Cement News tagged: Corporate
Solid first quarter for Cementos Argos
Cementos Argos posted first-quarter net income of US$39m, up 51.7 per cent compared to the first quarter 2013. The company attributed the increase in net income in part to the inclusion of the results from a recently acquired operation in Honduras, as well as 24 days of results from new assets in Florida, company representatives explained during an investor's conference call. “The signifi...
Fitch: Spanish tax ruling negative for Cemex
The recent ruling by Spanish tax authorities to fine Cemex Espana EUR455m will slow the recovery of Cemex’s credit profile but will not result in a negative rating action to the 'B+' rating of Cemex or the 'BB-' of the company's bonds, according to Fitch Ratings. Cemex has announced it plans to appeal this fine, which was levied for alleged underpayment of taxes between 2006 and 2009. Cemex w...
PPC positive profit alert, South Africa
South Africa’s leading cement producer PPC said Friday it is likely to post higher profits in the six months to March this year. Headline earnings per share are likely to rise to be between 30 and 40 per cent higher than the past comparable period due to non-recurring items the company said in a trading statement released last week. The company is continuing with its strategy of expanding o...
Holcim's results boosted by mild winter in Europe
Holcim's first quarter turnover declined by 5.4 per cent to CHF4,088m (€3,342m), but on a like-for-like basis, there was a 7.8 per cent increase while measured in euros the turnover was off by five per cent. The operating EBITDA declined by 5.1 per cent to CHF617m (€504m), but this represents an underlying increase of 10.1 per cent. The trading profit increased by 9.3 per cent to CHF295m (...
ACC and Ambuja post diverging results, India
Holcim’s two Indian interests have posted contrasting results for the first quarter of 2014, with ACC’s profit down nine per cent while Ambuja Cement’s net climbs 6.6 per cent. Ambuja Cements reported a net profit of INR5.20bn (US$85.2m) for the first quarter ended March 31, compared with INR4.88bn a year earlier. Sales volume increased two per cent to 6.06Mt. Ambuja's net profit was help...
Lucky Cement 9MFY13-14 profit rises
Pakistan’s leading cement producer Lucky Cement reported a profit after tax for nine months of PKR8.185bn (US$83m), up 17.2 per cent YoY. Earnings per share (EPS) for the period increased to PKR25.31 against an EPS of PKR21.59 of corresponding period last year. Local sales volumes during the period registered a growth of 7.7 per cent to 2.9Mt compared to 2.7Mt in FY12-13. Exports increas...
Tande's term as MD of East African Portland Cement extended, Kenya
Kephar Tande's term as managing director of East African Portland Cement Co (EAPCC) has been renewed for a further three years. Industrialization and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed confirmed the extension of Tande’s tenure, effective from November 2013. "I wish to thank the cabinet secretary and president, Uhuru Kenyatta, for the re-appointment. I am committed to full...
Gansu Qilianshan quarterly net loss widens, China
Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group Co Ltd saw its net loss widen to CNY84.94m in the first quarter of 2014, compared with a deficit of CNY73.63m in the corresponding period of 2013, according to a statement by the company. The northwest China cement manufacturer attributes the decline to growing operational costs in the first three months of the year.
UltraTech Cement quarterly profit rises 15% YoY
UltraTech Cement reported a 15 per cent rise in net profit of INR8.4bn (US$138m) for the first quarter of the year on cost control initiatives. The company said it saw continuing pressure on input and logistic costs due to the increase in railway freight and a continuous hike in diesel prices. Although there was some relief on account of softening prices of imported coal, the impact was nega...
Holcim to reorganise Obourg, Belgium
Holcim Belgique announced its plans to adapt the organisational structure of its Obourg cement works near Mons, a step which would affect 48 jobs. The company attributes the reorganisation to the significant fall in Dutch cement consumption and a slowdown in French cement demand. Holcim Belgique serves the markets in the north of France, Belgium, southern Netherlands and western Germany. ...
EC to investigate Cemex and Holcim Spanish deal
The European Commission said on Wednesday it is investigating plans by Cemex and Holcim over a Spanish deal because of competition issues. "The Commission has concerns that the transaction may reduce competition in certain areas of Spain where the two companies' activities overlap," the EU executive said in a statement. Removing Holcim from the Spanish market “could facilitate coordinatio...
Siam City double-digit rise in earnings and sales
Siam City Cement Co (SCCC) reported a double-digit rise in earnings and sales during the first quarter of 2014, as higher cement prices and increased exports help offset declines in its domestic market of Thailand. SCCC said yesterday to the Stock Exchange of Thailand that earnings rose 56 per cent YoY to THB1.9bn as net sales rose 14 per cent to THB8.65bn. Thailand’s second-largest cement p...
Cemento Melón cuts investments to US$15m due to 10% sales decline
Chile’s Cemento Melón has seen sales drop by 10 per cent in the first quarter of 2014. "Earlier this year we estimated that we would at least maintain 2013 sales, but in the first quarter the market fell about 10 per cent, and we saw sales drop by a similar number," Jorge Eugenin, the company’s CEO, said. In addition, as the cement industry is nearly 100 per cent dollarised, the depreciation...
Al Jouf first-quarter earnings drop, Saudi Arabia
Al Jouf Cement posted a drop in earnings of about 40 per cent YoY to SAR15m (US$4m), missing Al-Rajhi Capital’s estimates of SAR 17.8m but exceeding consensus estimate of SAR13m, the research house said in a recent report. Al-Rajhi Capita believes the cement producer’s weak performance was on account of the declining sales volumes given the stiff competition it faces from competitors in the n...
Henan Tongli plans share issuance, China
Henan Tongli Cement Co Ltd plans to issue 48m shares to China United Cement Group Corp at CNY6.32 per share via a private placement, according to company announcement yesterday. The central China-based producer intends to spend CNY303m worth of proceeds from the issuance to repay bank loans and replenish working capital. The placement is pending approval by the China Securities Regulatory Com...
Najran secures finance for waste heat project
Najran Cement has signed a SAR150m Sharia-compliant loan facility with Banque Saudi Fransi, aimed at financing the company’s waste heat recovery project. The loan has a maturity period of five years (April 18, 2014 until December 31, 2019). It will be repaid in six quarterly instalments at SAR25m each, starting from September 30, 2018 until December 31, 2019.