Germany: HeidelbergCement has reported that its profit for the second quarter of 2014 declined to Euro233m from Euro368m in the same period of 2013. However, earnings before interest and income taxes (EBIT) grew to Euro527m from Euro511m in 2013. Revenues for the quarter were Euro3.57bn, down from Euro3.59bn in 2013. HeidelbergCement's cement and clinker sales volumes rose by 4% to 22.3Mt compared to 21.4Mt during the second quarter of 2014.
HeidelbergCement announced that it plans to start a process to divest its building materials unit in September 2014 and expects to conclude the sale quickly. Potential buyers include private equity funds, not industrial enterprises, according to Bernd Scheifele, HeidelbergCement's CEO. Scheifele added that HeidlerbergCement would consider buying assets to be sold by Lafarge and Holcim, except for assets located in the UK and Germany.