Turkey's Sabanci Holding cement unit sees 2015 sales rising 10-15 pct (updated)

Akcansa Cimento Sanayi ve Ticaret AS

24/03/2015 12:49

(Adds details, quotes) 
    ISTANBUL, March 24 (Reuters) - The cement business of 
Turkey's Sabanci Holding  SAHOL.IS  expects its sales to rise 
10-15 percent this year and is looking for acquisition 
opportunities, its chief executive said.  
    Sabanci's cement group, consisting of cement companies 
Akcansa  AKCNS.IS  and Cimsa  CIMSA.IS , posted a 16 percent 
increase in sales to 2.5 billion lira ($980 million) in 2014, 
the cement unit's Chief Executive Officer Hakan Gurdal told 
reporters late on Monday. 
    "We are chasing opportunities for growth abroad. Financial 
structures of Akcansa and Cimsa are getting stronger, creating 
serious potential. We currently have the ability to borrow up to 
$1.5 billion to fund an acquisition," Gurdal said. 
    Sabanci Holding was in a consortium that offered bids for 
some of the assets put up for sale by cement makers Lafarge 
 LAFP.PA  and Holcim  HOLN.VX  after their mega-merger. But 
Irish cement maker CRH  CRH.I  agreed to buy the assets for 6.5 
billion euros. 
    Sabanci has long been interested in acquisitions, but has 
not bought any companies. Gurdal explained this was due to 
geopolitical risks in Turkey's neighbouring region.  
    Gurdal also said the group had an investment target of 
300-330 million lira, most of which would be invested in a 
factory in the Aegean province of Afyon. The factory is expected 
to start producing in May 2016. 
    ($1 = 2.5597 liras) 
 
 (Reporting by Ebru Tuncay; Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by 
David Dolan and Susan Fenton) 
 ((ece.toksabay@thomsonreuters.com; +90 212 3507052; Reuters 
Messaging: ece.toksabay.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: TURKEY SABANCI HOLDING/