Cement News tagged: Corporate
PCA expects 2015 demand to increase 5%
Despite volatility in equity markets and concerns about global growth conditions, PCA Chief Economist and Group Vice President, Edward Sullivan, has said “the fundamentals in the United States are sound and should support sustained growth in construction activity.” The PCA notes that the US economy is characterised by steady and strong gains in net job creation, low inflation, low interest ra...
Indian prices rising in the north, down in the south - report
JM Financial says in the past few weeks India cement prices have risen by INR50/bag in the north while they fell by INR20/bag in the south. Across India though cement prices have increased just 1.1 per cent YoY during April-July. If the divergence continues, north India-based cement makers may see a sharp rebound in profitability after four to five quarters of disappointing earnings, whereas...
GCC to invest US$90m in US plant
Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) will invest up to US$90m in the next two years to increase capacity at one of its three US plants, while assessing further acquisition opportunities, according to Luis Carlos Arias, finance director of GCC. The investment will enable GCC to nearly double capacity at its South Dakota works. The facility currently has a production capacity of 0.7Mta, which is...
Vicat launches new range of high performance cements
Vicat is launching a new range of “ultra-performing” cements: Alpenatup, Ultimatup, Smartup and Promptup. The latest additions to the Vicat product range are particularly suited to the construction, public works and civil engineering markets, according to the company. "We wanted to give this range of ultra-high performance cements an easily-understood name as well as a colour code that is con...
Pakistan's August sales buoyed by domestic dispatches
Pakistan cement dispatches rose by 10.24 per cent in August 2015 to 3.061Mt despite a 31 per cent drop in exports. According to the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA), domestic sales during August 2015 increased by 28 per cent to 2.494Mt from 1.94Mt a year earlier. Dispatches from the North Zone were up by 22.8 per cent YoY to 2.024Mt (August 2014: 1.648M...
Essroc Italcementi Group announces new CEO
The Italcementi Group has appointed Alex Car as the president and CEO of its Essroc North American operations. Car previously served as Essroc senior vice president of cement sales and marketing and general manager of construction materials. “I am honoured to be appointed as Essroc’s CEO,” Mr Car said. “It is a privilege to be part of an organization that delivers high-quality products and in...
Lucky Cement full-year profit advances, Pakistan
Lucky Cement Ltd reported net profit of PKR12.43bn (US$119m) for the year ended 30 June 2015, representing a 9.6 per cent YoY increase. Revenue advanced by 3.9 per cent to PKR44.76bn compared to PKR43.08bn a year earlier. The increase was mainly attributed to higher sales local volumes which rose by seven per cent YoY to 4.42Mt. However, exports declined by 4.5 per cent to 2.37Mt compared w...
Cementos Argos launches brand in Puerto Rico
Colombia-based cement producer Cementos Argos has completed its entry into the Puerto Rican cement market by launching its brand locally. The company is importing cement through a terminal, of which it assumed leadership since 1 May 2015. “Through this new receipt, storage and distribution terminal, we are making all of our experience, knowledge and innovation available to the local market. A...
LafargeHolcim offer to pay down €1.75bn debt
LafargeHolcim announced that they have offered to pay down EUR1.75bn worth bonds (average cost of 5.8 per cent) with an expiration date of 15 September. JP Morgan believe this should lower the annual interest cost by CHF423m and help the group in attaining a lower cost of debt. It further believes the company has the ability to further lower gross debt following the disposal of assets to CRH...
Buzzi Unicem to build new Texas rail terminal, USA
Buzzi Unicem USA is to construct a US$7m rail terminal in northwest Temple, Texas, officials announced Friday. The terminal will use at least 1000 rail cars each year for cement distribution. As part of the project, Buzzi Unicem USA will add a rail spur, a secondary rail line that will branch off from the main rail line in Temple. “Temple is the ideal location for our company because it i...
CRH appoints Group Finance Director
CRH announced yesterday the appointment of Senan Murphy as Group Finance Director with effect from 4 January 2016. Senan will succeed Maeve Carton who will become Group Transformation Director as previously announced. Both will be members of the Group Board. Senan (46), is a Chartered Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin. He has over 25 years’ expe...
Umm Al Qura Cement signs deal with CNBM International Engineering
Umm Al Qura Cement has signed an agreement with CNBM International Engineering to operate a cement production line, the company said in a bourse statement on Monday. The SAR32m (US$8.5m) agreement covers the experimental operational period and first year of operation. The deal will be financed from the company’s cash sources.
TCL signs loan agreements with international banks
Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL) has made an announcement on its settlement of loan deals worth US$200m with international banking giants. TCL has signed the loan agreements, which will remain operational for a period of five years, with Credit Suisse and Citibank. During the recently held deal signing event at Citibank (Trinidad and Tobago), the chairman of TCL Wilfred Espinet has stated that t...
Peru: Volcan mulls sale of Polpaico shares
Peruvian mining firm Volcan could sell its share in Chilean cement company Polpaico if metal prices continue falling, according to the firm's CFO Jorge Murillo. Volcan could receive around USD 27mn (EUR 24.22m) for its share, of around 20 per cent, in the business. Holcim owns 54.3 per cent of Polpaico.
Holcim Liban posts steep fall in 1H profit
Cement producer Holcim Liban posted an unaudited net profit of US$2m in the first half of 2015, down 78.3 per cent from net earnings of US$9.4m in the same period of 2014. The firm’s sales totaled US$66.7m in the first half, a decline of 28.5 per cent from US$93.2m in the same period of 2014. Gross profit margin reached 28 per cent in the first half of 2015 relative to 30.7 per cent in the s...
RAK Cement buys back 68,560 shares, UAE
Ras Al Khaimah Cement Co decided to repurchase 68,560 of its shares on Thursday at AED0.83/share. Accordingly, the total number of treasury shares rose to 10.29m with 45.6m shares remaining to be bought as part of the company’s buyback programme, according to a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange Sunday. The cement firm recently reported a fall in its net profits for 1H15 to AED2.45...