France: Vicat's total sales rose by 6% year-on-year to Euro2.42bn in 2014 from Euro2.29bn in 2013. Cement sales rose by 13.7% to Euro1.26bn. The French building materials manufacturer attributed the growth to markets in Asia and improvement in the US and Egypt.
By region, cement sales fell by 4.4% year-on-year in France to Euro356m with an increased decline seen in the fourth quarter of 2014. This was blamed on a slowdown in the construction sector. In the rest of Europe cement sales declined less sharply by 5% to Euro174m. In the US cement sales rose by 16.7% to Euro114m. In Asia, including Turkey, India and Kazakhstan, sales rose by 20% to Euro466m. In Africa and the Middle East cement sales rose by 23% to Euro374m.