Cement News tagged: Corporate
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...
West China acquisition of Fuping Cement positive – Moody’s
Moody's commented that West China Cement's (WCC) acquisition of Fuping Cement is credit positive for WCC (Ba3, negative). Fuping Cement owns a 2Mt cement production plant in Zhuangli town in Shaanxiand a 35% interest in Shifeng Cement which has a 2Mt plant in Caocun town, also in Shaanxi. WCC is also still completing the acquisition of a 65% interest in ShifengCement, which began in March 20...
Dangote’s first quarter and full-year advances, Nigeria
Dangote Cement Plc on Wednesday released its results for the first quarter and also its financial year ending December 2011 to the Nigerian Stock Exchang. The company said 1Q revenue grew by 17.6 per cent from NGN54.51bn (US345.6m) in 2011 to NGN64.11bn first quarter this year, while its revenue for full year 2011 stood at NGN235.91bn. First quarter pretax profit rose by nine per cent to s...
Kuwait Cement 1Q net profit grows to US$18.3m
Kuwait Cement Company said in a bourse filing it booked a net profit of KWD5.1m (US$18.3m) for the three months ended March 31, 2012, up from KWD4.9m a year earlier. The cement producer reported earnings per share (EPS) of 8.3 fils for the first quarter of 2012, compared to 7.9 fils in the same period last year, SeeNews Middle East and Africa reports. The total assets rose to KWD 264.4m at e...
CRH to begin conciliatory talks, plans to increase China stake
Irish Cement, a subsidiary of CRH, will begin talks today with representatives of 100 workers who have been on strike for almost five weeks, the Irish Times reports. Staff at Irish Cement plants in Castlemungret, Co Limerick, and Platin, Co Meath, have been on strike now for almost a month over payments worth €5500-€9500 to each worker. The staff and their trade union, Siptu, say a Labour Co...
Jiangxi Wannianqing gets private placement approval
Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co Ltd, a Jiangxi Province-based producer of cement and clinker, announced on May 7th that it was approved by China Securities Regulatory Commission to issue no more than 65 million shares at no less than CNY10.56 a share via a private placement.
Europe holds back Holcim
Holcim’s first quarter turnover improved by 2.2% to CHF4,760m (€3,922m), which represents an increase of 7.1% on a comparable basis and measured in euros the turnover advanced by 8.1%. The operating EBITDA eased by 1.1% to CHF745m (€614m), which represents a 4.6% advance in euro terms. The trading profit edged up by 0.5% to CHF349m (€287m), while at the net attributable level there was small ...
CRH is ahead in America but suffered from adverse weather in Europe
CRH's underlying sales improved by about 2% during the first four months of the year, with North America benefiting from comparatively favourable weather conditions, while the opposite was a case in Europe, which suffered from a harsh winter, particularly in February. Thirteen acquisitions or major investments were undertaken in the period for a cost of about €230m, compared with €135m spent ...