Cement News tagged: Corporate
Fitch downgrades Cemento Tupi's ratings
Fitch Ratings has downgraded Cimento Tupi SA's (Tupi) ratings as follows: foreign currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'CCC' from 'B-'; Local currency IDR to 'CCC' from 'B-'; Senior unsecured notes due 2018 to 'CCC/RR4' from 'B-/RR4'; --Long-term National Rating to 'CCC(bra)' from 'BB+(bra)'. The downgrade reflects the company's inability to deleverage or improve its liquidity position des...
Lafarge and Holcim agree on revised terms
Lafarge and Holcim are back on track with their proposed merger having reached an agreement on revised terms for the deal. Holcim demanded new terms earlier this week, stating that the merger could no “longer be pursued in its present form and has proposed to enter into negotiations in good faith around the exchange ratio and governance issues." Under the new terms confirmed today, both ...
Moody's: WCC's weakened 2014 results to have no impact on ratings
Moody's Investors Service says that West China Cement Ltd's (WCC) weakened 2014 results are in line with the rating agency's expectations and will have no immediate impact on the company's B1 corporate family and senior unsecured ratings, or its stable rating outlook. "WCC's weakened profitability resulted in an increase in its financial leverage in 2014. However, we expect its financial lev...
AshakaCem Plc appoints new chairman, Nigeria
AshakaCem Plc, a subsidiary of Lafarge Africa Plc, has appointed Malam Suleiman Yahyah as its chairman. The appointment followed the expiration of the tenure of Alhaji Umaru Kwairanga, who has stepped down. The cement manufacturing company in its notice to the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), stated that “the board of directors has appointed Malam Suleiman Yahyah, OON, as the Board Chairma...
HeidelbergCement ‘confident’ on 2015 outlook
HeidelbergCement’s 2014 consolidated financial results show increases in revenue and operating income, and significant increases are expected for the year in hand. The group's turnover increased by four per cent last year to EUR12,614m, or by 8.4 per cent on a comparative basis, and the EBITDA improved by a 2.9 per cent to EUR2288m and the trading profit advanced by five per cent to EUR1595m...
Buzzi Unicem proposes to acquire SACCI
Buzzi Unicem is offering EUR120m for a 99.5 per cent stake in SACCI and the simultaneous relief of all outstanding liabilities from a previous debt restructuring agreement. The proposal is seen as a further step in the consolidation of the fragmented Italian cement industry, where Buzzi Unicem is the second largest producer behind Italcementi. SACCI presently operates four cement plants, ...
Reliance to sell part of cement division?
Reliance Infrastructure, part of the Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, may sell half of its cement business to fund the acquisition of Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering. Reliance Cement is in talks with Heidelberg and Italcementi, and has offered a 50 per cent stake in the company, according to a report published yesterday by Business Standard (India). The prospective joint venture part...
Cemex aims to trim debt by US$1bn in 2015
Cemex is aiming to cut its debt by up to US$1bn this year. The company believes it can refinance US$2.9bn in bonds at a coupon of around nine per cent this year, according to a presentation to investors. Cemex had total debt of US$16.29bn at the end of 2014. Separately, Cemex said it expected compound annual growth of four per cent in sales volumes between 2014-2016.
HeidelbergCement completes sale of North American and UK building products business
HeidelbergCement on Friday completed the sale of its North American (excluding Western Canada) and United Kingdom building products business (collectively “Hanson Building Products”) to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. “I am very glad to be able to hand over Hanson Building Products to a buyer which as an experienced financial investor will support the sustainable development of the business ...
Holcim Board seek exchange ratio renegotiation for Lafarge-Holcim merger
Holcim has issued a statement on its Annual General Meeting and the Board of Directors' decision to renegotiate the exchange ratio for the Lafarge-Holcim tie-up. The Board of Directors of Holcim Ltd has decided that the agenda for the Annual General Meeting of 13 April 2015 will only contain topics related to Holcim Ltd. This decision has been taken due to pending antitrust clearance in the...
Attock Cement to remit US$24m Iraqi project
Attock Cement Pakistan Limited (ACPL), Pakistan, one of Pakistan’s largest cement manufacturers and exporters, has received government approval to remit US$24m as an equity investment for the establishment of a cement grinding unit in Basra, Iraq. The permission was given by the the country's finance minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, who chaired the meeting of the Economic Coordination Co...
India: Aditya Cement starts third line, builds grinding unit
UltraTech Cement Ltd has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that the company has commissioned its clinker plant of 2Mta at Aditya Cement Works, Shambhupura, Rajasthan. The 6000tpd kiln takes Aditya Cement's clinker capacity up to 7.18Mta and cement capacity to 5Mta. Meanwhile, the greenfield Jhajjar grinding unit at Haryana, northern India, is under construction and is expected to be ...
Bangladesh: MI Cement will package growth
MI Cement Factory Ltd plans to grow on the back of higher domestic cement demand. Bangladesh is expecting rapid development in terms of new public infrastructure, communication and housing facilities. At present, MI Cement Factory’s total cement production capacity is 5800tpd, or 1.74Mta. The plan is to install a new cement packaging facility to help meet demand. "We have decided to set up a...
Lafarge Zimbabwe revenue declines 11%
Lafarge Cement Zimbabwe recorded a 11 per cent decline in turnover to US$60.4m for the year ended 31 December due to a drop in volumes and prices. In the period under review the group recorded a seven per cent drop in domestic sales and a three per cent decline in average selling prices. Profit for the year declined to US$80,950 from US$3.5m in 2013. “The reason of the decline of the oper...
TCC International Holdings net profit rises 22.5%
TCC International Holdings Ltd said net profit surged 22.5 per cent to US$264m. The Chinese cement producer attributed the profit rise to strong sales in southern China, where production plants in Guangdong and Guangxi provinces contributed more to sales. However, both cement sales and average selling price has dropped in the second half of 2014, it said in a public statement.
Cimaf inaugurates Ouadgadougou works
Morocco’s Ciments de L’Afrique (Cimaf) is close to inaugurating its Ouagadougou plant in Burkina Faso. The 0.5Mta works represents an investment of XOF25bn (US$40m), according to local press reports. Cimaf will be able to double its capacity to 1Mta under the right market conditions and also export, according to the CEO of the group, Anas Sefrioiui. It is the fourth cement plant to start...