Cement News tagged under: Italcementi

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CRH closing in on Jaiprakash cement stake - report

06 August 2012, Published under Cement News

CRH is reported close to picking up 51 per cent stake in Jaiprakash Associates' cement operations in Gujarat at an enterprise value of about INR4200 crore, the Economic Times of India has cited two persons familiar with the development as saying. The enterprise value of Jaypee Cement Corp, which has two cement plants in Sewagram and Wanakbori-each having a capacity of 2.4Mt, includes debt of about INR1800 crore. The deal will help Jaiprakash Associates pare its debt by about INR1800 crore...

European cement majors: first half trends

06 August 2012, Published under Cement News

The 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...

Italcementi’s profits fall in spite of recoveries in North America and India

02 August 2012, Published under Cement News

Italcementi’s first half turnover came off by 4.9 per cent to €2299.8m while the running EBITDA declined by 11.6 per cent to €328.7m. The trading profit fell by 37.4 per cent to €100.6m, and after an 84.2 per cent increase in the net interest charge to €47.3m and a 39.8 per cent reduction in income from associates, the pre-tax dropped by 59.8 per cent to €55.4m.  With a 13.6 per cent increase in the net interest charge to €63.0m and a loss, rather than a gain, from discontinued activities...

Ciments Francaise first-half revenue declines

31 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Ciments 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...

Citigroup lowers Italcementi price target, Italy

09 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Citigroup 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...

Italcementi: June '12

06 July 2012, Published under Cement News

A reduction in the use of clinker, which has fallen back to a level last seen in the early 1970s, has led Italcementi to eliminate three of its Italian cement works. The Pontassieve works near Florence is being sold to Colacem, the third largest Italian cement producer, as this works is very much on the periphery of Italcementi's areas of operation. Furthermore, two other integrated Italcementi cement works are to be closed permanently during the third quarter of this year. The sale of I...

L&T files for arbitration proceedings against Zuari Cement, India

06 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Engineering and construction company Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has filed for arbitration proceedings against Zuari Cement, a fully-owned subsidiary of Italcementi, to claim INR188.53 crore in alleged unpaid bills and payment delays, The Indian Express reports "They haven't paid us for the INR269.74 crore civil construction work to build a cement plant in Yerraguntla, Andhra Pradesh, and we have started arbitration proceedings against them," K Jagannathan, legal head at L&T's engineering and con...

UBS initiates Italcementi with ‘Sell’

05 July 2012, Published under Cement News

UBS has initiated Italcementi at sell with a target of EUR3.40, reports from Dow Jones show. UBS cites a negative view of the cement maker's core Italian market, underwhelming cash flow generation, among other factors. "We expect Italian cement volumes to fall 20% in FY12," it says. "Italcementi is trading at a near 15-year low, following a peak-to-trough EBITDA decline of circa 52%. The shares are highly leveraged (financially and operationally) to a stronger economic environment." UB...

European construction outlook revised

25 June 2012, Published under Cement News

The increasing perception that Greece will default and exit the eurozone together with rising fears of contagion has led Euroconstruct, a group of research institutes and consulting firms, to significantly downgrade its European construction forecasts for this year and next.   At a meeting held last week, the group said Europe's construction forecasts for this year and next have been downgraded from -0.3% to -2.1% in 2012 and from +1.8% to +0.4% in 2013. Looking further ahead, it highlights...

UBS launches coverage on Italcementi and Buzzi Unicem

21 June 2012, Published under Cement News

UBS started covering Italy's two largest cement producers, Italcementi and Buzzi Unicem, as they struggle against a backdrop of a construction recession and declining cement demand. The analysts expect cement sales in Italy to slump 20 per cent this year. Pricing, on the other hand, seem to offset this trend but competition is solid and the pressure on Italcementi is strong, UBS said. It added that Italcementi's EBITDA are bound to drop further in 2012 after the fall in 2011. Italceme...