Cement News tagged under: Pricing

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Egypt sees signs of stablisation

05 November 2013, Published under Cement News

Signs of stability are beginning to emerge in the Egyptian cement market with visibility improving in several areas, a recent flash note by CM-CIC Securities highlights. The research house believes visibility is improving on several points. Firstly, volumes have been catching up since August and were up by 15 per cent during the month followed by a three per cent increment in September. Moreover, a better pricing scenario has been witnessed through 2013, with an increase of 15 per cen...

Eagle's 1H benefits from Lafarge acquisition

31 October 2013, Published under Cement News

First-half turnover for Eagle Materials to the end of September, including its share of the Texan cement joint venture with HeidelbergCement, advanced by 46 per cent to US$535.47m. The trading profit, which virtually trebled in the comparative period last year, rose by a further 111.7 per cent to US$112.95m. After a net interest charge that rose by 33.3 per cent to US$9750m, reflecting acquisition from Lafarge of two integrated cement works and a number of downstream assets at the end of ...

Cement imports - fortress Mexico breached

25 October 2013, Published under Cement News

The first industrial scale consignment of bagged cement in 25 years has successfully been imported to Mexico, marking a unique milestone in the recent history of the Mexican building materials sector. Shipunloading at Puerto Progreso, Mexico On 9 October, the vessel M/N Atenea docked at Puerto Progreso on the Yucatan Peninsula with a cargo of 2850t of bagged cement, according to a spokeperson for Comercio para el Desarrollo Mexicano del Sureste SA de CV (CDMS), the import compan...

Holcim Croatia to boost profitability

25 October 2013, Published under Cement News

Holcim Croatia said it is implementing a new strategy to help drive the company back to profitability by 2015. The new operational plan cover all of Holcim's divisions and business segments in Croatia with measures including increasing prices and finding new markets as well as niche ones, SeeNews reports. As a result of a difficult construction market, cement consumption has fallen from 2.39Mt in 2009 to around 1.7Mt in 2012. This is well below total domestic capacity of 3.7Mta and industr...

ACC and Ambuja see slow return to growth

24 October 2013, Published under Cement News

ACC and Ambuja Cements, both part of Holcim, have reported a decline in quarterly sales due to subdued demand and lower cement prices, and expect a slow return to growth as near term challenges persist. Net profit at ACC, India's second-largest cement maker, halved to INR1.21bn in the July-September quarter. Net sales rose three percent to INR25.1bn. The company expects "gradual but slow improvement in demand.” Ambuja posted a 45 per cent fall in net profit to INR1.66bn for the quarter ...

Fauji 1Q boosted by higher sales and prices

22 October 2013, Published under Cement News

Pakistan-based producer Fauji Cement reported a 61 per cent rise in profit after tax for the first quarter of the current Pakistan fiscal year to PKR582m (US$5.4m), as higher volumes and prices boost sales. According to analysts at Summit Capital, the company performed well due to sharp increase in its top line which was up by 12 per cent YoY and improved gross margins due to higher cement prices and lower coal expenses.  Higher prices and increased sales volumes were the core factors beh...

UltraTech Cement's quarterly profit falls 52% YoY

21 October 2013, Published under Cement News

UltraTech Cement, India’s largest cement maker, posted a 52 per cent decline in net profit for the July-September quarter, mainly due to lower selling prices and subdued demand. The company reported a net profit of INR2.6bn (US$42m) for the quarter ended 30 September. Domestic cement and clinker sales stood at 9.1Mt. It noted that cement demand remained “sluggish due to a prolonged monsoon and a “low-take off from the infrastructure and housing sectors.” It further added that a sof...

Vietnam expects price stability

18 October 2013, Published under Cement News

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance's Pricing Management Department expects cement prices to remain stable this month following September’s increase, local press reported. Some companies operating under the country’s largest cement producer, Vicem, raised prices by 5-9 per cent a month ago to VND1.3m-1.5m/t (US$61-71) in the north and VND1.6m-VND1.8m in the south. Vicem chairman attributed the hikes to higher production costs due to higher electricity prices. Cam Pha Cement Company, for exampl...

Argos to evaluate cement price cuts

18 October 2013, Published under Cement News

Colombia’s vice president, Angelino Garzon, met with Cementos Argos directors to discuss cement pricing in the country. "I said it is very important that Argos can talk to other cement companies to help the Government to achieve a compromise which allows lower cement prices," said the official. Argos said it would review the pricing structure and seek a reduction in cement prices, in consultation with other cement companies. However, it said the recent price increases were due to highe...

Daiwa raises CRC target price, China

17 October 2013, Published under Cement News

Daiwa Research raised its target price for China Resources Cement (CRC) to HK$6.6 from HK$5.95, and retained its "buy" rating. The research house cited management noting that the market has been overly pessimistic on cement prices for south China, as many analysts seem to have misread the capacity growth in the region. While many production lines are pending to be built in the region, not all are able to get full approval, the research house said. With slower capacity growth and improv...