HeidelbergCement Group revenues decreased by 10.4 per cent to EUR8.254bn compared to  EUR9.212bn in 1H19 and the company posted a loss of EUR3.095bn for the 1H20. In addition to lower sales volumes, the decline in revenue is also due to the changed business policy at HC Trading, reported HeidelbergCement.

Cement sales reached 56.3Mt in the 1H20, a decline of seven per cent from 61Mt in the 1H19. Aggregate sales totalled 134.8Mt in the 1H20, down seven per cent from 145.6Mt in the 1H19 and ready-mix sales reached 4.3Mm3 in the 1H20, a fall of 10 per cent from 4.8Mm3 in the 1H19.

HeidelbergCement said that despite the weakening of demand in many countries due to the coronavirus and the corresponding declines in revenue, the result from current operations before depreciation and amortisation remained almost at the level of the previous year at EUR1404m, compared to EUR1438m in the 1H19.

Free cash flow generation for the last 12 months increased substantially to around EUR1.9bn. As at the end of the first half of 2020, net debt amounted to EUR9bn compared to EUR10.4bn in the 1H19.

Dr Lorenz Näger, CFO of HeidelbergCement, said: "In comparison with the end of the first half of 2019, we reduced net debt significantly by EUR1.4bn. This highlights the enormous financial strength of the company, which is particularly valuable for us in the current corona crisis."

"We have made a solid start into the third quarter. We will maintain our focus on cost savings and preserving liquidity. With the good result in the second quarter, we’ve proven that we will weather the crisis well," said Dr Dominik von Achten, chairman of the HeidelbergCement board. "However, development in the construction industry remains highly dynamic. Every day, we are seeing how quickly the situation can change in terms of COVID-19 measures. It therefore remains difficult to provide an outlook for the year."