Cement News tagged under: Debt Reduction

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Ha Tien 1 issues new shares for debt reduction, Vietnam

27 August 2013, Published under Cement News

Ha Tien 1 Cement JSC (HT1) has approved a plan to issue 120 million new shares in a private placement to Vietnam Cement Industry Corporation (Vicem), the country’s leading cement producer. The issuance is aimed to reduce its loans contracted with Vicem, HT1 said in a statement sent to the bourse. After the issuance, Vicem’s holding in HT1 will increase to 79.69 per cent, equal to 253.42 million shares, from the current 67.38 per cent, Vietnam News Brief reported. At end-June, HT1 had VND4....

Fitch revises West China Cement outlook

05 August 2013, Published under Cement News

Fitch Ratings has revised West China Cement Limited's (WCC) Outlook to Negative from Stable reflecting continued weak average selling prices (ASP) in the cement producer's core cement markets of Shaanxi and Xinjiang. If this trend persists, the company may face challenges in repaying its outstanding US$400m notes due in January 2016, cautions the ratings agency. Continued weak ASPs have compressed WCC's gross profit to CNY47/t (US$7.67) in 2012 from CNY76/t for 2011. The ASP was CNY238/t i...

HeidelbergCement raises 2Q13 operating profit

31 July 2013, Published under Cement News

HeidelbergCement, the world’s third-largest cement producer, reported a second-quarter operating profit as it managed to increase prices in its main markets. A rise in demand in Asia, Africa and North America, helped offset a slowdown in parts of Europe.   Sales increased by 0.5 per cent in the second quarter to €3799m as successful cement and aggregates price increases had a positive impact on revenue growth in key market regions. Operating income before depreciation (OIBD) improved by 5.6...

Jaiprakash Associates downgraded, India

31 July 2013, Published under Cement News

Two brokerages have downgraded Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, days after Deutsche Bank also cut its ratings and earnings estimates for the India-based cement producer. Morgan Stanley has downgraded Jaiprakash to "equal-weight" from "overweight", citing worsening headwinds for cement profitability, a reduced likelihood of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cutting interest rates and a lack of asset sales so far to meaningfully reduce debt levels. Citigroup, meanwhile, has cuts the company to "...

Lafarge trims market growth outlook, debt reduction goal on track

26 July 2013, Published under Cement News

Lafarge reported a marked rise in 2Q net profit although consolidated sales declined. The company has now trimmed its forecast for cement market growth this year but confirmed its goal to reduce debt to below EUR10bn this year.  EBITDA fell eight per cent to EUR922m and current operating income declined 11 per cent to EUR667m. Net profit in the second quarter came in at EUR201m compared to EUR39m in the same period last year when earnings were hit by exceptional items. Consolidated sal...

Sanghi Industries to invest in logistic improvements, debottlenecking, India

01 July 2013, Published under Cement News

Sanghi Industries plans to invest in the upgrading of its logistics and removing bottlenecks at its Kutch plant to drive down debt. Company director Alok Sanghi said the company will invest INR150 crore to acquire ships and setting up new terminals. Meanwhile, INR125 crore will be spent on removing bottlenecks, according to reports by Business Line India. Mr Sanghi added that the company would focus on fuel cost reductions, improved logistics and debt reduction. The company is currently...

Xinjiang Tianshan Cement Co to issue CNY500m notes

31 May 2013, Published under Cement News

Xinjiang Tianshan Cement Co, based in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region said on Thursday that it would float CNY500m (US$4m) in unsecured notes with a maturity of three years on June 6, 2013. According to the company, it would use CNY250m of the proceeds to boost working capital and the remaining CNY250m to repay bank loans. By the end of September 2012, the company's undue bank loans stood at CNY1.442bn. Xinjiang Tianshan Cement said that the notes will be issued at face value, a...

Lafarge WAPCO's debt reduction plans

17 May 2013, Published under Cement News

Lafarge WAPCO plans to pay off a NGN6bn (US$40m) in local debt this year, according to reports by Reuters.   The company owes about NGN28.4bn (US$180.43m) in total loans, of which NGN6bn is from Nigerian banks, Fred Amobi, its chief financial officer told analysts at a conference call. He said Lafarge WAPCO had a three-year bond worth NGN11.6bn and a loan from a Nigerian development bank of NGN10.8bn  in addition to the bank loans.   Lafarge WAPCO, reported  recorded a 50 per cent rise in it...

HeidelbergCement net loss widens, confirms 2013 outlook

08 May 2013, Published under Cement News

HeidelbergCement said its first-quarter loss widened in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a year ago as sales were impaired mostly by a weak European market. However, the German cement major reported a rise in operating income and has confirmed its 2013 outlook. Group share of the after-tax loss was  EUR235m in the first quarter of 2013, wider than the EUR208m loss a year earlier. Operating income before depreciation was higher on the year EUR219m from EUR212 in the same period a ...

Asia Cement Corp plans US$200m convertible bond issue – report

08 May 2013, Published under Cement News

Taiwan-based Asia Cement Corp is planning a US$200m convertible bond issue to repay debts, according to Dow Jones Newswires Tuesday. The Taiwanese company is selling the five-year zero-coupon bond convertible into its Taipei-listed ordinary shares at an indicative price range of TWD46.13 and NT$48.00, representing a premium of 23-28 per cent above the stock's Tuesday closing price of NT$37.50, two term sheets seen by Dow Jones shows. There is an option to raise an additional US$2...