HeidelbergCement: sees 'moderate' 2019 growth, shares drop

(CercleFinance.com) - HeidelbergCement on Thursday warned of slightly weakening economic growth this year and predicted a moderate increase in both revenue and profit, sending its shares down almost 3% in Frankfurt.


The German cement maker said that it has set a 2019 target of increasing its revenue and earnings from current operations "moderately" before currency and consolidation effects.

The company also said it aims to "moderately" improve profit for the financial year before non-recurrent items.

In its statement, the group cites the impact of trade disputes between the US and China, as well as the recent drop in momentum in Europe.

In 2018, revenue rose by 5% to 18.1 billion euros, but earnings from current operations decreased by 2% to 2.2 billion euros on a comparable basis, due to adverse weather conditions, especially in North America, and a stronger-than-expected rise in energy and electricity costs.

Heidelberg said that it will propose an 11% increase in its dividend to 2.10 euros per share, its ninth consecutive increase and a new record figure in the company's history.

The news, however, failed to convince investors, as the HeidelbergCement shares were down 2.7% at 64.9 euros in morning trading.

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