Carpatcement Holding expects Romanian constructions market recovery after higher 2011 sales

Cement producer Carpatcement Holding upped its cement sales by 7 percent in Romania last year, while its concrete sales were up 20 percent, the company has announced. The growth in sales for aggregate products stood at 35 percent compared to 2010. The cement market went up 5 percent in Romania last year, according to company data. This year, the bad weather in the first couple of months brought along a drop in sales compared to the same period of 2011.

“We trust that the future evolution of the three divisions will be supported by the revival tendency of the Romanian construction materials market. The market has already started to show signs of slight improvement and could channel economic growth, given political and economical stability and the needed measures for economic revival,” said Florian Aldea, Country Manager of the Carpatcement group (in picture). The company did not mention sales figures. Internationally, its parent company HeidelbergCement saw its revenues up 10 percent, to EUR 12.9 billion last year. With three cement factories in Romania and investments exceeding EUR 450 million in the country so far, the group has three subsidiaries: Carpatcement Holding with three cement factories, Carpat Beton, with 18 concrete stations and Carpat Agregate, with 14 quarries and aggregates exploitations. The cement arm invested EUR 100 million in expanding and modernizing its factories in 2009. Its environment protection investments stay at EUR 30 million, of which EUR 7 million into alternative fuels. In 2011, the group invested EUR 8.5 million in cost optimization and factory modernization. editor@romania-insider.com