Only a few days after Coca Cola Hellenic (CCH) got approval from British authorities to list on the London Stock Exchange as part of the company’s move to Switzerland, Greece’s biggest cement producer Titan denied a report it was also going to move out of the country.
Titan issued a statement from its headquarters but didn’t elaborate, but the company just reported its first annual loss in 19 years as Greece’s construction sector continues to implode during a crushing economic crisis that has seen building activity slow to almost a standstill.
The company also said it would not pay a dividend for the second consecutive year. Before the Greek crisis, Titan had been distributing dividends without interruption since the mid-1950’s. The company said it swung to a net loss for 2012 of 24.5 million euros ($31.2 million) from a profit of 11 million euros ($14.3 million) in the previous year, a 35.5 million euros ($46.16 million) turnaround , showing the depths of Greece’s recession, now in its sixth year.
“The deterioration of results is due to collapsing construction activity in Greece and the drop in southeast European markets,” the company said. All signs are that it will continue as Greeks have slowed spending and buying real estate and companies have cut back drastically on building, leaving less need for cement, the main source of building material in Greece whose cities are mostly made of cement structures.
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