Vicat S.A. (VCT.PA) : juste valeur

Thèse ACCE

Vicat is a French cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete producer, with cement plants and quarries across France, Europe, Africa and Asia, and it also sells the building materials that go with them, such as mortars and precast products. The moat is the economics of heavy construction materials: cement is costly to haul, so plants win on local proximity and pricing discipline, and Vicat's 36.2% gross margin and 9.6% operating margin reflect that pricing power. Revenue growth of 8.0% is the number to test, since it has to come from volume and price rather than acquisitions, and it is worth checking how much is coming from its emerging-market operations versus France. At 9.0 trailing and 8.1 forward earnings with a 10.2% ROE, the stock is priced for a cyclical business with modest returns, so the question for a deeper look is whether energy costs and European construction activity hold up enough for those margins to stay where they are. The company has no index membership, which means the holder base and liquidity profile are worth examining before sizing any position.