Titan Cement Group's turnover rises by 9% in 3Q19

Titan Cement Group's 3Q19 results saw consolidated turnover rise by 8.7 per cent compared to 3Q18, EBITDA rose by 15.4 per cent and net profit increased by 25.7 per cent.

In the 9M19 consolidated turnover rose by 9.7 per cent to EUR1208.5m and EBITDA grew by 5.8 per cent to EUR208.4m. However, net profit declined by 9.9 per cent in 9M19 to EUR45.3m, because of depreciation charges, partly due to IFRS adoption and the consolidation of Turkey in full in 2019.

Regional results
In the USA Titan saw strong results in 9M19 with turnover up by 12.9 per cent YoY EUR721.6m and EBITDA grew by 7.1 per cent to EUR137m.

Greek cement demand rose on activity from private construction and turnover by 6.8 per cent to EUR185.2m, while EBITDA increased by 45.1 per cent to EUR15.5m.

In southeast Europe turnover advanced by 11.2 per cent to EUR194.7m and EBITDA was up by 32.6 per cent to EUR59m.

Titan suffered poorer results in eastern Europe where in Egypt prices have remained low and overcapacity remains. In Turkey cement demand has fallen while prices have increased. In 9M19 the eastern Mediterranean including Turkey reached a turnover of EUR107m, down 6.1 per cent and EBITDA recorded a EUR3m loss compared to EUR13.9m in 3Q18.

Meanwhile, in Brazil, the Apodi Cement joint venture saw sales rise.

Capital expenditure for the group for the 9M19 reached EUR76m, while net debt totalled EUR891m up by EUR119m on 31 December 2018.

Outlook
Titan expects favourable results in 4Q19 for most of its markets except for eastern Europe. Delayed projects are forecast to pick up in Greece, while cement production in southeastern Europe will rise with expected higher demand. The company is also well positioned to benefit from improved construction trends in the USA.