LafargeHolcim profits crumble on cost of building world’s No1

LafargeHolcim said Wednesday its profits collapsed as the cost of building the world’s biggest cement company took its toll.

In its first earnings report since the merger of Lafarge and Holcim was closed in mid-year, it said EBITDA, a measure of operating profit, fell to 1.3 billion Swiss francs (1.2 billion euros, $1.3 billion) in the third quarter on a comparable basis, and to 3.6 billion Swiss francs in the nine months to September, a drop of 18.8 percent.

The nine-month results were “impacted by merger and restructuring costs, adverse foreign exchange, an economic slowdown in China and Brazil as well as softness in France and in Switzerland,” the company said in a statement.

Its performance held up well in the United States, Asia, Oceania and Latin America, it said.

The company confirmed its synergy targets from the merger, and said it was targeting a dividend of 1.50 Swiss francs per share in 2015, up from 1.30 last year.

Analysts said this pushed up the LafargeHolcim share price up by more than three percent in early Zurich trading, to 55.3 francs.

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