Displaying items by tag: Germany

Germany: HeidelbergCement (HC) has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2012, which show a mixed overall performance. Group revenue improved by 8% to Euro2.8bn, with a 5% increase in cement sales volumes despite colder winter weather in mainland Europe.

HC reported strong growth in its North American operation, where it described the early signs of an economic recovery that had been helped by a relatively warm winter. It also highlighted strong developments and further potential in Asia, especially in Indonesia.

The group's operating income before depreciation (OIBD) decreased by 16% to Euro214m, adversely impacted by increased energy, freight and maintenance costs. It partly recovered some of its margin by the implementation of price increases.

The company reported that its three-year FOX 2013 programme for financial and operational excellence led to an improvement in cash flow of Euro39m in the first quarter of 2012. The company says that it is well on track to achieving the targeted improvement of Euro850m over three years, saving Euro384m in 2011 alone.

"The development of demand in the first quarter confirmed our outlook for the 2012 financial year," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of HC's board. "In view of high energy costs, we will unabatedly continue our efforts to reduce costs and improve efficiency under the FOX 2013 programme and increase prices in our markets in a consistent way."

"Deleveraging remains the highest priority for us in order to regain our investment grade rating," continued Scheifele. "Thanks to our advantageous geographical positioning in attractive markets in both emerging and industrialised countries... HeidelbergCement is excellently positioned to benefit over-proportionally from the continued economic growth."

Germany: With effect from April 2012 Roger Meier has been appointed sales director of FLSmidth Sample Processing Technology, Wuppertal, Germany (formerly Pfaff AQS). Roger Meier will also be responsible for coordinating the common sales effort for FLSmidth Brno (formerly Autec) and FLSmidth Wuppertal.

FLSmidth Sample Processing Technology designs and manufactures a wide range of products for every stage of the sample processing chain in cement, steel and other minerals sectors. Previously Roger Meier has held a position as Building Materials Segment Manager and Industrial XRD Applications Manager at PANalytical BV, in the Netherlands.

Germany: The Dyckerhoff Group has announced preliminary key figures for 2011, which show a 13% improvement in sales compared to 2010. Sales hit Euro1.6bn in 2011, up from Euro1.41bn in 2010. Breaking down its sales performance geographically, the group took Euro829m in Germany and western Europe (+14% year-on-year), Euro598m in eastern Europe (+21%) and Euro175m in the United States (-9%).

The company reported that sales volumes increased in all countries, except cement in the USA and sand and gravel in the Netherlands. Cement prices exceeded those of 2010 in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, falling in each of the other countries in which the group operates. The proportion of sales generated outside of Germany fell by 1%.

Looking forward to its full 2011 results, Dyckerhoff's management board expects a slight improvement in performance for 2011 compared to 2010. For the 2012 fiscal year, the company expects its sales and results to remain stable compared to 2011.

Germany: The German Cement Works Association (VDZ) and the Federal Association of German Cement Industry (BDZ) are due to merge in the spring of 2012 as the German Cement Works Association (VDZ).

This new body will represent 23 domestic cement companies with close to 7500 direct employees. It will represent about 95% of the cement industry in Germany with a turnover of approximately Euro2.1bn. "The merger gives us significantly greater clout and reach," said chief executive Dr Martin Schneider, who is set to lead the new organisation.

The German Cement Works Association will remain in Düsseldorf using the existing structure of the VDZ, allowing substantial resources to be concentrated. Schneider added that the established cooperation with the German Building Materials Association (BBS) will be strengthened allowing for better links between the German cement industry and the construction industry as a whole, as well as other partners in energy-intensive industry.

Germany: HeidelbergCement (HC) has published its 2009-2010 Group Sustainability Report, which contains externally audited parameters for the first time. One of these independently verified parameters was HC's overall alternative fuels rate, which reached more than 20%.

The new report contains key performance indicators from HC's cement businesses that concern occupational health and safety and environmental protection that have been subjected to an independent review. In doing so, the company increases data quality and likewise complies with the obligations of the Cement Sustainability Initiative of the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).

"Sustainability is a management responsibility and part of our corporate strategy," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "By means of continuous reporting on our progress we aim at making our business activities transparent and binding so that all of our stakeholders can clearly see and understand the way in which we operate."