Central Europe provided good news to Buzzi Unicem in 2016, with improved sales volumes, but falling prices had a negative effect.
In Germany, cement deliveries increased by 3.4 per cent in 2016, as the construction sector in Europe’s largest economy grew well. The residential sector was particularly strong, supported by high demand.
Despite this, weak average prices more than offset the rise in sales volumes, resulting in a marginal decline in revenues to C572 million.
In Luxemburg and the Netherlands, solid export and domestic demand saw sales volumes grow 8.2 per cent in 2016, although average selling prices were slightly down. Net sales revenues were 3.9 per cent higher at C176 million.