Cement News tagged: Corporate
Fitch affirms HeidelbergCement’s ratings
Fitch Ratings has affirmed HeidelbergCement’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'BB+' and Short-term IDR at 'B'. The Outlook on the Long-term IDR is 'Stable'. The agency has also affirmed the senior unsecured rating of debt issued by HC's related entities, HeidelbergCement Finance BV, HeidelbergCement Finance Luxembourg SA and Hanson Ltd at 'BB+'. “The affirmation reflects HC's inv...
Tasek 2Q revenue lifted by domestic cement sales
Tasek Corp Bhd reported a 20.78 per cent rise in revenue for the second quarter, driven by higher demand for cement in its domestic market of Malaysia. Revenue for the three months to the end of June 2014 reached MYR171.5m, compared with MYR142m a year earlier. The company said that the higher revenue was mainly due to higher domestic demand, while its concrete unit recorded an operating los...
Asia Cement (China) first-half profit rises
Asia Cement (China) said its profit attributable to owners for the six months ended 30 June 2014 rose 49.7 per cent YoY to CNY383m (US$62m). Revenue increased by 23 per cent YoY to CNY3.91bn. The gross profit margin on revenue rose to 24 per cent from 18 per cent. The growth in net profit was mainly attributable to the increase in sales volume and average selling price of Asia Cement's produ...
Semen Indonesia outlines 2015 capex
Semen Indonesia has earmarked US$500m in capex next year in anticipation of an increase in infrastructure projects over the next five years, its president director has said. Dwi Soetjipto told the Jakarta Post that the state-owned cement producer will use the investments to build or upgrade cement plants and to improve the company’s distribution network. Dwi added that the company aims to p...
Adelaide Brighton downstream acquisitions, Australia
Adelaide Brighton Ltd has acquired two integrated aggregates and readymix concrete businesses, one in South Australia and the second in Queensland, progressing its long-term vertical integration strategy of buying downstream construction materials businesses. In South Australia, in addition to the recently announced Penrice quarry acquisition, Adelaide Brighton has entered into a contract...
Savannah Cement plans clinker line, Kenya
Kenya-based Savannah Cement plans to establish a clinker line at an investment cost of around KES17bn (US$193.3m). The cement producer currently imports clinker for its plant based in Athi River, Standard Digital News (Kenya) reported. While plans for the new clinker line are still at an early stage, the Savannah Cement expects completion of the facility by the end of 2017. Ronald Ndegwa...
Vulcan generates strong profit recovery
Vulcan Materials' first-half turnover rose by 6.9 per cent to US$1365.6m and the EBITDA advanced by 27 per cent to US$211.7m. The trading profit jumped from US$36.8m to US$297.9m and after a net interest charge 55.0 per cent higher at US$160.6m, the pre-tax result went from a US$64.2mloss to a profit of US$141.9m. The net attributable earnings line went from a negative US$26.1m to a positiv...
Cape Verde: Cabocem plant draws interest from Swiss investor
A Swiss investor is said to be in discussions over investing in the Cabocem cement plant Porto Novo, Santo Antão island, in an effort to resume operations. Cape Verdean daily 'ASemana' stated that the investor worked for Portuguese cement producer Secil (which supplied the plant with clinker) and that during his recent stay in Cape Verde he met with the owners of Cabocem and representatives ...
Saudi listed firms see first-half net profits decline
Profits of listed Saudi cement companies dropped by 6.6 per cent to SAR3.40bn (US$906m) compared with SAR3.64bn in the corresponding period last year, a report, filed by Al-Riyadh daily has revealed. In the second quarter, profits declined by 2.7 per cent to SAR1.77bn in the second quarter of 2014 Sales reached SAR3.66bn in the three months to the end of June 2014, while the cost of sales s...
Lafarge & Holcim propose Brazilian divestments
Lafarge and Holcim have published a list of proposed asset disposals to Brazilian Competition authority CADE, as part of efforts to help win regulatory approval for their planned merger. The joint Divestment Committee has agreed to propose a package of assets from both Holcim and Lafarge which include three integrated cement plants and two grinding units (with a total cement capacity of 3.6M...
Vicat advances in spite of weakness in France
Vicat's first half turnover increased by 6.1 per cent to EUR1217.8m, which amounts to a 10.8 per cent advance on a comparative basis. EBITDA was ahead by 3.1 per cent to EUR207.7m and the margin narrowed from 17.5 per cent to 17.1 per cent. The trading profit, however, improved by 9.4 per cent to EUR115.2m, an underlying increase of 15.8 per cent. After a net financial charge 38.2 per cent ...
KHD adjusts 2014 forecast, Germany
KHD Humboldt Wedag has adjusted its forecast for the 2014 financial year as its Capex segment has been strongly affected by “risks arising from the current economic and political developments,” according to a statement by the German equipment supplier. In connection with the crisis in the Ukraine and the resulting uncertainties, KHD highlighted that a large order in Russia will “most likely n...
Cemex expected to receive EU clearance for Holcim Spain assets
European Union antitrust regulators are expected to approve Cemex’s bid to acquire Holcim’s Spanish units without requiring concessions from the Mexican producer, a source told Reuters on Monday. Cemex has convinced the European Commission that the deal will not reduce competition in Spain, a person familiar with the matter told the news agency. Another source had previously told Reuters e...
Mongolia: Senj Sant receives EBRD loan
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has signed a deal to loan Senj Sant US$65m for a new greenfield cement plant in southern Mongolia, about 450km from the capital Ulaanbaatar. The agreement, signed at a ceremony recently by EBRD First Vice President Phil Bennett, follows an earlier US$20m equity investment for a stake in Senj Sant agreed in May 2013. “This project re...
Buzzi Unicem: Italy still declining
Buzzi Unicem's first half turnover improved by 2.7 per cent to EUR1180.7m and the EBITDA rose by 27.7 per cent to EUR138.5m. The depreciation and impairment charges include EUR30.9m in respect of writing off the goodwill in the Ukraine. The first half trading profit recovered from EUR3.1m to EUR14.1m and the interest charge declined by 1.2 per cent to EUR47m and the pre-tax loss was reduced...
Cementos Portland sees improvements in Spain, Tunisia and USA
Cementos Portland Valderrivas' turnover fell by 3.8 per cent to EUR259.9m in the six months to the end of June, reflecting the effects of non-profitable concrete, aggregate and mortar businesses in Spain being closed. Cement voulmes rose by more than five percent last year, of which international markets account for 63 per cent of sales, most notably in Tunisia and the US. While demand ...