LafargeHolcim reports outstanding 1Q21 results in Asia Pacific

LafaregHolcim's Asia Pacific division recorded strong cement sales of 18.9Mt, and increase of 19.6 per cent from 15.8Mt in the 1Q20. Aggregate sales also rose to 7.6Mt, up 35.4 per cent on the 5.6Mt recorded in the 1Q20. Ready-mix concrete sales totalled 2Mm³, down 5.8 per cent from 2.1Mm³ in the 1Q20.

"The Asia Pacific region showed record performance with strong growth in cement volumes. India’s outstanding performance was supported by excellent volumes as well as effective price and cost management. Improving activities in Australia were supported by government stimulus programmes," concluded LafargeHolcim.

LafargeHolcim's other regional results 1Q21
In Europe LafargeHolcim recorded cement sales of 9.1Mt in the 1Q21, down 2.4 per cent on 9.3Mt in the 1Q20. Sales of aggregates reached 24.4Mt in the 1Q21, down 4.1 per cent from 25.5Mt in the 1Q20. Ready-Mix concrete sales rose to 4.5Mm³ in the 1Q21, up 9.6 per cent from 4.1Mm³ in the 1Q20. "The European performance in March was excellent, with strong volumes in all segments and strong pricing trends overall," said LafargeHolcim."Market conditions improved in the UK and demand in France continued to be strong."

Middle East cement sales for the group rose to 8.6Mt in the 1Q21, up three per cent from 8.4Mt in the 1Q20. Aggregate sales slipped to 0.9Mt, down 6.7 per cent from 1Mt in the 1Q20 and ready-mix concrete sales fell to 0.6Mm³ in the 1Q21, down from 0.7Mm³ in the 1Q20. The company added: "The region returned to cement volume growth, driven by branded product sales. Good trends in Iraq, Kenya and Nigeria led to strong Recurring EBIT margin improvement of 380 basis points versus the prior year." 

In North America LafargeHolcim announced cement sales of 3.4Mt in the 1Q21, down 5.4 per cent from 3.6Mt in the 1Q20. Sales of aggregates slipped to 14.3Mt, down 9.9 per cent from 15.9Mt recorded in the 1Q20. Lastly, ready-mix concrete sales reached 1.9Mm³, up 1.1 per cent on the 1Q20. “North America showed good momentum with volume back to the 2019 level despite unfavourable weather at the start of the year. Market demand in the US was strong and Canada West, which had been affected by a slowdown in the oil & gas sector, showed signs of stabilisation,” commented LafargeHolcim.

Latin American group sales of cement totalled 6.5Mt, a rise of 16.6 per cent from 5.6Mt in the 1Q20. Sales of aggregates rose to 1.4Mt, an increase of 14.9 per cent from 1.2Mt in the 1Q20 and ready-mix concrete sales totalled 1.1Mm³, up 9.6 per cent from 1Mm³ in the 1Q20. "The Latin America region continued its outstanding performance, with volume growth in all business segments. Strong cement demand growth was driven by residential and infrastructure sectors,” reported LafargeHolcim."

Outlook
LafargeHolcim expects positive demand trends in all regions, to be accelerated as of the 2H21 from various stimulus programmes, as governments announce measures to support the economic recovery with a focus on infrastructure. LafargeHolcim further expects to achieve all Strategy 2022 targets one year in advance, delivering:
• net sales growth of 3-5 per cent LFL
• over-proportional growth in Recurring EBIT of at least 10 per cnet LFL
• return on invested capital above eight per cent
• cash conversion of above 40 per cent
• debt leverage below 2x
• capex less than CHF1.4bn (US$1.53bn)