Holcim P/E

Looking at the Holcim 2007 full year numbers there are a very few items that let the company look not THAT cheap as it has been touted for a while in the press in Switzerland. Of course as stated in the income statement, the sale of the South African business with a profit of CHF 1249 mio, a huge minority interest, but then also a hefty currency translation charge directly to equity.

So unless I am wrong taking it all into account, this results in diluted earnings per share of CHF 9.45 (compared to the official CHF 14.73). With today's share price this results into a P/E multiple of 11.64.

I am not saying that this stock isn't a bargain or even a steal. Just the P/E multiple of 5.5 I was reading somewhere (Finanz und Wirtschaft) I have a hard time to believe.