Cement News tagged: Corporate
Pakistan: Fecto Cement prosecuted over violating national park
Pakistan’s Capital Development Authority (CDA) has announced that it has stripped the Fecto Cement Company of its lease of plant and issued a fine of PKR420m (US$4m), the Express Tribune reports. The move comes after the company was accused of illegally dumping explosives in the Margalla Hills National Park, but also concerns a dispute within the state government itself. In June 2012, Fe...
China: LafargeHolcim to sell stake in Shuangma Cement
LafargeHolcim has announced that it has signed a deal with Tianjin Circle Enterprise Management Centre that would see the Franco-Swiss multinational sell a 55.93 per cent stake in Sichuan Shuangma Cement for CHF507m (US$525m). Subject to shareholder approval, the acquisition is expected to be completed by 4Q16. Following the sale, Lafarge will retain a stake of around 20 per cent in Shuangm...
Italcementi hit by restructuring and impairment charges
Italcementi's first-half turnover declined by 2.1 per cent to EUR2122.6m and running EBITDA was 7.6 per cent lower at EUR300m. Hit by restructuring and impairment charges, the trading profit of EUR113m was turned into a EUR2090.6m trading loss. Net financing costs increased by 3.6 per cent to EUR68.4m, giving a pretax loss of EUR291.1m, compared with EUR57.3m profit a year earlier. At the n...
Qatar Cement signs US$100m deal with Saudi investors
The Qatar National Cement Company has agreed a US$100m financing deal with Samba Financial Group of Saudi Arabia, the Peninsula newspaper reports. The investment deal will be used to part-fund Qatar Cement’s fifth integrated plant, construction of which is already underway at a total cost of QAR950m (US$260m). The new plant will have a clinker capacity of 17,000tpd and grinding capacity of ...
Vulcan’s profit margins increase as markets recover
Vulcan Materials' first-half turnover rose by 12.1 per cent to US$1711.6m and EBITDA advanced by 39.7 per cent to US$419.3m. The trading profit expanded by 69.4 per cent to US$378.7m and after a net interest charge 54.1 per cent lower at US$67.1m, the pretax profit jumped from US$18.9m to US$211m. The net attributable earnings line went from US$8.5m to US$142.7m. The net debt was reduced by 4....
Paraguay: new cement mill to provide US$50m sales boost
Industria Nacional de Cemento (INC) expects a US$50m boost to its sales following the commissioning of its new mill at its Villeta plant, according to Jorge Méndez, president of the Paraguayan cement producer. "The operation of the new mill is one of several goals that we have and that we will realise," he said. “Civil works are carried out by local firm Engineering, while parts of the mill...
New communication manager at Holcim Romania
Veronica Dobre has been appointed the new Communication Manager of Holcim Romania. She takes the position over from Ioana Borangic, who had worked for the company for six years. Ms Dobre holds a degree in Public Relations from the UK Chartered Institute of Public Relations and is also a Political Sciences, Communication and Public Relations graduate of the National School of Political Admin...
Oman Cement output rises by 20% in year to June
Having already announced a 25 per cent rise in profits in its six-month results to the end of June 2016, Oman Cement has now released details of increased production and sales, Muscat Daily reports. During 1H2016, cement output at the firm rose by 19.86 per cent to 1.21Mt, including 89,851t from its new mill at Ghala-Rusayl in northeastern Oman, which came online at the end of May. A s...
UAE: Sharjah Cement profits fall 17% in 2Q16
Sharjah Cement and Industrial Development Co reported a 17 per cent fall in 2Q16 profits, according to a bourse statement. Profits reached AED17.8m (US$4.84m), compared to AED21.4m in the equivalent period of the previous year. In the first half of 2016, the company generated a profit of AED29.2m, down from AED32.62m in 1H15. Sales rose 6.2 per cent YoY to AED343m in 1H16 from AED322.78m.
Union Cement reports 5.1% rise in profits for 2Q16
Union Cement in the UAE saw a 5.1 per cent YoY rise in 2Q16 profits to AED29.72m from AED28.27m in 2Q15. The company posted a 24.9 per cent fall in its 1H16 profits from AED54.7m the previous year to AED41.07m. Sales declined 18.3 per cent to AED257m.
CRH hires new manager for Romanian operations
CRH Romania has appointed Gustavo Navarro as its new general manager. The company has been operating without a general manager for almost a year after Costin Borc left the position last year to join the government as Economy Minister. Mr Navarro has 12 years experience in top management positions in the construction industry, with appointments in southeastern Europe and Russia. He acted as ...
Strong Europe performance boosts HeidelbergCement 2Q16 results
A robust performance in Europe has contributed to HeidelbergCement’s improved 2Q16 results. The Germany-based building materials producers reported second-quarter sales of EUR3.575bn, down two per cent YoY but up one per cent on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. All business lines saw their sales increase. Operating income rose by eight per cent to EUR601m from EUR557m in 2Q15, although LFL this in...
Dangote reports 60% rise in sales in 1H16
Dangote Cement announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2016. The company saw its revenue grow by 20.6 per cent to NGN292.2bn (US$925m) but lower selling prices, higher fuel costs and the impact of Pan-African plants in ramp-up phase saw its EBITDA down 10.2 per cent to NGN132.5bn. The EBITDA margin reached 45.4 per cent. Net debt stood at NGN293.3bn, giving a net geari...
Titan's US business continues to advance
Titan's first-half turnover improved by 7.6 per cent to EUR723.8m and EBITDA was ahead by 13.5 per cent to EUR119.5m. Following an increase in the depreciation charge of a modest 6.7 per cent, the trading profit improved by 21.4 per cent to EUR59m. After a net financial charge 6.2 per cent higher at EUR34.7m and other items, notably foreign exchange, the pretax profit dropped from EUR30.9m to...
Cementir expands into Belgium
Cementir's turnover improved by 1.1 per cent to EUR481m in first half of the year, as the improvements in Denmark, Norway and Sweden as well as Malaysia made up for lower results from Italy, Egypt and China, while Turkey was broadly stable. EBITDA, however, declined 1.5 per cent to EUR72.04m. After a 4.7 per cent reduction in depreciation and similar charges to EUR40.2m, the trading profit...
Pakistan: FECTC to add 0.95Mta capacity
One of Pakistan's smaller cement companies, Fecto Cement Ltd (FECTC) is reported to plan a new cement plant in Kalar Kahar, Chakwal district, Punjab. The works is expected to add 0.95Mta of capacity to the company's existing 0.819Mta. The project represents an estimated investment of PKR12bn and commissioning is expected by 2018. Financial performance FECTC saw also a boost in reven...