HeidelbergCement presented preliminary, unaudited figures for the full year 2020. In a difficult market environment, the result from current operations before depreciation and amortization rose like-for-like by 6% to a record €3.7 billion. Consistent implementation of the company’s COPE action plan led to cash savings of around €1.3 billion.
“We closed the 2020 financial year with a top result,” said Dr. Dominik von Achten, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. “We were able to not only reach but exceed our forecast for all key figures. The key to this success was the good operational performance across our market regions and business lines. We managed to more than compensate for the coronavirus-related decline in sales volumes through consistent spending discipline. This is a great result of the entire HeidelbergCement team, of which I am very proud.”
Due to the decline in sales volumes, group revenue for 2020 decreased by 6.6% to €17.6 billion. Excluding consolidation and currency effects, it fell by 4.6%.
Total cement sales for HeidelbergCement reached 122 million tonnes (Mt) in 2020, down 3.1% from 126 Mt in 2019. Aggregates sales for the year totaled 296 Mt, a drop of 3.9%, while ready-mix sales fell 7.4% year over year to 46.9 million cu. meters. Asphalt sales were down 2.6 % for the full year.
In North America, cement sales amounted to 15.6 Mt, down 3.5% from 16.1 Mt in 2019. Aggregates sales slipped 1.7% to 126 Mt, while ready-mix sales rose nearly 1% to 7.8 million cu. meters. Asphalt sales remained stable at 5 Mt.
HeidelbergCement anticipates demand to develop positively in many markets in 2021. “We have made a good start to 2021,” said von Achten. “There should be a tailwind from infrastructure programs, for example in the USA, Australia, India and Italy. I am also confident about private residential construction. We will have to wait and see how office and commercial construction develops. All in all, visibility remains relatively low.”
