [for the net profit rise] was a cut in costs especially in labour and energy costs,’ Colja said. Salonit’s sales rose by 21.2 per cent year-on-year to 12.825 billion tolars last year.
"In 2003 Salonit raised its capital and our return on equity almost doubled," the company said.
Salonit, majority owned by private Slovenian asset manager Intercement said that it expected to raise output to 760,000t of cement this year from 736,822t in 2003.
"We expect financial indicators to be this year at the level of 2003," Colja said.
