Cement News tagged: Corporate
Ha Tien 1 Cement net profit surges, Vietnam
Ha Tien 1 Cement JSC (HT1) said its net profit jumped to VND250.36bn (US$11.64m) in the first quarter of this year, from VND2bn in the same period of 2014, thanks to an increase in financial incomes and a decease in financial costs. Vietnam's largest cement maker by market capitalisation, said net revenue fell 4.25 per cent YoY to VND1.6trn in the January-March period, HT1 said in its quarte...
PPC to ease expansion, focus on existing projects
PPC said it will expand more slowly after spending on its 'Rest of Africa' projects has raised its debt load, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday. PPC is building plants in African countries as part of a wider plan to generate 40 per cent of its sales outside its home market by 2017. However, spending on these projects is pushing up its debt levels and CEO Darryll Castle said PPC'...
ISS backs LafargeHolcim deal
US shareholder adviser ISS has recommended that Holcim investors back the Swiss cement maker's proposed merger with Lafarge ahead of next month's shareholder vote on the tie-up. Backing from ISS is a boost Holcim as it seeks to win the support of two-thirds of investors at a shareholder meeting on 8 May 2015 to approve a capital increase to fund the proposed deal. ISS said in its report to i...
Ciments de Bizerte registers 20% drop in 1Q15 turnover
Tunisia’s Ciments de Bizerte saw its turnover fall by 19.6 per cent YoY in 1Q15 to TND11.115m. In Tunisia, the figure fell by 11.5 per cent as domestic demand fell by 9.7 per cent. However, the company noted a 84 per cent drop in exports due to the volatility of the Algerian market and the weak demand from Libya.
Century Textiles to reportedly spin off cement unit
Century Textiles, owned by Birla patriarch Basant Kumar Birla, will spin off its cement business and merge it in an all-share deal with UltraTech Cement, owned by grandson Kumar Mangalam Birla, two people with direct knowledge of the plan have told the Economic Times of India. "Both companies are in the final stages of a plan to merge the cement businesses," one of the two persons said. "The ...
Semen Indonesia eyeing another Vietnamese acquisition
Semen Indonesia is looking to acquire a second cement producer in Vietnam to further bolster its presence in the southeast Asian country. Director of finance Ahyanizzaman said Semen Indonesia had assigned a total capital expenditure of between IDR7trn (US$545.8m) and IDR11trn this year to boost its operations, which includes the takeover of the Vietnamese company. He said that the firm was ...
Standard & Poor’s revises Italcementi rating
Standard & Poor’s announced Friday that it has revised the corporate rating of Italcementi SpA, and as a consequence the rating of Italcementi Finance SA’s outstanding unsecured bonds, from BB+ with negative outlook to BB with stable outlook. The rating of Ciments Français SAS’ remaining outstanding bond is also revised to BB/stable. “We acknowledge Standard & Poor’s decision, even if it co...
Siam Cement earnings' preview: robust quarter expected
Thai conglomerate SCC is expected to report a strong net profit of THB10.2bn (US$315m) in the first quarter of 2015, up 21 per cent YoY and 15 per cent QoQ, according to estimations by SCB Securities. “We continue to like SCC for several reasons: 1) it benefits from low oil price via wider spreads and cheaper fuel costs and from a weak baht as a net exporter; 2) 2Q15 profit will continue s...
Fitch downgrades Shanshui to 'BB-'; on Negative Watch
Fitch Ratings has downgraded China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The ratings have also been placed on Rating Watch Negative. The downgrade is driven by our view that the current weak cement price in Shanshui's core markets will persist, and affect the company's ability to improve its financial performance. The...
Holcim says Eurocement proposal 'too late' for consideration at meeting
Holcim said a proposal by a major shareholder to have a seat on the LafargeHolcim board had come too late to be included in the agenda of a shareholder meeting next month. Lafarge and Holcim announced the names of the candidates for the board of the new group earlier this week, in a list comprising seven nominees from Holcim and seven from Lafarge. On Wednesday, Eurocement notified Holcim ...
Holcim and Lafarge propose final US asset disposals
Lafarge and Holcim announce further details on the package of assets they propose to divest in the United States, as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include: • Lafarge's 1.1Mta Davenport cement plant (Iowa) and seven terminals along the Mississippi River to be sold to Summit Materials for a total consideration of US$450m in cash plus Summit’s Bettend...
Saudi Cement net profit up 6%
Saudi Cement has reported a 5.9 per cent increase in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday as higher exports boosted its earnings. Saudi Arabia's largest cement company by market value said in a bourse filing its net profit for the three months to 31 March was SAR303m (US$80.8m), compared to SAR286m in the corresponding period of 2014. It attributed its net profit rise to increased export sale...
Eurocement seeks Galchev Board seat at LafargeHolcim
Eurocement Holding AG, the second-biggest shareholder in Holcim Ltd, said Wednesday it is nominating its owner, Filaret Galchev, for a position on the Board of the company that would be created by the planned tie-up between Holcim and Lafarge. The proposed nomination of Galchev in an emailed statement may signal that Eurocement, which holds a 10.8 per cent stake in Holcim, is willing to sup...
Spain: Cementos Portland reports EUR29.5m loss
FCC-owned Cementos Portland closed the first quarter of 2015 with a EUR29.5m loss, representing a 21.2 per cent higher figure when compared with 1Q14. The cement company attributes the fall to lower CO2 sales and new accounting rules relating to annual maintenance costs. Taking into account these effects, results improve by EUR7m. Revenues increased 9.4 per cent to EUR121.8m as the compan...
Hoang Phat Vissai Group acquires control of Song Lam 2 Cement
Hoang Phat Vissai Group has acquired Song Lam 2 Cement JSC in Vietnam's central province of Nghe An from state-owned PetroVietnamCement 12/9 JSC. The group will invest VND500bn to complete and speed up construction of the plant in order to operate it in the next quarter. By purchasing Song Lam 2 Cement Company, Vissai now owns nine clinker and cement production units across Vietnam.
Oman Cement 1Q net profit up 3.7%
Oman Cement reported a 3.7 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, beating analyst forecasts. The company made a net profit of OMR3.83m (US$9.95m) in three months to 31 March, up from OMR3.70m in the corresponding period of 2014. Three analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast the firm would make a net profit of OMR3.2m. Oman Cement’s first-quarter revenue rose 10.6 per ...