The positive trend in TITAN Group consolidated turnover and earnings continued through the first half of 2000. Consolidated turnover reached Drs 98.4 bln, up by 9.6% compared to HY1999. EBITDA increased by 24.2% to reach Drs 28 bln. Consolidated net earnings, after provisions for minorities and taxes, increased by 8.5% to Drs 13 bln.The earnings improvement is due mainly to increased demand in most of the Group's major markets and to the contribution of Beni Suef Cement Company results, which are consolidated with the equity method. The increase in energy costs had a negative effect on gross margin, especially for the Greek activities. The rise of the dollar boosted sales and operating earnings, but concurrently created foreign exchange losses (which appear in extraordinary results) deriving from Group liabilities and currency hedging.The parent company, TITAN Cement S.A., posted a 4.4% increase in turnover, which reached 54.8 bln, while net after-tax earnings increased slightly to Drs 11.8 bln. The parent company's earnings include Drs 3.6 bln of income from equity participations, compared to Drs 2.6 bln for the first half of 1999.It should be noted that TITAN Group announced yesterday that, in pursuance of its strategic objective for international expansion, it has reached an agreement for the acquisition of Tarmac America Inc., a building materials producer in the United States of America.