Holcim Lanka, as part of a global rationalisation strategy of the Switzerland-based building materials group, is planning on fully divesting its Sri Lankan operations, its subsidiary. According to informed sources who did not wish to be quoted, despite the Sri Lankan operations being a very profitable one, the decision to exit operations has been made in the context of an earlier announcement of the group planning to divest 3.5 billion Swiss francs (approximately Rs 521.50 billion) worth of assets globally by the end of this year, with a view to generate cash. Last month, Lafarge Holcim Group said it posted a first-quarter net loss of $48.38 million due to weaker-than-expected sales, though noting it remains on track to deliver its longer-term targets amid ?challenging economic headwinds? in emerging markets.
Holcim Sri Lanka, has an employee strength of approximately 1,500 and operates an established network of distributors, island-wide.