Holcim is expecting a “significant” improvement in operating profits in 2013 after reporting a net loss for the final quarter of 2012.

The Swiss cement maker is in the throes of a cost-cutting programme as it battles to adapt its business to weak demand in Europe. It warned in December those efforts would result in charges in its fourth-quarter results. The result was a net loss of SFr161 million.

However, Holcim insisted that the cost-cutting programme would improve margins in 2013, leading to “significant growth” in earnings, assuming market conditions remained similar to those in 2012.

It said it would continue to invest in expanding its capacity in emerging markets, with new plants set to come on line in India, Brazil and Indonesia by the end of 2015. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013)