LafargeHolcim's chief executive Eric Olsen has sought to shrug off a dismal first quarter for the cement giant.
He said price hikes and cost savings from last year's merger would help 2016 operating profit grow by at least a high single-digit rate.
The company said its first quarter adjusted operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation slipped 17% at constant exchange rates to 824 million Swiss francs.
This was well below the average analyst estimate of 935 million francs in a Reuters poll.
Sales dropped 5.5% to 6.1 billion francs, but rose slightly in constant currencies.
France's Lafarge and Switzerland's Holcim joined forces last June, betting a bigger size would help defy pressures including sluggish markets.
The company said today it had begun boosting prices, its fuel prices were sinking and that it expected to exceed its goal of 450 million francs in merger-related synergies in 2016.
Analysts said LafargeHolcim's quarterly performance was even worse than expected, making it tough to deliver on Olsen's goal for the full year of high single-digit-rate growth of adjusted operating EBITDA at constant exchange rates.
But the company's optimistic view of the balance of 2016 mirrors recent announcements by rivals.
A week ago, Heidelberg raised its profit guidance for 2016 after it got off to a better-than-expected start. France's much-smaller Vicat also forecast improved operating performance in 2016.
Olsen stuck to his goal of generating 3.5 billion francs in proceeds from divestitures in 2016 - including Indian plant disposals he now expects to announce in the second half - and added he has identified additional assets to be unloaded.
"There's a substantial additional amount that we're working on," Olsen said. "The overall amount would be less in 2017 than 2016, but it will still be a substantial effort."
