Cement News tagged: Corporate
Japanese producers see strong first quarter
Two of Japan’s leading cement producers are expected to post higher first-quarter profit supported by cement demand for earthquake rebuilding efforts. The country’s largest cement producer, Taiheiyo Cement, is seen posting roughly JPY5bn (US$50.8m) in pretax profit for the April-June quarter, compared with a year-earlier loss of JPY4.2bn, marking the company’s first pretax rise in six years....
Cemex announces pricing of US$1bn senior secured notes
Cemex announced today the pricing of US$1bn of senior secured notes denominated in US dollars. Cemex intends to use the approximately US$995m of net proceeds from the offering to purchase a portion of the 9.50 per cent Senior Secured Notes due 2016 issued by Cemex Finance LLC, and the remainder, if any, for general corporate purposes, including the ...
JPMorgan sells stake in Anhui Conch, China
JPMorgan Chase & Co sold 3.89 million H-shares (translating to a 0.3 per cent stake) in Anhui Conch Cement Co Ltd on 29 July 2013, decreasing the stake to 10.91 per cent, according to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. JPMorgan sold the stake at HKD22.95/share and for a total of HKD89.28m (US$11.5m). .
Buzzi Unicem hit by weaker markets
Buzzi Unicem's first-half turnover declined by 5.7 per cent to EUR1273.7m and the EBITDA fell by 24.8 per cent to EUR150.7m as the Italian cement major was hit by weaker markets in Italy, Poland and Mexico. Excluding non-recurring items, the reduction would have been 21 per cent. The first half trading profit fell by 56.8 per cent to EUR37.8m and the interest charge was reduced by 31.9 per ...
Fitch revises West China Cement outlook
Fitch Ratings has revised West China Cement Limited's (WCC) Outlook to Negative from Stable reflecting continued weak average selling prices (ASP) in the cement producer's core cement markets of Shaanxi and Xinjiang. If this trend persists, the company may face challenges in repaying its outstanding US$400m notes due in January 2016, cautions the ratings agency. Continued weak ASPs have comp...
Ecuador seeks strategic partner for cement company
The Ecuadorian authorities announced their search for a strategic partner for a state-owned cement company, according to the Coordinating Ministry of Production, Employment and Competition. The new partner will be expected to take a majority stake in the company, bringing knowledge, technology and funding to the project, which will see the construction of a new clinker line. Output from the ...
HeidelbergCement increases pre-tax profit by 52.1 per cent
HeidelbergCement's first half turnover was virtually unchanged at €6560.4m (-0.3 per cent), while the EBITDA improved by 5.1 per cent to €953.1m as energy and raw material costs eased. The trading profit was up by 6.9 per cent to €540.4m and after a net interest charge 7.4 per cent lower at €259.3m and other financial items, the pre-tax profit rose by 52.1 per cent to €254.0m. Lower charges fo...
Titan's European profitability suffers
Titan's first-half turnover improved by 4.4 per cent to €571.9m but the EBITDA fell by 17.8 per cent to €92.2m as European profitability continues to suffer. The trading profit fell by 36.6 per cent to €32m, but the net financial charge, that had dropped by 54.9 per cent to €20.5m a year ago, more than doubled to €44m. As a result, there was a pre-tax loss of €12.4m compared with a profit of ...
Holcim Indonesia first-half sales decline 1.3%
PT Holcim Indonesia reported a decline in sales for the first six months of 2013, having registered a second consecutive quarterly fall. Volumes dropped by 1.3 per cent to 4Mt in the Jan-June 2013 period. "The company had foreseen the contraction after a similar dip in the first quarter, the first time after eight consecutive quarters of growth," Holcim president director Eamon Ginley told t...
Oman Cement output declines on mill setback
Oman Cement posted a 3.1 per cent rise in net profit for the first half of 2013 to OMR9.3m (US$24.2m) compared to OMR9m in the same period a year ago. Sales and output, however, fell partly due to the shutdown of one of its mills due to technical problems. The company produced 1.06Mt in the first half compared to 1.12Mt, 5.23 per cent. Total sales fell 2.6 per cent to OMR27.33m from OMR28.06m...
Ashaka Cement first-half pretax profit falls 54.4%, Nigeria
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. Turnover also fell to NGN11.81bn during the six months to June 30, compared to NGN12.26bn in the same period of last year. Askaka Cement, in which Lafarge holds a 59 per cent interest having increased this from 50 per cent last year. Is located in the northeaster...
Vulcan sees main growth coming from the residential market, USA
Vulcan Materials' first-half turnover increased by 3.8 per cent to US$1276.9m and the EBITDA rose by 32.4 per cent to US$192m. The trading result swung from a US$26.6m loss into a profit of US$36.8m and after a net interest charge 2.2 per cent lower at US$103.6m, the pre-tax loss was reduced by 50.7 per cent to US$64.2m. The net attributable loss was reduced by 64.8 per cent, to US$31.5m. ...
Standard & Poor’s downgrades China Shanshui Cement, China
Standard & Poor's Ratings Services has lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on China-based cement producer China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd to 'BB-' from 'BB' due to a weakening of the company’s financial strength against a backdrop of challenging operating conditions. The outlook is negative. The agency also downgraded the company's outstanding senior unsecured notes to 'B+' from'BB...
Calderys announces Indonesian joint venture
Refactory solutions specialists Calderys has signed a joint venture (JV) agreement with Indonesian refractory manufacturer PT Indoporlen. Calderys, a subsidiary of Imerys of France, has been a partner of PT Indoporlen during over 30 years of service to the cement, tin, nickel, steel, aluminium and fertiliser industries (with Calderys known prior to 2005 as Lafarge Refractories). The JV was ...
Russia and USA prove Dyckerhoff's only first-half bright spot
German cement major and Buzzi Unicem subsidiary Dyckerhoff AG reported a decline in first-half sales volumes across all its market except Russia and the USA. Consolidated sales fell by six per cent. Group EBITDA was down by EUR3m which includes a one-time effect of EUR4m. In the previous year, one-time effects amounted to EUR5m. Pretax results were EUR10m, some EUR12m lower than the same pe...
Cementos Molins 1H profit falls 58%
Cementos Molins closed the first half-year with a profit of EUR8.3m, 58 per cent down on 1H12. The decline has been attributed to the poor performance of the Spanish subsidiaries, which recorded a EUR22.4m loss. The company’s overseas divisions returned a profit of EUR30.7m. The group's total turnover decreased by 8.6 per cent from the 1H12 and reached EUR416m. In Spain, the turnover decr...