US market proving stronger for Titan Cement

Titan Cement International, which has eight quarries in the United States and Canada, reports that its 2020 performance within these markets is somewhat on par with 2019 – at least through May.

Activity in the U.S. was strong to start the year and in the first quarter, Titan Cement says, with positive market trends and favorable weather conditions leading to 6.2 percent revenue growth compared to 2019.

Operations continued uninterrupted, the company adds, with a moderate slowdown of demand in Florida and the Mid-Atlantic recorded since mid-March. According to Titan Cement, the effect of lockdown measures were more pronounced on its import terminal that supplies the New York metro area

Overall, Titan Cement’s May 2020 year-to-date revenue and EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) in the U.S. were close to 2019’s performance. Revenue was down 0.4 percent and EBITDA was down 2 percent.

Global perspective

Globally, Titan Cement’s revenue dropped 2.1 percent over the first five months of 2020, following a 6.1 percent growth recorded in the first quarter of the year.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our group was less severe than what was initially feared,” the company says in a statement. “Construction was deemed to be an essential activity in most markets and all of our cement plants, across all geographies, continued their operation, adjusting production to satisfy the level of market demand.”

Titan Cement’s business activities cover the production, transportation and distribution of cement, concrete, aggregate, fly ash, mortars and other building materials. The group employs about 5,500 people and is present in more than 15 countries, operating cement plants in 10 of them, including the U.S., Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Kosovo, Serbia, Egypt, Turkey and Brazil.