Cement News tagged: Corporate
Fujian Cement to report CNY85-88m 1H net loss, China
Fujian Cement Inc said it will suffer an CNY85-88m (US$13m-13.8m) net loss in the first half of 2012, compared with a net profit of CNY91.75m a year earlier, China Business Newswire reports. Fujian Cement is based in the Fujian province, situated in the southeast China on the coast of the East China Sea.
Deutsche Bank cuts Shanshui Cement forecast, China
Shanshui Cement has lowered its 2012 sales target for blended cement and clinker to 55Mt from 65Mt mainly due declining sales in Shandong, Deutsche Bank reported. The bank has cut its forecast for Shanshui’s average selling price in the second half of 2012 by five per cent. It has also cut Shanshui’s earnings forecast for 2012 and 2013 by 29 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively. (Source: AAS...
Macquarie lowers TCC Int’l price target, Taiwan
Investment bank Macquarie has lowered its target price for Taiwan Cement Company (TCC) International to HK$2.4 from HK$4.2, and maintained its "outperform" rating. The house cut its earnings forecasts by 43 and 37 per cent for 2012/13 to reflect lower sales volume and lower-than-expected cement prices. TCC issued profit warning on 4 July, indicating that profits would decline more than 50 pe...
Steppe Cement first-half sales edge ahead, Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan-based cement producer Steppe Cement has reported a rise in cement sales for the first half of 2012 and sees domestic demand increasing by low double-digits for the full year. For the six months to June 2012, Steppe Cement sold 615,838t, a rise of two per cent compared to the same period of last year. Sales revenue during the period rose 23 per cent to KZT7728m (US51m). The ave...
Saudi Cement net profit rises 26 per cent, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Cement posted a net profit of SAR290.2m (US$77.4m) for the second quarter, representing a rise of 36 per cent from a year earlier. The company attributed the rise to growing demand for cement and clinker as the domestic construction sector is boosted by increased government spending.
HeidelbergCement’s debt reduction focus
HeidelbergCement plans to cut its debt by about 16 per cent to EUR6.5bn to boost its credit rating and share price according to reports in the Frankfurter Allgeemeine Sonntagzietung said, citing an interview with CEO Bernd Scheifele said. Debt reduction is the top priority and the time isn’t right for bold acquisitions, Mr Scheifele said. HeidelbergCement has cut debt by EUR7bn to EUR7.7...
Sichuan Shuangma expects first-half net loss, China
Sichuan Shuangma Cement said it expects to post a CNY10-15m (US$1.7m-2.4m) net loss in the first half of 2012 compared with a net profit of CNY89.91m for the same period of 2011. A number of Chinese producers have issued profit warnings over recent weeks as slower demand and continued pricing pressures are expected to hurt first half profits.
Brazilian market adjustments
The recently-approved takeover of Cimpor by Brazilian conglomerate Camargo Correa will not only lead to the reorganisation of the Portuguese cement major's operations, but is also set to alter the make-up of the Brazilian cement market. Last month, Camargo Correa succeeded in acquiring a controlling stake in Cimpor with a price tag of EUR2.5bn, raising its share from 33 to 94.8 per cent. Ca...
Sharp public sector falls in UK construction point to difficult 2012
The latest figures from the UK's Office of National Statistics released today highlight that output fell 6% in May compared to a year earlier. Commenting on the figures and the bleak outlook for construction activity in 2012, Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association said: "Although the coalition has consistently made pronouncements of boosting UK constructio...
Jidong Cement shares acquired, China
Jidong Development Group bought additional 698,300 shares in Jidong Cement on the secondary market, accounting for 0.05% of the total outstanding shares in the listed arm. The controlling shareholder plans to continue holding expansion in the next six months due to the current market situation. Essence Securities Co expects Jidong Cement to achieve a net profit of CNY324m and sales are expe...
Jiangxi Wannianqing forecasts 80% net profit drop, China
Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co Ltd, a Jiangxi Province-based producer of cement and clinker, said it expects first-half 2012 net profit to plummet 80 per cent to CNY54-63m (US$8.5-9.9m) in the first half of 2012 due to slower domestic demand
Court puts industry fine on hold, Argentina
Argentina’s Supreme Court has put on hold a ARS$300m (US$66m) fine imposed on cement companies in 2005 by the competition authority CNDC based on evidence of alleged collusion and dividing the market between them. The cement companies listed are Loma Negra, Cemento San Martin, Juan Minetti, Cementos Avellaneda and Petroquimica Comodoro Rivadavia that have been contesting the ruling since.
Daiwa sees positive developments for China from 2H
Analysts at brokerage Daiwa have said that while current cement demand in China does not look good and many local producers have issued profit warnings, macro data suggests that the country's overall economic conditions are holding up, and loosening measures by the central government are helping infrastructure and property investment to pick up gradually. "We see positive developments for t...
Texas Industries returns to full-year profit
Texas Industries' turnover increased by 4.1% to US$647m in the financial year to the end of May, and the EBITDA jumped from US$13.2m to US$33.6m. After an interest charge 26.8% lower at US$34.4m, the running loss dropped from US$34.4m to US$1.2m and a the pre-tax profit of US$8.5m was achieved, compared with a US$106.8m loss in the previous accounting year. Net debt at the end of May was 6.4%...
PPC in US$133m deal with black investors
South African cement maker Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) is to sell a 6.5 per cent stake to its staff and black investors in a deal worth about US$133.4m. PPC said the broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) deal, which is the second in four years, would take shareholding by black investors in its South African operations to 26 per cent and enable it meet the rules set out by the gov...
Huaxin Cement expects H1 net profit to drop 50%, China
Huaxin Cement Co Ltd, in which Holcim holds an approximate 42 per cent stake, has become the latest Chinese producer to issue a first-half profit warning. The Hubei Province-based cement manufacturer said on 9 July that its net profit is expected to fall by at least 50% YoY in the first half of 2012 due to a decline in cement prices. The company booked CNY542m in net profit in the same peri...