Cement News tagged: Corporate
PPC first-half sales rise eight per cent, South Africa
Pretoria Portland Cement, South Africa’s largest cement producer, reported an eight per cent rise in first-half profit (ending March 2012) and forecasts rises in regional demand. Net income rose to ZAR369m (US$45m) in the six months through March, from ZAR343m a year earlier. Cement sales volumes declined 3% for the period under review, mainly as a result of weak demand in the Western Cape...
Loesche enters into a close strategic cooperation with A TEC
Loesche GmbH, Germany, has entered into a close cooperation agreement with pyroprocess specialist A TEC Holding GmbH, Austria, in April 2012. Loesche is a market leader in dry-grinding and thermal process solutions and A TEC Holding a leader in cement pyroprocess technology. Following the move, Loesche and A TEC will be partners for the realisation of plant improvement projects, environment...
CRH transfers Secil shares to Semapa, Portugal
CRH has transferred its 49% shareholding in Secil, the Portuguese cement producer, to Semapa, its former joint venture partner, the Irish-based building materials company said in a statement. The transfer is pursuant to a call option exercised by Semapa and confirmed by an award issued by an Arbitral Tribunal in Paris, functioning under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of...
Votorantim first-quarter driven by Brazilian housing and infrastructure
Votorantim Industrial reported that first-quarter revenues increased for all businesses YoY, except for pulp, supported by business focused on the Brazilian market, mainly driven by housing and infrastructure. Sales volume increased in cement, nickel and pulp, while it decreased in long steel and zinc. Consolidated net revenues and Ebitda amounted to BRL5.7bn and BRL$1bn, an increase of 6% a...
India and Russia projects boost KHD first-quarter revenue
In the first three months of 2012, KHD generated revenue of EUR48.8m, which was primarily the result of projects in India and Russia. Revenue declined by 16.9% in a YoY comparison (previous year: EUR58.7m). The company attributed this largely to customers delaying awarding and execution of projects, due to the uncertain market situation. Gross profit totalled EUR8.4m (previous year: EUR11.4m),...
Improved prices help raise Shree Cement’s quarterly profit, India
Shree Cement, which has a strong presence in the North India market, reported an increase in net profit of INR11.28 crore for the fourth-quarter of FY11-12 (ending March 2012) largely on the back of improvements in demand leading to better price realisation and cost control initiatives. EBITDA rose 42 per cent to INR450.40 crore during the period, the company said in a statement. Turnover, ...
Merrill Lynch increases stake in Rain Commodities, India
Hong Kong-based Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Esparia on Tuesday announced acquiring 90,000 shares of Rain Commodities, the Economic Times of India reports. The foreign fund house currently holds 4.99% in the Hyderabad-based company and the fresh acquisition constitutes 0.03% of additional stake. Following this, Merrill Lynch's total holding in Rain Commodities crosses the threshold limit of...
FLSmidth affirms 2012 outlook
FLSmidth has affirmed its outlook for full-year 2012 as a strong order intake in 1Q confirms growth expectations and positive outlook. For the first three months of 2012, FLSmidth’s order intake increased 29% to DKK6421m and revenue increased 17% to DKK5145m. EBITDA rose 10% to DKK 469m. The profit for the period increased 39% to DKK 241m In terms of its cement division, the company sai...
Camargo Correa rejects Cimpor proposal as ‘unrealistic’
Brazilian conglomerate Camargo Correa has rejected Cimpor management's counter-proposal for a merger with Camargo's cement unit, saying it was "unrealistic,” Reuters reports. Cimpor's board, which had earlier said the price of EUR5.5/share offered by Camargo was too low, said on Saturday a merger would widen Cimpor's portfolio and create better synergies, preventing the withdrawal of anothe...
Athi River Mining posts 17% first-quarter pretax profit
Kenya's Athi River Mining posted a 17 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit, helped by higher production and growing demand. Net income increased to KES258.2m (US$3.1m) in the three months through March, from KES220.2m a year earlier, the Nairobi-based company said in a statement. Revenue rose 61 per cent to KES2.74bn for the three months ended March. Its earnings per share rose to KES10....
Holcim cost-cutting programme targets CHF1.5bn rise in operating profit
Holcim said on Monday it was launching a targeted cost-cutting programme aimed at increasing operating profit by at least CHF1.5bn (EUR1.2bn) by the end of 2014. CEO Bernard Fontana: “After intensive discussions at the senior management level and based on close collaboration with the Group companies, I am confident that we will achieve these targets. At least CHF150m positive impact will be a...
Buzzi Unicem: European weather partly offset by American advance
Buzzi Unicem’s turnover in the first quarter declined by 1.3% to €562.23m and the EBITDA dropped by 47.6% to €22.36m. The loss at the trading level rose by 87.3% to €34.14m. Net financial costs declined by 0.6% to €27.85m, resulting in a seasonal pre-tax loss 38.1% higher at €64.52m. Net debt at the end of March was 5.4% higher at €1,204.6m, giving a gearing level of 47.1%. Capital investment ...
Dangote 1H12 profit forecast, Nigeria
Nigeria-based producer Dangote Cement said net income for the six months through June will probably be NGN77.5bn (US$492.5m), according to reports from Bloomberg. Revenue is forecast at NGN150.3bn, the African cement major said in a statement published on the Nigerian Stock Exchange’s website.
Citi cuts CNBM, Conch target price, China
Citi Group has cut the target price of Chinese players CNBM to Sell and Anhui Conch to Neutral and outlines the latter's latest moves in terms of suspended and new capacity. “We think the industry affiliation in East China market is breaking down. Mills are restarting suspended production lines to recoup volume. Demand is recovering, as we expected, however not as fast as the supply resump...
Reconstruction efforts to boost operating profit, Japan
Taiheiyo Cement Corp and Sumitomo Osaka Cement are both expected to post their highest operating profit in five years in fiscal 2012 due to reconstruction demand from the March 2011 disaster, according to reports from the Nikkei. Taiheiyo Cement, the domestic leader, is expected to post a profit of JPY37bn for the year to March 2013, while Sumitomo Osaka Cement is expected to report roughly J...
First-quarter 2012 themes and trends
The first-quarter 2012 reporting season has seen a harsh winter dampen construction activity in Europe for the leading global cement majors but overall an improving tone has begun to emerge. Cost reduction measures and targeted price increases appear to be key themes as producers look to improve margins in the second half of this year. European weather bites, emerging markets lead the wa...