Broad geographical diversification, Strong market positions in highly consolidated areas, and Substantial vertical integration in ready-mix activities. The industry's cyclicality, Material exposure to the structurally difficult German market, and The company's weak financial profile. (Editor's note: In the debt maturity section of this analysis, two years were misstated. In addition, the year of maturity for short-term gross debt was misstated in the first paragraph of the liquidity section. A corrected version of the article follows.) The ratings on HeidelbergCement AG, the fourth-largest cement producer worldwide, reflect the group's above-average business profile--translating into a consistent ability to generate satisfactory cash flow--and currently weak financial profile attributable to significant debt-financed external growth over the past few years. With €3.2 billion of sales
