Holcim to scale back European trading due to construction sector slowdown

Swiss cement company 680 Holcim says it plans to scale back its European activities due to a slowdown in the continent’s construction sector.

The firm has not revealed how many jobs will be affected by the move, but the company hopes to make savings of at least €99.31mn (CHF 120mn) a year.

In the fourth quarter of 2012 restructuring costs reached €82.75 million (CHF 100m), and amortisation on infrastructure totalling €339.27 million (CHF 410mn) will be included in the fourth quarter results. In the first nine months of 2012 turnover in Europe fell 5.5% to €3.64 billion (CHF 4.4bn), despite stronger results in Eastern Europe.

Holcim employs 80,000 people internationally and 19,700 in Europe, including 1,300 in Switzerland. In the first nine months of 2012 Holcim saw global net profits of €918.52 million (CHF 1.11bn) on a €13.4 billion (CHF 16.2bn) turnover.