ZURICH (Reuters) -Holcim raised its full-year sales outlook on Friday after the world’s biggest cement maker beat analyst forecasts for sales and profit during the first quarter.
The Swiss company said it now expects sales growth of 8% on a like-for-like basis, which cuts out the impact of acquisitions and divestments and currency swings, and a 10% increase when measured in Swiss francs.
Previously Holcim said it had expected a 6% increase in sales on a like-for-like basis during 2022.
Holcim, which recently said it was quitting its business in Russia, posted recurring operating profit of 614 million Swiss francs ($644.21 million), up 16% from 528 million francs a year earlier and well ahead of analyst consensus forecasts for 443 million francs.
Revenues rose 20% to 6.4 billion francs, beating forecasts for 6.1 billion francs.
Both revenue and recurring operating profit were the highest first quarter figures recorded by the company, which said it was being helped by strong demand, recent acquisitions and higher pricing.
“Despite volatile market conditions and geopolitical uncertainty, Holcim expects growth momentum to continue in all regions,” the company said.
“The record start to the year and the positive demand outlook globally gives Holcim the confidence to upgrade its guidance.”
($1 = 0.9531 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John RevillEditing by Miranda Murray)