Further industrial progress, setting a strong foundation for future investments and growth

The newly published financial statements of the Aalborg Portland Holding Group show an increase in revenue to a total of DKK 9,066m and earnings before tax (EBIT) at DKK 1,097m. With low interest-bearing debt and high equity, the Group is well positioned both for further investments in growth and sustainability and for a more uncertain global cement market in the post-corona era.

Aalborg Portland Holding, which is the parent of a number of cement and concrete companies in, among others, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, China and the Nordic countries, including the subsidiaries Aalborg Portland A/S and Unicon A/S, has today published its financial statements for 2019. The Group achieved revenue of DKK 9,066m, an increase of just over 2% compared to 2018. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) were DKK 1,097m, 4% lower than in 2018. Profit after tax was DKK 710m compared to DKK 1,064m in 2018, which was positively affected by positive non-recurring financial items.

• Despite difficult market conditions in the Turkish market in particular, we have generally seen a satisfactory development in 2019. We are pleased that we have delivered the highest revenue in the Group's history and that since the financial crisis we have had 10 years of constant growth on the top line and EBITDA, says Henning Bæk, CFO of Aalborg Portland Holding A/S.
• In recent years, we have been able to reap the rewards of a successful growth strategy, especially in Belgium, but in 2019 also in USA, where for the first time we achieved the full effect of our increased equity investment in Lehigh White Cement Company. International markets play a very important role for the Group in terms of both growth and risk diversification, and our activities in Denmark today account for approx. 25% of the Group's total activities, continues Henning Bæk.

The growth in 2019 was also driven by increasing sales of white cement from the Group's production facilities in USA, China, Malaysia, Egypt, and also in Denmark, which contributed approx. 30% of the Group's revenue for the year. Aalborg Portland Holding is world-leading producer of white cement with a market share of approx. 20%.

• Solid earnings for a number of years and strong cash flow from operations have helped to secure very low interest-bearing debt and high equity in the Group. This provides us with a strong platform for the challenges which now await. I am thinking here particularly of the corona crisis, whose full extent - and thus whose significance for the Group's revenue and earnings – is not yet known, explains Henning Bæk.

In 2019, Aalborg Portland Holding paid almost DKK 240m in corporate tax in the countries where the Group is represented, hereof a major part in Denmark, which places the Group among the 75 largest tax-paying companies.

DKK 750m for sustainable conversion

The ongoing green conversion will require considerable investment going forward. Over the next three years, the Group has allocated approx. DKK 750m for investment projects aimed at strengthening our sustainability at a global level - and including in Denmark, which is home to the Group's global R&D division that has spearheaded our Group's sustainable initiatives through several decades.

However, Henning Bæk points out that the framework conditions for the European part of the Group must continue to support the earnings and competitiveness of our companies if the green conversion within energy-intensive industry is to be maintained:

• We have a clear objective to continue our sustainable investment plans, which remain at the top of list of priorities. We wish to continue down that path, but we must also be able to achieve a return on the investments we make. It is therefore crucial that we have framework conditions that allow for more investments in environmental technology, innovation and workplaces, even when we experience cyclical fluctuations, explains Henning Bæk.
• In the context of climate policy, for example, it is essential that no national special taxes, such as carbon tax, be introduced, and that the EU quota system for CO₂ does not favour unregulated competitors outside the EU. Such discrimination will not only wholly undermine our desire for investment. It will also dilute our competitiveness globally as we, unlike many of our global competitors, are already subject to sizeable taxes through the EU quota system, he concludes.

Fact box - Aalborg Portland Holding A/S

The full financial statements are available on www.aalborgportlandholding.com where more information about the Group can also be found.

Further information:

• Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Henning Bæk, Aalborg Portland Holding A/S, tel. +45 99 33 77 60, mobile +45 40 16 95 77, email: henning.baek@aalborgportland.com
• Head of Sustainability & External Relations Thomas Uhd, Aalborg Portland Holding A/S, mobile +45 22 94 41 67, email: thomas.uhd@aalborgportland.com
• Press service (including photo, text, contact, etc.): Publicity: Esben Lind, tel. +45 25 14 58 16, email: esben@publicity.dk

About Aalborg Portland Holding:

Aalborg Portland Holding is the parent company of a number of cement and concrete companies in, for example, the Nordic countries, Belgium, USA, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia and China. Subsidiary companies include Aalborg Portland A/S, Unicon A/S, Compagnie des Ciments Belges S.A., Cimentas A.S., Aalborg Portland Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Aalborg Portland U.S. Inc., Sinai White Portland Cement Co. SAE. and Aalborg Portland (Anqing) Co. Ltd. Additionally, the Group has activities within extraction and sale of aggregates (granite and gravel) and recycling of waste products.

The Aalborg Portland Holding Group had revenue of more than DKK 9bn in 2019 and 2,969 employees. Since 2004, Aalborg Portland Holding has been owned by Cementir Holding N.V., an international supplier of cement and concrete, listed on the Italian stock exchange in Milan.