Cement News tagged under: holcim

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Huaxin Cement expects H1 net profit to drop 50%, China

12 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Huaxin Cement Co Ltd, in which Holcim holds an approximate 42 per cent stake, has become the latest Chinese producer to issue a first-half profit warning.  The Hubei Province-based cement manufacturer said on 9 July that its net profit is expected to fall by at least 50% YoY in the first half of 2012 due to a decline in cement prices. The company booked CNY542m in net profit in the same period of 2012. Last year, Huaxin Cement acquired three plants in the province of Hubei with a capacity...

Holcim inaugurates new Garadagh line, Azerbaijan

10 July 2012, Published under Cement News

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has attended the official inauguration of Holcim’s new dry-process line at its Garadagh cement plant in Baku. The new 1.7Mta kiln replaces the existing wet-process production and involved an investment of EUR300m. The modernisation project will enable higher production volumes, lower fuel and energy consumption and reduce emissions from the cement manufacturing process. The first clinker was produced by this new line at the end of last year. ...

Holcim: June '12

06 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Holcim's two main Indian subsidiaries, Ambuja Cements and ACC Limited, have been fined at total of approximately EUR325m, or INR2301 crores, by the Honourable Competition Commission of India. This represents some 36 per cent of the total INR6304 crores (EUR891m) levied on eleven leading Indian cement producers. The fines have been based on the profits generated in 2009/10 and in 2010/11 and the biggest fines were imposed Holcim and UltraTech, while Lafarge and a further six domestically con...

Holcim Indian cement interests see modest YoY gains

03 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Holcim’s Indian cement companies, ACC and Ambuja Cements have reported modest rises in June shipments and production in June. ACC said shipments in June reached 1.96Mt, up 2.6 per cent from the 1.91Mt a year ago but lower than the 2.05Mt recorded in May. Cement production during June rose 4.23 per cent to 1.97Mt from 1.89Mt a year ago but fell from 2.02Mt in May. During Jan-June, ACC dispatched 12.79Mt of cement compared to 12.18Mt in the corresponding period a year ago. Production dur...

Defending profitability key for European companies

03 July 2012, Published under Cement News

Fitch Ratings says that the ability to defend profitability in emerging countries is the most critical issue for the rating of the European cement companies rated by the agency, Holcim Ltd. ('BBB'/Stable), Lafarge SA ('BB+'/Stable) and HeidelbergCement AG ('BB+'/Stable). In its special report, Fitch compared the current financials of the major European cement companies to the pre-crisis situation to assess if and how geographical diversification helped companies to recover revenue and prese...

Moody's says CCI ruling to hurt Holcim & Lafarge

26 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Moody's has said the Competition Commission of India's (CCI) decision to impose a penalty on 11 cement producers is 'credit negative' for global cement majors Holcim and Lafarge both of which have Indian interests that have been fined. The agency said that the indirect consequences of the CCI decision is more harmful than the cash-outflow due to the penalty. "We believe that indirect credit consequences from the decision will outweigh the cash effect of the fines on Holcim and Lafarge,"...

Holcim investor sells CHF320m stake, Switzerland

25 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Holcim's third largest investor, The Capital Group Companies, sold a CHF320m (US$333m) stake in the Swiss maker of cement on 20 June. The asset manager now owns 2.96 per cent, Holcim said in a press release, down from 4.9 per cent as of 13 September, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The Capital Group Companies share sale was completed on June 20, according to a statement from the Swiss SIX stock exchange.

Holcim to contest Indian price fixing fine

22 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Holcim has said will defend the position of its two Indian units on the penalties imposed by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for price fixing. Yesterday, the CCI announced that it would fine 11 Indian producers a total of US$1.1bn, stating that they had created an artificial cement shortage “so as to reduce supplies and raise prices in times of higher demand," it said in its judgment. The ruling applies to Holcim group companies ACC and Ambuja Cements (ACL), which have been fi...

Indian producers issued with record fine on price fixing

21 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Eleven Indian cement producers have been issued a total fine of INR60bn (US$1.1bn) for price fixing, the highest ever fine issued by the country’s antitrust authority in its three-year existence. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said in its ruling that the companies colluded to underuse their plants and create an artificial cement shortage. "The commission has found that the cement companies have not utilised the available capacity so as to reduce supplies and raise prices in tim...

Fontana sees more swaps in cement reshuffle

15 June 2012, Published under Cement News

Holcim Chief Executive Officer Bernard Fontana said swapping cement production facilities is more likely than outright purchases or sale of individual units, according to Bloomberg reports. Swapping parts of a portfolio with another company would not be more difficult to implement than buying or selling individual units, Fontana told journalists at a meeting in Zurich. Holcim’s CEO has said he is open to “selective divestments,” though he declined to comment specifically on Holcim’s mergers...