Cement News tagged: Corporate
Nomura cautious on China demand growth and average prices
Investment bank Nomura is bearish on China cement but is less positive than the market on 2Q13 and 2013 demand growth and potential average selling prices (ASP). The house has analysed 138 railway projects in China and found the net incremental cement consumption for 2013 for 2013 to be 16t less than last year. Normura also explored more reliable property new-starts data and concluded th...
Boral announces further job cuts in new restructuring plan
Building materials major Boral has announced a further round of job cuts, predominantly across its Australian operations, following a 100-day review of the company by its chief executive Mike Kane . The company is to cut 700 functional, operational support and managerial positions jobs in Australia. Of those 700, some 200 have already occurred in late 2012, with the majority of redundanci...
Ciments du Sahel invests EUR250m in new Benin plant
Ciments du Sahel of Senegal is investing EUR250m in a new 2.5Mta cement plant in Benin as the cement producer aims to extend its African reach. Output from the new works, which is expected to open in June 2013, will primarily serve the markets of Benin and nearby countries. Providing permission is granted, volumes will also be exported to "the sub-region,” according to Michel Layousse, d...
FLSmidth secures EIB funding for R&D investments
FLSmidth has signed an EUR125m loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The five-year-bullet loan will finance FLSmidth's global research and development programme within the cement industry during the period 2013-2016. The R&D programme will focus on development of innovative products, optimisation of energy efficiency and use of materials and fuel in the production process ...
Saudi Cement posts 31.4% rise in 4Q12 net profit
Saudi Cement Co posted a 31.4 per cent rise in its fourth-quarter net profit, fuelled by higher local demand, it said in a bourse statement on Tuesday. The firm made a net profit of SAR277.7m (US$74m) in the three months compared with SAR211.4m in the same period of 2011. Operating profit rose 36.8 per cent to SAR300.9m, an increase from SAR220m in the final quarter of 2011.
BBMG Corp sees fall in net profit on lower prices, China
BBMG Corporation said its preliminary net profit attributable to shareholders dropped 26.48 per cent YoY to CNY2.52bn (US$405) in 2012 mainly due to a decline in selling prices for its products. The Chinese cement producer said basic earnings per share were CNY0.59, a decline of 27.16 per cent from a year earlier. Total operating revenue was CNY33.29bn, representing a YoY rise of 15.83 per ...
Lafarge to invest BRL1bn in Brazil over next five years
Lafarge is to invest BRL1bn (US$500m) in Brazil in the five years to 2018, according to the group’s chairman and chief executive Bruno Lafont. During a meeting with Brazil’s president Dilma Rousseff in Braslia, Mr Lafont said the organic investment is being made to keep with growth of the local market. “Brazil has true potential for growth. The investment needs in infrastructure and in th...
India Ratings revises outlook on cement sector
India Ratings has revised its outlook for Indian cement manufacturers from "negative" in 2012 to "stable to negative" for 2013, driven by limited downside risk for demand. The ratings agency also expects consolidation in the medium-to-long-term with large M&A activities, according to a report. "We expect consolidation in cement industry in the medium-to-long-term with large M&A activities...
Siam Cement in talks for European acquisitions
Siam Cement is in talks to buy building materials, petrochemical business in Europe, according to its chief executive Kan Trakulhoon. Mr Trakulhoon told reporters that the company would invest about THB200bn (US$6.6bn) in five years from 2013, mainly in ASEAN countries. At least one fifth of that amount (THB40bn) will be spent in 2013, he added. Mr Trakulhoon, however, did not specify which c...
Thach My secures new loan, Vietnam
The Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) is to provide a loan to Thach My for its new cement plant under construction in the central province of Quang Nam Local media report that the BIDV will loan nearly VND2trn (US$95.83m) to the plant which has a design capacity of 2Mta. The plant was identified as a key project of the Quang Nam province when it started construction in 2...
Jiangxi Wannianqing expects 60-70% profit fall, China
Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co Ltd estimates that its net profit decreased 60-70 per cent YoY in 2012, compared with a net profit of CNY506m (US$81.4m) in 2011. The company Shenzhen-listed producer of cement and clinker,
PCA appoints Ed Sullivan as Vice President, USA
The Portland Cement Association (PCA) has appointed Edward Sullivan as group vice president in addition to his role as chief economist. Sullivan will oversee the activities of the Association's communications, research and technical services, and market development divisions, as well as his current role as the head of market intelligence. Since joining the PCA in 2002, Sullivan has been ...
Lafarge sells aggregate quarries in Georgia
Lafarge announces it has signed binding agreements for the sale of six aggregates quarries in Georgia (USA) for a total enterprise value of US$160m. These assets represent less than one cent of the company's sales in North America in 2011. These transactions are subject to relevant approvals. "With these divestments in a region where Lafarge is present only through its aggregates operati...
Vicem net profit rises 36% YoY
Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem) said it made a net profit of VND660trn (US$31.62bn) in 2012, rising by 36 per cent from a year earlier, despite a fall in domestic demand and economic difficulties. The corporation sold more than 20Mt of cement in 2012, rising by nine per cent YoY and contributed VND1trn to the state budget, up eight per cent YoY. Vicem has control over produc...
HeidelbergCement Ukraine appoints board chairman
The supervisory board of HeidelbergCement Ukraine has appointed Tide Silvio as the company's board chairman on 9 January, the company said in the press-release. Silvio has been elected to chair the board for three years. He had previously been a HeidelbergCement manager in Northern Russia.
Mixed bag of Q3FY13 earnings for Indian cement producers
A weakness in cement prices and softening demand in the region is expected to hit Q3FY13 earnings of some of India’s cement producers. Only ACC and Ambuja are forecast to record a YoY earnings growth, says research house Jefferies. Grasim, ICEM and Ultratech are predicted to see more modest earnings.