Holcim expects 5% turnover decline this year

Holcim Romania, local subsidiary of Swiss group Holcim, expects a 5% turnover decline, to 237 million euros, but the Swiss say they have faith in the local market on long term and rule out a prospective exit from the Romanian market.

The company recorded a 33% turnover decline last year, to 250 million euros, exceeding even the most pessimistic forecasts made at the beginning of last year, when Markus Wirth, CEO of Holcim, expected a 20% decline at the worst. The operating income fell by 29%, to 54 million euros, from 76 million euros in 2008.

"We had to take immediate action in order not to be significantly affected by the decline in consumption. We moved from what was happening in 2008, when cement plants were not able to meet demand, to 2009, when production exceeded demand by far. Unfortunately, there are not strong prospects to see a rise in foreign investments, but we expect a rebound of the economy in the second half of the year," Wirth says.