Swiss cement company Holcim Ltd sees net profits jump 67%
{{date|May 2, 2005}}<br>
{{Holcim Ltd/Infobox}}
{{InfosectionStart|name=Story sources|style=background: #FFDDDD;}}
*{{source|url=http://www.forbes.com/work/feeds/ap/2005/05/02/ap1988987.html
|title=Holcim Reports 67 Pct. Rise in 1Q Profit
|pub=Forbes
|author=[[Associated Press|AP]]
|date=May 2nd, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000085&sid=aRbYnlZyA4lU&refer=europe
|title=Holcim Quarterly Net Rises 67% on Prices, Expansion (Update2)
|pub=Bloomberg.com
|author=Thom Rose
|date=May 2nd, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.reuters.co.in/locales/c_newsArticle.jsp;:4275f22a:fae5421dc3df964?type=businessNews&localeKey=en_IN&storyID=8357335| title=Holcim Q1 hit by poor weather, high energy costs | author=Tom Armitage |pub=Reuters|date=May 2, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/02/AR2005050200637.html| title=Holcim's Profit Soars 67 Percent in 1Q | author=[[Associated Press]] |pub=The Washington Post|date=May 2, 2005}}
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{{InfoboxEnd}}
[[:Category:Switzerland|Swiss]] cement firm Holcim Ltd. today reported that net profits jumped by 67% in the first quarter. The company which has operations in over 70 countries revealed that first quarter profits were 169m Swiss francs (€110m; US$141m) up from 101m Swiss Francs last year.

Despite what appears to be a large rise in profits, sales actually fell to 2.7bn Swiss francs &mdash; a drop of 1.1 percent. The jump in net profits was largely due to a change in accountancy methods. Operating profits rose just 10% to 411m Swiss francs. This small rise in operating profits was largely due to a major price increase in mature markets such as the [[United States|US]], enabled by strong demand in the marketplace.

Holcim was founded in 1912 in Holderbank, Canton Aargau, Switzerland.  Today it employs 46,000 people worldwide and produces over 145m tons of cement annually. It has has recently acquired British- based Aggregate Industries PLC, and gained a controlling interest in India's No. 2 cement player, Associated Cement Companies Ltd.

Holcim Ltd. is the world's second-largest cement maker, beaten in size only by [[w:Lafarge|Lafarge]], a [[France|French]] giant which employs over 77,000 people and sold almost US$20bn worth of building materials last year.

==References==
*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/91/91789.html Yahoo Biz page for Holcim]
*[http://www.hoovers.com/free/search/simple/xmillion/holcim/--ID__91789--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml Hoovers.com page for Holcim]
*[http://www.holcim.com Holcim website]

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[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Switzerland]]
[[Category:Economy and business]]
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Swiss cement firm Holcim Ltd. today reported that net profits jumped by 67% in the first quarter. The company which has operations in over 70 countries revealed that first quarter profits were 169m Swiss francs (€110m; US$141m) up from 101m Swiss Francs last year.

Despite what appears to be a large rise in profits, sales actually fell to 2.7bn Swiss francs — a drop of 1.1 percent. The jump in net profits was largely due to a change in accountancy methods. Operating profits rose just 10% to 411m Swiss francs. This small rise in operating profits was largely due to a major price increase in mature markets such as the US, enabled by strong demand in the marketplace.

Holcim was founded in 1912 in Holderbank, Canton Aargau, Switzerland.  Today it employs 46,000 people worldwide and produces over 145m tons of cement annually. It has has recently acquired British- based Aggregate Industries PLC, and gained a controlling interest in India's No. 2 cement player, Associated Cement Companies Ltd.

Holcim Ltd. is the world's second-largest cement maker, beaten in size only by Lafarge, a French giant which employs over 77,000 people and sold almost US$20bn worth of building materials last year.
Europe Switzerland Economy and business