Cement News tagged: Corporate
Steppe Cement Ltd preliminary update to 31 December 2015
Steppe Cement Ltd recorded revenue for the year ended 31 December 2015 of KZT19,537m (US$54m), which was seven per cent lower than the KZT20,925m recorded in the corresponding period of 2014. Sales volumes reached 1.6Mt, an improvement of two per cent YoY. The average price (ex-VAT) for delivered cement was KZT11,890/t in 2015, an eight per cent decrease compared with KZT12,975/t in 2014, m...
China Shanshui to buy back two outstanding senior notes due 2016, 2020
China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd said Thursday it offered to buy back the outstanding amount of two senior notes valued at US$528.9m from investors. The Hong Kong-listed cement maker said it plans to buy back outstanding notes due 2016 and 2020 at 101 per cent of the principal amount plus accrued and unpaid interest in cash. The 2016 and 2020 notes have an outstanding amount of US$28.9m and ...
Kenya: UltraTech in the race to buy stake in ARM?
UltraTech Cement is said to be eyeing a controlling stake in ARM Cement of Kenya, a Nairobi-based newspaper reported. According to the report, the Indian cement producer UltraTech Cement is in the race to acquire a controlling stake in Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed ARM Cement, in which it could buy convertible preference shares of up to US$125m (KES12.7bn). ARM announced 23 December it...
Fitch upgrades Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua's ratings to 'BB'; outlook Stable
Fitch Ratings has upgraded Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) local and foreign currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) to 'BB' from 'BB-'. Fitch also upgraded GCC's US$260m senior notes due 2020 to 'BB' from 'BB-'. The rating outlook is Stable. The ratings upgrade reflects the strengthening of US residential construction across several of the company's markets as well as a favourable economi...
Arkan appoints new chief operating officer, UAE
Arkan Building Materials, a leading construction and building materials company in the UAE, has appointed Abdelaziz Asad as its new chief operating officer. Mr Asad, a UAE national, started his career in 1991 with one of Arkan’s subsidiaries, Emirates Cement Factory. He joined as an electrical engineer and quickly advanced within the organisation, becoming the general manager of the company’s...
HeidelbergCement Ukraine appoints Thiede as board chairperson
HeidelbergCement Ukraine, has appointed Silvio Thiede as chairperson of the board, the company said in a statement published by the Ukrainian News Agency. On 4 January the supervisory board of the company elected Thiede for the period of 11 January 2016-11 January 2019. Ukrainian News earlier reported that on 14 April 2015, the stockholders of HeidelbergCement Ukraine decided to close down t...
CRH exits Israeli operations
CRH confirmed it has exited the Israeli market, having sold its 25 per cent equity stake in its Israeli operations. Nesher Cement is majority-owned by Clal Industries (75 per cent) with CRH having held the remaining shares via holding company, Mashav. The boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement has been campaigning for CRH to sell its stake in Nesher Cement because its...
Changes to Arawak Cement Co's executive board, Barbados
Rupert Greene has resigned from his position as general manager of Arawak Cement Co Ltd (ACCL), effective 31 December 2015. ACCL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL), is the only cement producer on Barbados with a 0.36Mta capacity at Checker Hall, St Lucy. Manuel Toro has been assigned to assume the position of general manager of ACCL, as of 1 January 2016. Mr Gr...
Yanbu Cement Co 4Q15 net profit up 8.3% YoY
Saudi producer Yanbu Cement Co posted 8.3 per cent YoY growth in net profit to SAR209m (US$55.6m) for the fourth quarter of 2015, up from SAR193m in the prior-year period. The cement producer attributed the profit rise in the 4Q15 to an increase in sales. Meanwhile, the full-year net profit rose 0.50 per cent to SAR806m from SAR802m a year ago.
Fitch: Shanshui's rating unaffected by plan to buy back USD bonds
Fitch Ratings says that China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd's announcement that it intends to offer to repurchase its US$500m 7.5 per cent senior notes due 2020 (2020 notes) does not affect the company's rating. This is because the company remains in default on its onshore debt, which triggered a cross-default on its offshore notes. Shanshui's Issuer Default Rating will be reviewed once Shanshu...
CRH confirms total disposal proceeds of EUR1bn for 2015
CRH plc confirmed today total disposal proceeds of approximately EUR1bn in 2015. This comprises the previously announced sale of its clay and concrete products operations in the UK and the Group’s clay business in the US (EUR0.43bn) plus several additional divestments across Europe and the Americas for total proceeds of around EUR0.53bn. During 2015 the group also completed 20 bolt-on acquis...
Credit Suisse upgrades China Resources Cement rating
Credit Suisse raised its target price for China Resources Cement (CRC) at HKD3 (US$0.39), but upgraded its rating from "neutral" to "outperform". The research house cited its sources with the Cement Association and the Standardization Administration of China confirming that the proposal for the elimination of PC32.5/PC32.5R grade cement was approved at the internal committee votes in late Dec...
Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement Co 4Q net rises 4.6%
Qassim Cement Co recorded net earnings of SAR141m (US$37.5m) during the fourth quarter of 2015, a rise of 4.6 per cent from SAR134m in the year-ago period. Full-year net earnings increased four per cent YoY from SAR564m to SAR586m. The cement producer attributed the profit growth to higher sales volume and value, as well as low general and administrative expenses.
TCC warns on full-year net loss
TCC International Holdings Ltd said it expects to swing to a net loss for 2015 from a net profit of HKD2.05bn (US$264.5m) in the previous year. The cement producer said the expected loss was due to a 26 per cent decline in the average selling price of its cement products and a weakening Chinese yuan against the US dollar during the year. The company said it will publish its full-year results...
India: consolidation and market growth on the rise?
Corporate consolidation in the Indian cement industry has been hitting the headlines recently, with local press reporting on potential deals in the pipeline. Meanwhile, with construction activity showing greenshoots, a revival in cement demand could be ahead. Consolidation has been on the rise in India and most recently local press have reported that Jaypee Group is said to be looking to off...
Lafarge may need to divest of more Indian assets due to mining regulations
Lafarge India has submitted a revised proposal to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to sell its entire 11Mta of assets in India, Business Standard reports, citing an investment banker familiar with the development. This decision comes after Lafarge's plan to sell its 5.15Mta cement capacity in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to Birla Corp has hit a hurdle due to mining regulations. Invest...