French-Swiss building materials giant LafargeHolcim says it has seen good early sales momentum across all regions in 2021, after what CEO Jan Jenisch described as an "unprecedented year" in 2020.
The Group achieved a strong finish to last year, helping secure record annual free cash flow. Net sales of CHF 23.142bn (€20.955bn) were -5.6% on a like-for-like basis (LFL) compared to the prior year and -13.4% on a reported basis. The like-for-like decline mainly results from the pandemic-related disruption, mostly in H1, before returning to prior-year levels in H2. In the context of the global crisis, all currencies depreciated against the Swiss Franc, which generated a negative translation effect of -7.4%.
Recurring EBIT reached CHF 3.676bn, -10.4% in total and -1.9% LFL for the full year, with a largely ‘V-shaped’ recovery across all regions delivering a 14.1% Q4 improvement LFL compared to the prior-year period.
Net Income was CHF 1.9bn, 7.5% lower than in 2019, reflecting the above-mentioned Recurring EBIT decline, partly offset by the reduction of restructuring, litigation, and other non-recurring costs with the continuous improvement of the financial expenses and income tax rate.
Commenting on LafargeHolcim’s full-year 2020 trading and 2021 outlook, CEO Jan Jenisch said: “2020 was an unprecedented year for everyone, challenging us to be more resilient while stepping up to take care of those around us. I sincerely thank everyone within LafargeHolcim for their strong contributions, enabling us to navigate these difficult times. I’m extremely proud of how our teams mobilized to keep our people and operations safe while going above and beyond to stand by our communities. Together we touched the lives of over six million people around the world this year.
“This crisis has really proven the resilience of our strategy and business model. By Q4, we were back to growth, with a 1.5% increase in net sales and over-proportional Recurring EBIT of 14.1%. We are emerging stronger from the crisis, reaching a new level of financial performance this year. We delivered a record free cash flow of CHF 3.2 billion and reduced our net debt by CHF 1.6 billion. Staying focused on our growth agenda, we completed eight bolt-ons in 2020 and signed an agreement to acquire Firestone Building Products, the iconic leader in flat-roofing systems in the US.
“We accelerated our climate action, from our net-zero pledge to the global launch of our ECOPact green concrete, all the way to making it into CDP’s A list for climate. Every ton of cement we produced in 2020 was more carbon-efficient and contained more recycled material than the year before.
“We are going into 2021 with strong momentum. We expect further demand in H2 2021 from a broad range of stimulus programs. We are firmly on track to become the global leader in innovative and sustainable building materials and solutions.”
