Cementir's Board of Directors has approved the company's 2014-16 Business Plan which sees average annual EBITDA growth of around 16 per cent over the period.
The plan lays the foundations for a further period growth following positive trends seen during 2013, the company said in a statement released yesterday. The strategy focuses on four key priorities:
- Improving the profitability of the current business
- Consolidating the group’s leadership in the white cement market
- Completing investments in Turkish and UK waste management businesses
- Improving cash flow generation
Over the three-year period, operating revenue is expected to reach around EUR1150m in 2016, representing an annual average growth of five per cent (compared to the EUR1000m forecasted for 2013).
The company expects emerging countries to account for 45 per cent of revenue by the end of 2016, up from the current 42 per cent. Its domestic market of Italy will maintain its contribution of around 13 per cent, but a “progressive return to profitability” is expected from the declines being recorded at present.
EBITDA is planned to increase to around EUR240m in 2016, translating to an average annual growth of 16 per cent of the period covered by the plan. The increase will mainly be driven by measures to boost internal efficiency, a reduction in operating costs (already achieved in part in 2013), and increase in alternative fuels and renewables as well as the contribution to its waste management business. Another key factor will be the reorganization of its Italian operations where a “Greater integration of the management structure and a leaner, results-driven group organization will also contribute to achieving the plan objectives,” Cementir noted.
The company targets net financial debt to be below EUR100m at the end of the period, with the net financial debt/EBITDA ratio to be about 0.4x by the close of 2016.
