By Geraldine Amiel
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France -(Dow Jones)- French building material group Lafarge SA's (LG.FR) Chief Executive Bruno Lafont is "very cautious" on the company's outlook, as "elements of uncertainty" remain, he said in an interview Saturday with Dow Jones Newswires.
Speaking on the sidelines of an economics conference in Aix-en-Provence, southern France, Lafont said the priority for the company remains its current plan to streamline activities, such as the EUR400 million cost savings plan for this year.
Even though the cost reduction programme is in line with the schedule, Lafont said that the company could further cut costs if need be.
"We'll do everything we need to do to remain the best," Lafont said. "If to remain the best means that we'll need to do more, that's of course what we'll do," he said.
Lafarge is also focused on "following growth in countries where we are implemented and that have great growth potentials," Lafont also said.
In Iraq, Lafarge's cement production, with two plants located in the Iraqi Kurdistan, is near full-capacity, with one plant producing at maximum capacity while the other produces at 75% of its capacities, he said.
"Growth is very fast there, which means we might have to further invest to increase our capacities," which shouldn't take too much time, Lafont said, without elaborating on the amounts Lafarge could further invest in Iraq.
Lafont travelled to Iraq on Thursday.
The states' stimulus packages around the world will have "a very small impact" on Lafarge in 2009 but will support the company's activities next year, Lafont also told Dow Jones Newswires.
Asked about the second quarter, that just ended, Lafont declined to make any comment as the company will release its figures for the quarter on July 31.
He noted that the first quarter of 2008 had provided a defavorable basis for comparison for the first quarter's results this year. In the second quarter of 2008 though, "some Western European markets had started to weaken," such as Spain and the U.K., he said.
Company Web site: www.lafarge.com
-By Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires; + 33 1 4017140; geraldine.amiel@dowjones.com;
Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http://www.djnewsplus.com/access/al?rnd=%2BfhAlRqrEit8ajqqv9HwJg%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.

Publié le 04 Juillet 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones