Cement News tagged: Corporate
Cemex Philippines signs deal for WHR plant
Cemex Philippines is to construct a waste heat recovery power plant at its Solid Cement plant in Antipolo City, Rizal Province. Cemex regional president for Asia, Joaquin Miguel Estrada, announced the plan following the signing of an agreement with Sinoma Energy Conservation of China who will build the waste heat-to-energy facility, a first for the Cemex group of cement plants worldwide. “Ce...
Government reverses decision on Athi River plant closure, Kenya
Kenya’s National Environment Protection Agency has retracted its order to shut down Athi River Mining’s plant, company chief executive Pradeep Paunrana, has said. Last week, Mr Paunrana told Reuter’s that the company expected sales and profit to rise this year, provided it resolved the dispute with the environment agency. Mr Paunrana said the company had submitted a plan of action to comply w...
Lafarge extends EUR1.2bn credit facility, France
Lafarge said Tuesday it has extended its syndicated credit facility by two years from July 2013 to July 2015 for a total amount of EUR1.2bn. The extended facility supported by 24 lenders complements Lafarge’s bilateral lines of EUR2.2bn and brings total committed credit facilities to EUR3.4bn, Dow Jones reports. In total, these lines have an average maturity of 2.8 years and do not include ...
West China net profit down, acquisition announced
West China Cement said its net profit for the year ended 31 December 2011 declined by 28.43 per cent YoY to CNY662m (US104.7m). Meanwhile, basic earnings per share were about CNY0.16. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-listed cement producer said its wholly-owned subsidiary has inked an agreement to buy a 55 per cent stake in Shaanxi Province-based cement company Shaanxi Shifeng Cement for CNY402m. ...
Lamarche to be named on Lafarge's board
Gerard Lamarche, managing director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert, will be named on the board of French cement maker Lafarge. He will replace Thierry de Rudder. Lamarche, 50, graduated from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium. He also completed the advanced management programme at the INSEAD Business School. Abstracted from an original article in Le Figaro.
Taiheiyo Cement’s operating FY14 target, Japan
Japan’s Taheiyo Cement plans to increase group operating profit by around JPY50bn (US$598.8m) in fiscal year 2014 (FY14), an increase of 90 per cent on its projection for the year ending March 31. The Nikkei reports that the target will be included in a forthcoming business plan that runs through the year ending March 2015. The projections are based on total domestic demand rising four per ce...
West China Cement buys stake in Shifeng Cement
West China Cement has agreed to acquire a 55% interest in Shaanxi Shifeng Cement at CNY401.5m. The company has been granted an option to acquire a 10 per cent interest in Shifeng Cement for CNY73m. Shifeng Cement operates a 4500tpd clinker line with an annual capacity of 2Mta.
HeidelbergCement lifts revenues, raises savings target
German cement major HeidelbergCement has reported a rise in revenues in 2011 driven significantly by its exposure to attractive growth markets, continuing recovery in most group markets and successful implementation of its “FOX 2013” improvement programme. “The year 2011 was a further consistent step towards reaching our strategic goals”, says Dr. Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing B...
Fitch rates Rain Commodities at 'Fitch A-(ind)'; outlook stable
Fitch Ratings has assigned India's Rain Commodities Limited (RCOL) a National Long-Term rating of 'Fitch A-(ind)'. The Outlook is Stable. However, ratings are constrained by volatility in cement prices and sector overcapacity. Fitch has taken a consolidated view of RCOL's cement and calcining businesses, both operated by its subsidiaries, for the rating purpose. While India's Rain Cement L...
Cementos Portland Valderivvas debt reduction plans, Spain
Spanish cement producer Cementos Portland Valderivvas is looking to reduce debt to around EUR1bn from the current EUR1.3bn with two options on the cards. The company is looking for institutional investors to subscribe to its forthcoming capital hike, the proceeds of which will allow Cements Portland to cut debt. It is also considering the divestment of it Giant subsidiary in the USA and red...
Hilal Cement boosts net profit, Kuwait
Hilal Cement of Kuwait reported a surge in net profit to KWD1.22m (US$4.4m) for 2011 from KWD714,937 a year earlier. Earnings per share for the cement producer were 17 fils compared with 10 fils the year before. Total assets stood at KWD22.4m at end-2011, slightly up from the KWD21.8m in 2010. The board has recommended a 15 per cent cash dividend for 2011, equal to 15 fils per share.
Sibirsky to pay out EUR4m on failed Set deal, Russia
Sibirsky Cement has paid out over EUR4m to the London branch of Netherlands-based ING Bank NV regarding a failed deal between the Russian producer and Italcementi for Turkish assets, according to local press reports. In 2008, Sibirsky concluded an agreement with ING Bank to organize the purchase financing of the Italcementi Set Group of Turkey which is a subisidiary of Ciments Francais (whi...
Dyckerhoff sales increase
German-based Dyckerhoff increased sales by EUR186.8m (or 13.2 per cent) to EUR1.6bn compared to 2012. The company said it benefitted considerably from a mild winter which facilitated cement and concrete deliveries through the year. This led to volume increases of 15 and 19 per cent, respectively. Group EBITDA rose by EUR72.4m (33.1 per cent) to EUR291m. This includes positive one-time effec...
Pakistan industry first-half profitability improves
A number of Pakistan cement manufacturers and exporters have posted profits after tax for the first six months of the current fiscal year against losses reported in 1HFY2011. The rise is attributed to significantly improved retention prices and alternative energy resources. According to a financial review by Invest Capital Markets Ltd, out of 16 companies (representing 96 per cent of the se...
S&P revises down Lafarge outlook to ‘negative’
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has revised its outlook on Lafarge from ‘negative’ to ‘stable’ while keeping its BB+ long-term and B short-term credit ratings on the French cement producer. A revision to the outlook is possible, the ratings agency has said. S&P stated that the group may not be able to improve credit metrics in 2012 from the very weak levels registered at the end of 2011. The agency ...
Belgrod Cement increases shipments, Russia
Russia-based producer Belgrod Cement, part of the Eurocement Group, increased shipments by more than 30 per cent YoY in the first two months of 2012. Cement and clinker production increased by more than 60,000t compared to the same period of 2011. Furthermore, its bagged shipments increased seven-fold. In terms of energy efficiency, savings per ton of cement from the beginning of this ye...