LafargeHolcim Limited reported slightly stronger earnings in the fourth quarter as global markets began to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, even as its overall sales fell.
The recycling earnings of the Swiss cement manufacturer before interest and taxes were 1.04 billion Swiss francs ($ 1.15 billion), it said Friday. That was up slightly from CHF1.02 billion in the same quarter in 2019 but far lower than CHF1.50 billion expected by analysts in a FactSet poll.
Total sales in the quarter fell to CHF5.99 billion, compared to CHF6.52 billion a year earlier.
On a similar basis, recurring EBIT rose 14.1% year-on-year, “driven by a‘ V-shaped ’recovery across all regions,” LafargeHolcim said.
For the full year, net revenue was down 24.5% to CHF1.70 billion. Recycling EBIT fell 10% to CHF3.68 billion while net sales, hit by pandemic-related disputes, fell 13% to CHF23.14 billion.
Going forward, the company said it enters 2021 with good demand and expects demand to rise later in the second half for a wide range of pandemic-related incentive programs on across the globe.
LafargeHolcim expects recurrent EBIT to grow by at least 7% in 2021, with capital expenditures at less than CHF1.4 billion.
Write to Yi Wei Wong at [email protected]