Italcementi saw weaker French and Italian volumes in 2014

Italcementi's turnover declined by 1.8 per cent in 2014 to EUR4155.6m, or by 0.7 per cent on a comparable basis. Group cement shipments edged ahead by 0.6 per cent to 43.4Mt and the turnover from cement and clinker was ahead by 1.0 per cent to EUR2742.9m, with cement volumes improving everywhere but in Europe. 

The concrete and aggregates turnover declined by 6.9 per cent to EUR1162.5m as shipments of aggregates declined by 5.6 per cent to 30.8m tonnes and ready-mixed concrete deliveries were 6.5 per cent lower at 11.5Mm³. The sales contribution from other activities was 5.9 lower at EUR250.3m.

Domestic sales see 4Q recovery
The western European turnover was 7.0 per cent lower at EUR2079.8m as cement and clinker volumes eased by 0.7 per cent to 14.4Mt. Italian and French cement shipments were affected by reduced demand from the public sector, though Italian sales did show a 1.5 per cent recovery in the fourth quarter. Cement production in Spain and Greece increased. The European downstream volumes fared worse, with aggregates shipments being down by 4.0 per cent to 28Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries fell by 10.2 per cent to 7.2Mm³. Aggregates sales in Italy and Greece, however, did improve.

Egyptian boost
Turnover from the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions registered an 8.2 per cent recovery to EUR1021.5m. Cement and clinker shipments showed a 1.8 per cent recovery to 13.4Mt helped by higher domestic deliveries in Egypt. Aggregates volumes, on the other hand, fell by 28.8 per cent to 1.4Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries were off 0.2 per cent at 2.5Mm³, with the reduction in Morocco not quite being compensated for by the improvements seen in Egypt and Kuwait.

Thailand – good volumes
Asian turnover declined by 1.3 per cent to EUR538.3m, but cement deliveries were 2.9 per cent higher at 11Mt, with good volumes achieved in Thailand. The Asian downstream activities remain modest in group terms and are dominated by Thailand. Aggregates shipments are negligible while ready-mixed concrete deliveries improved by 0.6 per cent to 1Mm³.

North American improvements
The North American turnover improved by six per cent to EUR454.5m. Cement deliveries advanced by 5.8 per cent to 4.5Mt and ready-mixed concrete deliveries were 4.1 per cent higher at 0.8Mm³. Sales of aggregates declined by 5.3 per cent to 1.3Mt. 

Trading activities
The international trading activities increased turnover by 19.7 per cent to EUR202.3m as the cement and clinker trading volume rose by 27.6 per cent to 3.8Mt.

The full 2014 results are scheduled to be announced on 4 March 2015.