Indonesian cement companies post slight declines in profits

Indonesian cement companies post slight declines in profits
03 May 2007


A sharp fall was recorded in the net profit of three publicly listed cement companies on the average in the first quarter of this year over the same period last year. The decline in performance was attributable to foreign exchange loss and rising production cost with surge in oil fuel prices.
 
State-owned Semen Gresik however, posted an increase of 14.8 per cent in net profit to Rp329.9 billion thanks to its success in strategy using coal instead of expensive oil as fuel. The country’s largest cement maker posted sales at Rp2.2 trillion from the sales of 3.93Mt of cement including exports.
 
The country’s second largest producer, Indocement recorded a decline of 31.6 per cent in net profit to Rp112.5 billion and Holcim Indonesia posted a loss of Rp14.48 billion from a net profit of Rp219.91 billion.
 
Holcim uses SA policy for competitive clout   Corp
Black business bestowed a BEE Deal of the Year Award to Holcim International for selling a majority stake to the Afrisam consortium.
 
Business Report reported last week that Aveng, South Africa’s biggest construction and engineering company, would sell its entire 45.65 percent shareholding in cement producer Holcim SA for R7.4 billion, paving the way for the country’s biggest black economic empowerment (BEE) transaction.
 
The decision took some analysts by surprise, particularly as Aveng’s chief executive, Carl Grim, has been an outspoken critic of the Holcim-AfriSam transaction, saying the company would not allow an important asset such as Holcim SA to be stolen from its shareholders. The Holcim-AfriSam deal is coming into fruition after months of difficult negotiations.
 
Aveng’s disposal of all its shares in Holcim SA through a buy-back transaction with Altur Investments, the holding company of Holcim SA, means that the AfriSam consortium will acquire 85 percent of the cement company. The Swiss parent will hold the remaining 15 percent.
 
This is a first for a BEE company and must be dubbed, for all intents and purposes, the empowerment deal of the year.
Published under Cement News