Cement News tagged: Corporate
Dalmia in advanced stage of new plant commissioning, India
Dalmia Cement is in advanced stages of commissioning its new cement plant at in north Karnataka, as the company plans to lift capacity to 19Mta. The new 2.5Mta cement works in Yadawad, near Belgaum, will be commissioned by February next year and forms part of the Damia Bharat Group’s plan to expand its presence in the north. "Three years ago, we were considered as predominantly south-based ce...
Credit Suisse lifts target price for TCC International
Credit Suisse lifted its target price for Taiwan Cement Co (TCC) International to HK$1.8 from HK$1.7 and upgraded the stock to "neutral" from "underperform". The research house said TCCI sees improving cement pricing in the second half of this year, but also expects administrative cost may revert as well. Management commented that Guangdong has increased prices by CNY40-50/t (US$6-8) since Ma...
CRH to acquire Sree Jayajothi Cements, India
CRH has announced that its 50:50 joint venture in India, My Home Industries Limited (MHIL) has reached an agreement to acquire 100 per cent of the shares of Sree Jayajothi Cements Limited (SJCL), a 3.2Mta cement company based in south India for INR14,000m (EUR175m). The investment will be financed from MHIL’s existing debt capacity and by equity inputs from the joint shareholders (EUR7...
Colombia’s cement price rose 8% in 1H13
In 1H213, cement prices in Colombia rose eight per cent, well above the country’s inflation rate of 1.73 per cent in the period, according to a report in El Tiempo. The price also compares unfavourably with other Latin American countries. Based on sales at retail stores, Colombian customers can pay up to US$250/t in a city away from any cement plant, while in Peru this price is US$158/t and i...
Suez Cement six-month net profit ahead, Egypt
Suez Cement has reported a 34 per cent increase in first-half net profit thanks to cost reduction and efficiency improvement efforts. In the second quarter of 2013, net sales of Suez Cement Group of Companies reached EGP1302m (US$, up 11 per cent YoY while recurring EBITDA rose 18 per cent YoY to EGP315m. Net profit increased to EGP168m. Grey cement sales were down by four per cent to “c...
China Resources Cement 1H13 profit rises
China Resources Cement (CRC) said yesterday that its net profit attributable to shareholders of the company increased 80.35 per cent YoY to HK$1.15bn (US$148.29m) in the first half of this year. Basic earnings per share were at 17.6 HK cents, and an interim dividend of 3.5 HK cents was declared. The firm's turnover rose 16.5 per cent YoY to HK$12.86bn in the first half. Gross profit jumped ...
Gansu Qilianshan's net profit surges, China
Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group Co Ltd earned a net profit of CNY110m (US$18m) in the first half of 2013, a YoY rise of 314 per cent. The cement producer saw operating revenue advance 24.57 per cent YoY to CNY2.31bn, with basic earnings per share of CNY0.18.
S&P puts Buzzi Unicem, Dyckerhoff ratings on credit watch
Standard & Poor's has placed Buzzi Unicem’s rating on credit watch with negative implications, the Italian cement major announced in a statement. Buzzi Unicem's corporate rating is currently at BB+/Stable/B. The rating for Dyckerhoff AG, Buzzi Unicem’s wholly-owned subsidiary, has also been placed on credit watch. S&P said the decision was due to first-half results which were lower tha...
Ashaka Cement appoints two new directors, Nigeria
Nigeria-based producer Ashaka Cement has announced the appointment of two new directors, the company said in a statement to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The two new members are Lamido Abba Turkur and HRH Alhaji Abubakar Muhammad Kwairanga (Emir of Funakaye). Ashaka Cement reported a 54.4 per cent decline in first-half 2013 pretax profit to NGN1.65bn (US$10.3m) from NGN3.55bn a year ago. Tur...
Acquisitions, improved markets drive Eagle's 1Q
In the first quarter of its financial year to 31 March 2013, Eagle Materials' turnover, including its share of the Texas Lehigh cement joint venture, rose by 43.7 per cent to US$255.4m as the company was boosted by acquisitions and improving markets. Trading profit more than doubled (+108.9 per cent) to US$49.47m and after an interest charge 31.6 per cent higher at US$4.96m, the pre-tax pr...
Bamburi confident on second-half turnaround
Kenya's Bamburi Cement reported a 12 per cent decline in pretax profit for the first six months of 2013 but is confident of a second-half turnaround in two of its core East African markets. In the six months to the end of June 2013, the Lafarge Group company posted a pretax profit of KES3.270m (US$37.46m) as turnover fell 18 per cent YoY to KES15.8bn. These results came against a backdrop of...
CCCL reports 2Q13 net profit, Jamaica
Caribbean Cement Company Ltd (CCCL) has reported a second-quarter net profit as the Jamaica-based cement producer increased domestic market share and exports to Panama provide an extra boost to revenue. In the second quarter of 2013, cement exports declined but local sales reached 150,000t to push revenues for the three-month period above JMD3bn (US$29.6m). The company made a profit for the ...
Vicat advances in Turkey and Kazakhstan
Vicat's first-half turnover increased by 1.7 per cent to EUR1147.7m, which amounts to a 3.2 per cent improvement on a comparative basis as the France-based cement producer made notable advances in Turkey and in Kazakhstan. EBITDA edged ahead by 0.4 per cent to EUR201.4m and the margin narrowed only slightly from 17.8 per cent to 17.6 per cent. The trading profit improved 2.4 per cent to EUR...
PPC buys controlling stake in Safika Cement
PPC has entered into an agreement to purchase a controlling equity stake in Safika Cement Holdings, a blended-cement producer in South Africa. The company acquired the stake for a cash consideration of approximately ZAR350m (US$35.3m). Safika owns five blending facilities and one milling operation and produces blended 32.5N cement under three brands: IDM Best Build, Castle and the Spar Build...
HeidelbergCement mulls sale of non-core assets
HeidelbergCement is considering the sale of non-core assets, its CEO Bernd Scheifele told local press in a recent interview. Speaking to the Boersen-Zeitung on Tuesday, Mr Scheifele said that markets such as Britain and the USA, where HeidelbergCement has non-core activities, are recovery and at the same time there is higher interest from private equity firms. The German cement major has i...
Pacasmayo boosted by northern projects, Peru
Cementos Pacasmayo, a leading Peruvian cement company, reported a 9.1 per cent increase in cement sales volumes for the 2Q13 as it benefits from strong demand in the northern region. During the second quarter, consolidated EBITDA rose 60 per cent to PEN91.5m (US$32.8m) compared to PEN57.2m in the same period the year before. Operating profit increased 72.9 per cent in 2Q13 to PEN77.8m comp...