Vicat net profit up nearly 60%

French cement, concrete and aggregates group Vicat posted a 59.4% increase in net income for the first half of 2018.

Net income in H1 totalled €59million, compared with €40mn for H2 2017. Vicat says the solid performance was helped by growth in Turkey, the United States, France and Kazakhstan.

Consolidated sales in H1 2018 totalled €1,281mn, up 2.7% on the same period of 2017.

In H1 the cement business posted a 9.7% increase in operational sales at constant scope and exchange rates and a 1.3% increase on a reported basis. Operational sales in the concrete & aggregates business grew 5.4% at constant scope and exchange rates, whereas they were stable on a reported basis (-0.1%). Operational sales in the other products & services business rose by 12.5% at constant scope and exchange rates by 8.4% on a reported basis.

The cement business accounted for 51.2% of Vicat Group's operational sales in H1 2018 compared with 51.5% in the first half of 2017. There was also a slight decrease in the contribution from the concrete & aggregates business (33.7% versus 34.4% in the year-earlier period) and a higher contribution from other products & services to 15.0% (14.1% in H1 2017).

Guy Sidos, chairman and CEO of Vicat Group, said that in India the group benefited from the start of work on new infrastructure projects in a particularly competitive environment at the beginning of the year. In Switzerland, adverse weather conditions and the end of some large projects meant that performance decreased in H1.

He added: "The group’s business in Egypt was held back by military operations aimed at restoring security in the region where its production is based, that will allow the group to resume its progress in this market, where the medium-term outlook is very promising. On this basis, the Vicat Group expects to deliver improved performance in full-year 2018.”

Group EBITDA rose by 12.3% in H1 to €197mn. This was helped by a 63.1% jump in the US driven by solid growth in volumes and average selling prices in both cement and concrete.

There was also a 135.5% surge in EBITDA in Turkey, with weather conditions much more favourable than in the first half of 2017 and strong business momentum in the group’s client sectors.

France saw a 19.3% EBITDA increase resulting from a sharp improvement in the concrete & aggregates business, supported in particular by an upturn in concrete prices combined with solid EBITDA growth in the cement business.

Kazakhstan posted 45.4% EBITDA growth based on a significant increase in volumes and selling prices.