Cement News tagged: Corporate
Saudi: Arabian Cement quarterly net profit up 6.2% YoY
Saudi-based Arabian Cement Company (ACC) posted a SAR167.1m (US$44.6m) net profit for the first quarter of 2014, up 6.2 per cent from SAR157.3m a year ago. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at SAR 2.09, compared with SAR1.97.
Semen Baturaja sales up 24% in first three months
Indonesian state-owned cement maker PT Semen Baturaja's first-quarter sales rose 24 per cent to 305,000t from a year earlier. The cement producer has also opened a new cement mill with a capacity of 750,000tpa, according to a report from Kresna Securities. Baturaja said it plans to join fellow Indonesian manufactures on the Indonesia Stock Exchange and “may go public in the next two years,”...
CEO Dr Scheifele: LH merger no threat to HeidelbergCement
The announced mega-merger of Lafarge and Holcim is expected to change the competitive landscape in the cement industry as a new global building materials giant, LafargeHolcim, is created. Where does this leave other cement majors such as HeidelbergCement? Dr Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement, does not view the merger and the benefits of a much larger global footprint as a threat to h...
Holcim Spain to cut staff by 122
Holcim Spain and unions have reached a preliminary agreement to reduce the company’s staff of 650 by 18.7 per cent, according to the Spanish news service ABC. As a result 122 workers would be affected, rather than the 141 as stated in the initial ERE employment regulation record, reported earlier. Since 2008, Spain’s cement market has contracted considerably with cement producers making s...
Italcementi shareholders approve 2013 results
At Italcementi’s annual general meeting in Bergamo yesterday, the shareholders of Italcementi SpA approved the financial statements for 2013. The company closed the year with an operating profit of EUR159.3m (against a loss of EUR140.2m the year before) and revenue of EUR4235.4m. The AGM approved distribution of a dividend of EUR0.06/each ordinary share (EUR0.06 in FY12) and EUR0.06/each savi...
Bosowa Maros plans IPO by 2016
The Bosowa Group of Indonesia plans to take its cement unit, Semen Bosowa Maros, to an initial public offering by 2016. “We may go public within the next two years. The market’s been anticipating Semen Bosowa will go public, since many cement makers have entered the bourse,” Sadikin Aksa, managing director at Bosowa Corporindo, told the Jakarta Globe. While the company is focussing on the...
China Resources Cement sees strong growth in attributable profit
China Resources Cement (CRC) has said it expects profit attributable to shareholders for the quarter ending 31 March 2014 to be significantly higher compared to the corresponding period of 2013. The improvement is mainly attributed to higher average selling prices (ASP) of cement and clinker as well as reduced coal costs compared to 1Q13. The company’s quarterly results announcement will be ...
Egypt: ACC to start IPO roadshow next week
Egypt's Arabian Cement Company (ACC) plans to start an international roadshow next week to float between 22.5-30 per cent of the company, its chief executive, Jose Maria Magrina, told Reuters on Monday. "Our target is the 14th of May to start trading and I think 12th of May end of subscription but that may change ... It depends on the result of the roadshow," Mr Magrina said.
Fitch affirms Siam City Cement’s long-term rating, outlook ‘Stable’
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Thailand-based Siam City Cement Public Co Ltd's (SCCC) National Long-Term Rating at 'A(tha)', its National Short-Term Rating at 'F1(tha)', its National Long-Term Rating on its senior unsecured debentures at 'A (tha)'. The outlook is Stable. Leading market position SCCC has maintained its position as Thailand's second-largest cement producer with a stable market sh...
Fitch affirms Holcim long-term rating
Following the announcement by Holcim to merge with Lafarge SA, Fitch Ratings has affirmed the Swiss major's Long-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB'. The Outlook is Stable. The affirmation reflects the combined group's improved scale, diversification and market positions on completion of their announced merger and the synergy potentials between the two companies. “We forecast funds...
Anglo American completes the sale of Tarmac Building Products to Lafarge Tarmac
Anglo American plc announced the completion of its sale of Tarmac Building Products Limited (TBP) to Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Ltd (Lafarge Tarmac), following receipt of regulatory approval. Anglo American announced on 14 November 2013 that it had reached an agreement to sell TBP to Lafarge Tarmac Holdings Limited, the 50:50 joint venture of Lafarge’s and Anglo American’s construction materials...
SCCC cautious on revenue growth and demand
Siam City Cement (SCCC) is cautious on its outlook for the year and expects marginal or even flat revenue growth. Speaking to the Bangkok Post, director and chief executive Vorathep Rangchaikul, said the political conflicts of the last six months have hurt economic activity. Consequently, local cement consumption most likely will expand by just 2-3 per cent this year. SCCC has thus tried to ...
Argos acquires French Guiana assets
Colombia's largest cement maker, Argos, said on Wednesday it will pay EUR50m to acquire Ciments Guyanias, owned equally by Lafarge and Holcim, just two days after the European majors announced a merger. The purchase includes a 200,000tpa clinker grinding plant and a port, both located in Degrad des Cannes, close to the capital Cayenne. Argos said the move forms part of the company’s objecti...
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos plans bond buyback
Votorantim Cimentos yesterday unveiled plans to buy back up to US$1.03bn in overseas bonds due 2017, according to a banker close to the transaction. The bonds carried an annual coupon of 5.25 per cent and a yield of 5.32 per cent. The offer will expire 16 April. At the same time, Votorantim Cimentos hired a group of banks to coordinate a road show to promote a new debt sale, another person...
Fitch Ratings considers Lafarge upgrade
Fitch Ratings announced yesterday it considers upgrading the credit rating of French concrete and cement group Lafarge after the company unveiled its merger with Swiss peer Holcim. The ratings agency said it is motivated to give an upgrade as the agency takes into account the synergies potential between the two groups and the business prospects of the new entity. (Abstracted from an original ...
Oyak eyes Europe, Africa acquisitions
Turkey-based Oyak is looking into acquisitions in the cement sector, with a specific focus on Europe, Africa and Great Britain, its cement group chairman Celalettin Caglar said on Thursday. Speaking to Reuters, Caglar said that the group is also interested in acquisition opportunities that could arise through the Lafarge and Holcim merger as the groups look to divest in assets to appease pote...