ZURICH (Reuters) - Holcim reported better-than-expected earnings for its fourth quarter on Friday as the building materials company gave more details of its plan to spin off its North American business.

Holcim reported recurring operating profit rising 4.4% to 1.17 billion Swiss francs ($1.30 billion), beating forecasts for 1.14 billion francs in a company gathered consensus of analysts.

The cement maker's sales of 6.47 billion francs in the three months to the end of December, down 1.9% from a year earlier, was roughly in line with forecasts for 6.45 billion francs.

On Friday, Holcim also said it had made filings to the United States securities regulator about the planned spin-off of its North American business, expected to be one of the biggest deals in the global construction market this year.

Holcim has filed a Form 10 registration statement to the SEC with details about the carved-out business, and also said it would hold an investor day on March 25 in New York.

The business, which Holcim said last week it would call Amrize, had revenues of $11.7 billion in 2024 and adjusted core profit of $3.2 billion.

"Today's filing marks an important step towards the planned listing of Amrize and our ambition to become North America's leading building solutions company from foundation to rooftop," Holcim Chairman Jan Jenisch, who is set to be CEO of Amrize, said in a statement.

($1 = 0.8988 Swiss francs)