Holcim cement sales up 14%

Switzerland’s cement producer Holcim in the first half of the year derived 13.9 percent higher sales on the Romanian market compared with the corresponding period of last year. “Cement sales were bolstered by the construction market’s 20% surge in the first half and particularly by the private sector. Cement demand was homogeneous countrywide, mainly in cities such as Bucharest, Timisoara and Constanta, which are witnessing strong economic development,” Adrian Porfir, marketing and sales manager of Holcim Romania, told ZF. According to the representatives of the group, cement delivery prices in RON went down by 1.8% in the first six months. The cement market expanded by around 10-12 percent in H1 against the year-ago period. Real estate market growth and the resumption of some infrastructure projects were among the factors behind this growth, according to Holcim representatives. Holcim Romania, the construction materials manufacturer and the domestic branch of the Swiss group, estimates it will witness turnover growth by 14% this year, to 684 million RON (190m euros). Early this year, Holcim announced it would earmark approximately 70 million euros to further develop the projects it started in 2005. The company’s biggest project is ongoing in Campulung, where Holcim is to invest 105 million euros by 2008, to set up the biggest grey cement production line in Romania.