HEIDELBERG (dpa-AFX) – The building materials group HeidelbergCement ended the Corona year better than expected thanks to its austerity course. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) increased by 3.5 percent year-on-year to 3.7 billion euros in 2020, as the company listed in the Dax (DAX 30) announced in Heidelberg on Tuesday. On a comparable basis, the increase was 6.1 percent. The Cope savings program launched a year ago also contributed to this. With the program, the group was able to reduce costs by 1.3 billion euros, significantly more than originally planned. In contrast, sales shrank by almost seven percent to 17.6 billion euros. Adjusted for exchange rates and acquisitions and sales, sales fell by 4.6 percent.
HeidelbergCement is confident about the current year and assumes that demand will develop positively in many markets in the 2021 financial year. “We got off to a good start in 2021,” said CEO Dominik vonhaben. The infrastructure programs should provide a tailwind, for example in the USA, Australia, India and Italy. He is also confident about the private housing sector. The company will have to wait for the development in office and commercial construction. Overall, the visibility remains relatively low. According to the information, the complete consolidated financial statements will be published on March 18th. / Mne / zb
.
