ZURICH, April 24 (Reuters) - Holcim HOLN.S reported on Friday better than expected first quarter results, with the building materials maker confirming its full year outlook despite concerns about the slowing global economy weighing on confidence in the construction sector.
The Swiss company said its sales fell 4.8% to 3.52 billion Swiss francs ($4.47 billion) in the three months to the end of March, beating analyst forecasts for 3.42 billion Swiss francs.
Recurring operating profit (EBIT) fell to 431 million francs, ahead of analyst forecasts for 407 million francs in a company gathered consensus.
($1 = 0.7867 Swiss francs)
(Reporting by John Revill, Editing by Friederike Heine)
((John.Revill@thomsonreuters.com; +41 41 528 36 37; Reuters Messaging: john.revill.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))