German group HeidelbergCement saw a 40% increase in cement sales in the first half of the year against the same period last year, primarily because of the favourable weather conditions experienced at the beginning of the year and the spectacular expansion of the constructions industry.
However, the growth rate was half the level registered by the French group Lafarge, which saw an 84% rise in cement sales in the first six months of the year. Lafarge's growth was the highest registered by the group as a whole. By focusing on the domestic market and reducing exports, Lafarge was able to cover the increased demand witnessed during this period.
"Because of our limited production capacity, we have not been able to keep an eye on market demand, which was, at the time, bigger. As a result, our competitors took the portion of the market we were unable to cover," Mihai Rohan, general manager of Carpatcement Holding, the local division of the HeidelbergCement group, told ZF. The German group intends to double the production capacity of the three plants it holds, in Bicaz, Fieni and Deva, by 2010, through investments worth around 100 million euros. High temperatures at the beginning of the year extensively exceeded market players' initial forecasts, however, it is difficult to say whether the growth rate seen in the first half of the year will also continue into the second half.
"The favourable weather conditions in the first quarter of the year, which registered temperatures of 10 to 15 degrees Celsius, the spectacular rise in constructions, as well as real estate projects in both Bucharest and throughout the country, as well as road infrastructure works aided an increase in our sales over this period," said Rohan.
HeidelbergCement posted turnover worth 164 million euros on the domestic market in the first half of the year, up by around 40-50% for its t
