HSBC has lifted the share price target of Lafarge to EUR55 from EUR52 and reiterated its "overweight" recommendation.

Analysts with HSBC revised up by three per cent their expectations for the EBITDA of the company, due to the increase in cement prices.

The broker considers that in the first half of 2012, the building materials producer laid the foundations of good financial performance for the entire year.

Lafarge booked a EUR13m (US$16.02m) net attributable profit for the first half of 2012, versus EUR260m for the same period of 2011, due to depreciation and restructuring costs. (Source: SeeNews France)