ZURICH, Nov 3 (Reuters): Swiss building materials group Holcim posted
a drop in quarterly sales and profits on Monday as a recovery in India
following May's elections failed to offset foreign exchange headwinds
and weakness in Europe and Latin America.
The group, which is in the process of merging with France's Lafarge, reported higher sales in markets such as the United States and India, where infrastructure spending has picked up following the election victory of Narendra Modi who campaigned to revive stalled construction projects.
But Europe remained challenging as recovery prospects dimmed and growth in Germany and France slowed. In Latin America, Holcim's performance was hurt by uncertainties in markets such as Argentina.
The company became more cautious on its outlook for cement sales and now no longer expects volumes to rise in Europe.
Third-quarter sales slipped 2.1 per cent to 5.18 billion Swiss francs ($5.4 billion), falling short of the average forecast of 5.27 billion in a Reuters poll.
That was behind the 3.0 per cent sales growth recorded by Mexican rival Cemex for the third quarter.
Adverse exchange rate moves, in particular a fall in emerging market currencies against the Swiss franc, have dragged on Holcim's results this year, and wiped 1.05 billion francs off its revenues in the first nine months.
Excluding the negative currency impact, sales rose 0.9 per cent in the third quarter.
Net income attributable to shareholders fell 4.7 per cent to 447 million francs, also shy of the poll estimate for 459 million francs.
Shares in Holcim, which have risen just 2.0 per cent so far this year, were indicated to open flat, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer.
The group, which is in the process of merging with France's Lafarge, reported higher sales in markets such as the United States and India, where infrastructure spending has picked up following the election victory of Narendra Modi who campaigned to revive stalled construction projects.
But Europe remained challenging as recovery prospects dimmed and growth in Germany and France slowed. In Latin America, Holcim's performance was hurt by uncertainties in markets such as Argentina.
The company became more cautious on its outlook for cement sales and now no longer expects volumes to rise in Europe.
Third-quarter sales slipped 2.1 per cent to 5.18 billion Swiss francs ($5.4 billion), falling short of the average forecast of 5.27 billion in a Reuters poll.
That was behind the 3.0 per cent sales growth recorded by Mexican rival Cemex for the third quarter.
Adverse exchange rate moves, in particular a fall in emerging market currencies against the Swiss franc, have dragged on Holcim's results this year, and wiped 1.05 billion francs off its revenues in the first nine months.
Excluding the negative currency impact, sales rose 0.9 per cent in the third quarter.
Net income attributable to shareholders fell 4.7 per cent to 447 million francs, also shy of the poll estimate for 459 million francs.
Shares in Holcim, which have risen just 2.0 per cent so far this year, were indicated to open flat, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer.
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