Cement News tagged under: France
Vicat first-half 2012 turnover eases08 August 2012, Published under Cement NewsFrance-based Vicat's first half performance improved strongly in Asia but results have mainly deteriorated elsewhere. Turnover for the six months to June 2012 eased by 1.5 per cent to €1128.8m, which represents a 2.4 per cent reduction on a comparative basis. EBITDA declined by 20.8 per cent to €200.6m as the margin narrowed from 22.1 per cent to 17.8 per cent. The trading profit fell by 36.6 per cent to €104.5m. After a net interest charge 1.4 per cent higher at €19m, the pre-tax profit ca... |
European cement majors: first half trends06 August 2012, Published under Cement NewsThe last week has seen three leading European cement majors release first-half 2012 results: Lafarge, HeidelbergCement and Italcementi. The latest figures appear to confirm the upturn in North America, which, together with the emerging markets, have been the main drivers of demand as parts of Europe remain a drag on performance. While a slower volume growth environment persists, improved pricing and cost reduction measures continue to be central themes. In terms of market performance, wes... |
Ciments Francaise first-half revenue declines31 July 2012, Published under Cement NewsCiments Francais, part of the Italcementi Group, reported that consolidated revenues for the first half of 2012 amounted to EUR1.9m, down 4.8 per cent YoY reflecting a 6.5 per cent drop in activity and a positive exchange-rate effect (+1.9 per cent). The most significant increases related to Bulgaria, North America, India and Thailand and the strongest reductions related to France/Belgium, Spain and Egypt. Recurring EBITDA amounted to EUR319.7m, down 17.1 per cent primarily due to reduced... |
Fives FCB acquires Technip’s cement division, France31 July 2012, Published under Cement NewsFives FCB, a subsidiary of the Fives Group, has acquired the business portfolio of CLE Groupe Technip France, the specialist cement plant division of the Technip Group. For more than 40 years, the CLE, Groupe Technip France division has completed installation and revamping projects for many cement manufacturer customers. More recently, it has been involved in major revamping projects in France, Poland, Spain, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey and Brazil. The many facilities developed by the CLE, Gr... |
Lafarge takes hit on Greek impairment charge, maintains outlook27 July 2012, Published under Cement NewsLafarge has reported improved second-quarter sales and operating profit but net profit plummeted as it took an impairment charge of EUR200m (US$244m) on its Greek assets. Second-quarter sales rose five per cent to EUR4261m and EBITDA increased eight per cent to EUR1007m. Net income in 2Q was only EUR57m due mainly to the Greek impairment charge. For the first-half sales increased by five per cent to EUR7614m and EBITDA eight per cent to € 1523m while net profit was EUR13m down from EU... |
Citigroup lowers Italcementi price target, Italy09 July 2012, Published under Cement NewsCitigroup has lowered its price target on Italcementi to EUR3.60 from EUR4.10, after cutting by 15% the pre-tax profit estimates for the Italian cement producer in 2012 and 2013. The prices and figures in Italy grew despite the weak market conditions but the dipping sales in France lead the bank to expect lower figures in 2012 than in 2011, Citigroup commented. The higher prices in North America are expected to raise Italcementi's profit on the market both in the first half and full-201... |
Lafarge places seven-year EUR500m bond03 July 2012, Published under Cement NewsLafarge placed today, under its Euro Medium-Term Note program, a EUR500m bond with a seven year maturity and fixed annual coupon of 5.875% to institutional investors. While Lafarge had no immediate refinancing needs, the company said: “proceeds of this bond issuance will reinforce the already strong liquidity position of the Group.” The settlement and issuance of the bond are expected to occur on 9 July 2012. |
Lafarge to cut a further 97 jobs in France27 June 2012, Published under Cement NewsLafarge expects to cut a further 97 jobs in its domestic market of France as part of a plant to merge its three French divisions into one, to be headquartered in the Paris region. Lafarge, which employs a total of 68,000 people including 5300 in France, said in February it would cut 460 jobs worldwide, including 90 in France as part of a its corporate restructuring announced in November 2011. Earlier this month the group unveiled plans to cut costs by EUR1.3bn and increase profits over... |
Eurozone April construction output falls21 June 2012, Published under Cement NewsConstruction output in the 17 nations that use the euro dropped 2.7 per cent in April compared to the month before, and five per cent from April 2011, the European Union's official statistics agency Eurostat said Tuesday. Eurostat also lowered its estimate for the growth of construction output in March, to 11.4 per cent from 12.4 per cent. The decline in construction during April was widespread across the currency area, with building work down six per cent in Germany, 2.3 per cent in Spain... |
Fitch affirms Lafarge IDR at BB+13 June 2012, Published under Cement NewsFitch has affirmed the Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and the senior unsecured rating of Lafarge at BB+ with a "stable" outlook. The affirmations reflect Fitch's view that the group will continue to reduce debt and improve its credit metrics in 2012, the agency said in a statement today. Fitch expects Lafarge's leverage ratio to fall below 4.0x by the end of 2012, a level that would be in line with the current rating. However, Fitch forecasts part of the envisaged EUR500m savings i... |