The court confirmed the essence of a 2009 verdict in the German cartel proceedings but the figure has been reduced by €8.5m to reflect the time it has taken to resolve the case.
The company and other cement producers were initially fined in 2003 by the German competition authority for violations of cartel laws between 1990 and 2002. After an appeal against the fine, the case was reevaluated in 2009, and the fine reduced from around €250m to around €170m.
An appeal against this verdict was lodged with the Federal Court of Justice in connection with the breach of procedural and material regulations. The Federal Court of Justice has now reduced the fine by additional €8.5m due to the excessive length of the proceedings.
“We have to accept the verdict of the Federal Court of Justice, and we state that the law suit has now been concluded after a long period of time,” said Dr Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement. “No current member of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement was involved in the incidents which date back more than 10 years. Since then, HeidelbergCement has set up a consistent compliance programme which was certified by a renowned law firm in 2010.”
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