Lafarge’s sales have come down by 2 per cent at €7.2 billion in 1H13. Sales volumes in the Q2 were affected by poor weather conditions and fuel shortage in Egypt. Cement sales fell from 38.4 million t in 2Q12 to 36.5 million t in 2Q13. YonY, cement sales fell by 4per cent in 1H13. Aggregate sales volumes dropped from 84.2 million t in 1H12 to 83.8 million t in 1H13. Sale of ready-mix concrete was reduced to 8.3 million m3 in 2Q13, compared to 8.6 million m3 in 2Q12.
"Our results in the second quarter resisted in an environment which was marked by a conjunction of unfavourable circumstances. We increased prices, and performance and innovation results are in line with our 2013 C650 million additional EBITDA target," said Bruno Lafont, Lafarge Chairman and CEO. "We foresee a cement demand growth in our markets of between 0 to 3per cent in 2013, which implies more positive trends in the second half," he added.