FINANCE
17
CONSTRUCTION EUROPE
DECEMBER 2013-JANUARY 2014
Company
Currency Price
Price Change Change
at start at end
(%)
CEM Index
151.13 151.70
0.57
0.38
Buzzi Unicem (Ord)
€
12.77
12.54
-0.23
-1.80
Cemex (CPO)
MXP
13.86
14.51
0.65
4.69
Cimpor
€
2.70
2.63
-0.07
-2.59
CRH
€
17.90
18.66
0.76
4.25
Heidelberg Cement
€
58.06
57.37
-0.69
-1.19
Holcim
CHF
67.60
65.40
-2.20
-3.25
Italcementi
€
6.55
6.37
-0.19
-2.82
Kone (B)
€
64.95
67.00
2.05
3.16
Lafarge
€
50.98
51.87
0.89
1.75
Saint-Gobain
€
38.75
39.04
0.30
0.76
Schindler (BPC)
CHF
129.00 126.50
-2.50
-1.94
Schneider Electric
€
62.05
61.82
-0.23
-0.37
Titan Group (Common)
€
20.10
22.00
1.90
9.45
Vicat Group (Common)
€
55.05
53.57
-1.48
-2.69
Wienerberger
€
12.60
12.28
-0.32
-2.55
Wolseley
UK£
33.610 33.060 -0.550
-1.64
Period: Week 44 - 48
MATERIALS PRODUCERS
spent ten weeks moving in this
relatively narrow band.
The same goes for the
component parts of the CET
Index – the three individual
measures
for
contractors,
equipment
manufacturers’
and materials producers’ share
prices – which have not seen
particularly dramatic movements
for several weeks.
The possible exception is the
CEC Index for contractors’ share
prices, which has continued to
edge gently upwards. It finished
week 48 at 158.99 points – the
best it has been since June 2010,
but still a good ten points away
from the post-crisis high seen in
April of that year.
Between weeks 44 and 48,
the modest 0.71% gain for
the CEC belied some much
more significant swings for its
component companies. There
were double-digit losses for the
Dutch pair of Ballast Nedam
and Bam, along with Spain’s
FCC. However, Mota Engil and
OHL stood out for their steep
gains, and there was also a 10%
improvement for Strabag.
Overall the sector was fairly
equally
divided
between
companies whose share prices
lost ground and those that
gained over the month.
However, as the moderate
0.71% gain for the CEC illustrates,
risers just outweighed the fallers.
The picture and result was
similar in the materials sector,
where the CEM Index put on just
0.38% in value over the four weeks.
side, the DAX Xetra managed a
4.18% gain. However, the CAC 40
slipped 0.29% and the FTSE 100
was down 1.75%.
But putting this in context, the
current level around 6,600 points
is about where the FTSE has been
for most of the fourth quarter,
and you would have to go back
to mid-2007 to see similar levels.
In fact, the FTSE is close to its all-
time high, reached in December
1999 at the height of the dot.com
boom, of 6,804 points.
Given that the winter rally
often extends beyond the festive
period into the New Year, it is
not impossible that the FTSE will
mimic the Dow in the weeks to
come and set a new high-tide
mark.
CONSTRUCTION SHARES
The CET Index for the European
construction industry has moved
in a similar way to the FTSE for
most of the fourth quarter.
This is to say that it has hit
something of a plateau and has
remained fairly flat between 180
points and 185 points. Although
there was a net gain of 1.12% for
the CET between weeks 44 and
48 the longer view is that it has
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