Holcim income falls to $523m
Holcim Ltd, the world's second- biggest cement maker, reported a less-than-expected decline in fourth-quarter profit after it sold a South African unit to focus on expansion in Asia.
Net income fell to 565 million Swiss francs ($523 million), from 599 million francs a year earlier, said Peter Gysel, a spokesman for the Jona, Switzerland-based company. That beat a 542 million-franc median estimate of nine analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Sales added 4.8 percent to 6.77 billion francs.
The Swiss company sold most of its holding in Holcim South Africa (Pty) Ltd in June, retreating from a growing market where it has been outspent by rivals that are adding capacity. Holcim has focused on India, where it controls a quarter of the market and is the country's second-largest cement maker.
"Holcim has shown with their Indian holdings that they have focused on the right growth market," said Reto Fuenfgeld, a portfolio manager at Bank CIC (Switzerland), who helps oversee 250 million francs.
Full-year profit climbed 84 percent to a record 3.87 billion Swiss francs boosted by the disposal and expansion in India.
Holcim has fallen 8.3 percent this year in Zurich trading on concern that a US economic slowdown may spread and rising global capacity will start to impede price increases. Paris-based Lafarge SA, the world's biggest cement company, fell 6.1 percent.
AfriSam Consortium Ltd, led by a group of black investors, purchased 85 percent of Holcim's 54 percent holding in Holcim South Africa in a sale completed June 5.
Holcim and Lafarge are head to head in a global race to claim market share in faster-growing emerging economies to sustain growth.
Agencies
(China Daily 02/28/2008 page16)
