France: Vicat Group has announced its results for the first quarter of 2014, which show a 14% improvement to sales compared to the first quarter of 2013. The group highlighted improved conditions in Egypt, the United States, West Africa and Turkey, increasing sales in India and favourable weather conditions in its native France as among the reasons for the improvement.
Sales for the three months to 31 March 2014 were Euro536m, an increase of 9.2% (14% after adjusting for constant scope and exchange rates). Vicat's cement sector saw sales of Euro275m for the quarter, up from Euro256m in the first quarter of 2013, a year-on-year improvement of 7.4%(15.2% at constant scope and exchange rates). Cement sales volumes were up by 6% across Vicat's global operations.
"Vicat achieved strong sales growth in the first quarter of 2014. Our businesses benefited from mild weather conditions in France and were able to capture positive momentum in the Swiss, US and Turkish construction sectors," said Vicat's CEO Guy Sidos. "The return to growth in Egypt is a positive sign for our full-year performance and we are continuing to ramp-up our business in India, although prices are likely to remain volatile. The group is still gradually reaping the benefits of its investments over the last few years, using its strong market positions to maximise cash flow and continue reducing debt."
In Europe (excluding France) consolidated sales were Euro89m, 22.2% higher than the Euro72m seen in the first quarter of 2013. Switzerland was highlighted as a good performer, with 13% growth in cement sales, while Italy saw consolidated sales fall by 17.6% year-on-year due to a 19.2% fall in volumes.
In the United States, sales were Euro51m compared to Euro46m in the first quarter of 2013, a 9.5% rise year-on-year. The group said that business continued to pick up in the country, with cement sales picking up by 13.9% and volumes increasing by 3%.
In Turkey sales were Euro44m, 25.8% higher (at constant scope and exchange rates) than in the year-earlier quarter. In India sales came to Euro47m, 27.2% higher (at constant scope and exchange rates) year-on-year. In Kazakhstan sales fell by 14% to Euro9m (at constant scope and exchange rates), which resulted from comparison to unusually high sales in the first quarter of 2013.
In Africa and the Middle East Vicat's consolidated sales were Euro98m, a 12.9% improvement over the first quarter of 2013 when it took Euro87m. Egypt saw a 26.7% improvement year-on-year, while west Africa saw revenues up Euro11.6% due to a 14% improvement in sales volumes.
In the rest of 2014 Vicat expects the French market to gradually stabilise and the Swiss market to continue to be strong. Italy is likely to remain weak, while volume rises and price increasese are expected in the United States. In Turkey Vicat warns that further growth will be dependent on foreign exchange effects and potential after-effects of elections. It says that Egypt remains unpredictable but plans for gradual improvement to the security situation. West Africa is expected to be buoyant in terms of consumption but warns against increased competition that may dampen prices. In India, weak infrastructure development will continue to adversely affect volumes, as will chronic overcapacity in the nation's cement industry. In Kazakhstan, it expects its strong local position to continue to reap rewards.