Jan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Lafarge SA, the world's biggest cement maker, said fourth-quarter sales rose 0.5 percent, helped by rising demand in Greece before this summer's Olympic Games. Operating profit was ``stable'' compared with 2002.

Revenue climbed to 3.38 billion euros ($4.3 billion) from 3.36 billion euros in the year-earlier before, said Stephanie Tessier, a spokeswoman for the Paris-based company. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a decline on average.

Construction in Greece is rising as businesses there build stadiums, hotels and roads for the Olympic Games in Athens. Lafarge's overall sales of cement in the fourth quarter climbed 11 percent after a ``particularly poor'' last quarter in 2002.

``Greece showed a strong level of growth in the run up to the Olympic games coupled with a very buoyant residential housing market,'' Lafarge said in a statement.

Shares of Lafarge have added 30 percent in a year, the 10th- biggest gain of 14 companies in the Bloomberg Europe Building- Materials Index. Lafarge has a market value of 11.5 billion euros.

Lafarge's total 2003 sales dropped 6.5 percent to 13.7 billion euros, hurt by the euro's 20 percent gain against the dollar last year, which diminished the value of U.S. sales when converted into the European currency. The company does almost one-third of its business in North America.

Impact of Currencies

Excluding the effects of disposals and exchange-rate variations, revenue rose 4.6 percent.

``The effect of foreign currency fluctuations on 2003 sales was significant, and particularly the weakness of the U.S. dollar,'' the company said in the statement.

Lafarge, the world's largest maker of building materials, reiterated its expectation for ``stable'' full-year operating income, excluding exchange-rate variations. The figure for 2002 was 2.13 billion euros.

The company has expanded beyond French cement to avoid depending on any one market. Lafarge cement helped build the facade of the New York Stock Exchange and its plaster was used in Shanghai's opera house.

Lafarge had debt of 10.1 billion euros as of June 30. Chief Executive Officer Bernard Kasriel has said he plans to cut 1 billion euros of debt to meet commitments made in 2001 when Lafarge acquired Blue Circle Industries Plc of the U.K. to become the world leader.

Last Updated: January 28, 2004 02:29 EST