By Inti Landauro
PARIS--French cement maker Lafarge SA (LFRGY), which merged with
rival Holcim (HCMLY) earlier in July, Wednesday said it posted a
net loss of 381 million euros ($419 million) in the second quarter,
primarily due to charges relating to the merger.
In its final earnings statement as a separate company, Lafarge
said it booked an impairment of EUR450 million related to the sale
of assets to Irish cement maker CRH to secure anti-trust approval
for the merger by European Commission.
Lafarge said losses on some assets would be more than offset by
gains on others when the deal is completed in the second half of
the year.
Sales in the period rose slightly to EUR3.54 billion as positive
developments in countries like Canada, Romania, Philipines and
areas in the Middle East in Africa offset the negative effects of
adverse weather in the U.S.; weak markets in France and Brazil and
troubles in Syria and Iraq.
The cement maker said its targets were made irrelevant by the
merger.
Lafarge's merger with Holcim creates a new entity called
LafargeHolcim which expects to achieve EUR100 million in
cost-cutting as early as this year. The two companies announced
their link-up in 2014 and the process to get the merger approved by
regulators and shareholders took just over year.
Disagreements over the exchange ratio and the leadership of the
combined company in April and May almost lead to the deal's
collapse. Lafarge shareholders tendered their shares in July in
exchange for Holcim ones.
Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com
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