Business trend

Our Group turnover declined in 2009 by 21.6% to EUR 11.1 billion (2008: 14.2 billion) due to the effects of the global economic crisis, especially in the industrialised countries of North America and Europe. The crisis then bottomed out for the Group in 2010, when turnover rose once again in a manner that reflected the ongoing positive developments in our growth markets such as Asia and Africa, as well as the onset of a recovery in North America and parts of Europe. Total Group turnover increased by 5.8% in 2010 to EUR 11.8 billion.

Our earnings situation also improved in 2010. Along with favourable market developments, this positive result was due to the appreciation of key currencies against the euro, as well as successful Group-wide initiatives to reduce costs and enhance efficiency.

Capacity development
Declining sales in 2009 led us to adjust capacity utilisation at all of our business lines worldwide. Such adjustments were particularly necessary in the USA, the UK and Spain, which were hard hit by the crisis on real estate markets. Despite the cost-cutting measures introduced during the economic crisis, we nonetheless continued to invest in cement production capacity in attractive growth markets in 2010, especially in Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia.