Titan Cement Company reported an unchanged turnover of EUR1,035.7m in respect of 2003 compared with EUR1036.1m in 2002, but ignoring the adverse exchange rate impact, the turnover was ahead by some 9%. Sales of cementitious materials grew by around 6% to 13.4Mt and deliveries of ready-mixed concrete rose by some 15% to 4.9Mm3.
The operating profit at the EBITDA level advanced by 1.1% to EUR295.6m as the margin widened from 28.2% to 28.5%. Cement represented 54% of group turnover and 80% of EBITDA. Net debt rose by 13.9% during the year to EUR475.0m to give a gearing level of 106.3%. The running profit before tax, but after minorities, improved by 3.6% to €196m, with the net profit advancing by 9.6% to €125m.
Domestic cement demand in Greece rose to record levels and deliveries were particularly strong in the second half. The new kiln at Salonica has been commissioned and is already exceeding design capacity. The constriction work ahead of the 2004 Olympic Games has also boosted ready-mixed concrete deliveries. As a result, the Greek operations increased turnover by 7.5% to EUR514.4m and the EBITDA by 9.3% to EUR188.3m. However, domestic deliveries are expected to fall back in 2004 as the pre-Olympic boom comes to an end.
