Cement News tagged: Corporate
Standard & Poor’s revises Italcementi rating
Standard & Poor’s announced Friday that it has revised the corporate rating of Italcementi SpA, and as a consequence the rating of Italcementi Finance SA’s outstanding unsecured bonds, from BB+ with negative outlook to BB with stable outlook. The rating of Ciments Français SAS’ remaining outstanding bond is also revised to BB/stable. “We acknowledge Standard & Poor’s decision, even if it co...
Siam Cement earnings' preview: robust quarter expected
Thai conglomerate SCC is expected to report a strong net profit of THB10.2bn (US$315m) in the first quarter of 2015, up 21 per cent YoY and 15 per cent QoQ, according to estimations by SCB Securities. “We continue to like SCC for several reasons: 1) it benefits from low oil price via wider spreads and cheaper fuel costs and from a weak baht as a net exporter; 2) 2Q15 profit will continue s...
Fitch downgrades Shanshui to 'BB-'; on Negative Watch
Fitch Ratings has downgraded China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd's Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating to 'BB-' from 'BB'. The ratings have also been placed on Rating Watch Negative. The downgrade is driven by our view that the current weak cement price in Shanshui's core markets will persist, and affect the company's ability to improve its financial performance. The...
Holcim says Eurocement proposal 'too late' for consideration at meeting
Holcim said a proposal by a major shareholder to have a seat on the LafargeHolcim board had come too late to be included in the agenda of a shareholder meeting next month. Lafarge and Holcim announced the names of the candidates for the board of the new group earlier this week, in a list comprising seven nominees from Holcim and seven from Lafarge. On Wednesday, Eurocement notified Holcim ...
Holcim and Lafarge propose final US asset disposals
Lafarge and Holcim announce further details on the package of assets they propose to divest in the United States, as part of their planned merger to create LafargeHolcim. The divestments include: • Lafarge's 1.1Mta Davenport cement plant (Iowa) and seven terminals along the Mississippi River to be sold to Summit Materials for a total consideration of US$450m in cash plus Summit’s Bettend...
Saudi Cement net profit up 6%
Saudi Cement has reported a 5.9 per cent increase in first-quarter net profit on Tuesday as higher exports boosted its earnings. Saudi Arabia's largest cement company by market value said in a bourse filing its net profit for the three months to 31 March was SAR303m (US$80.8m), compared to SAR286m in the corresponding period of 2014. It attributed its net profit rise to increased export sale...
Eurocement seeks Galchev Board seat at LafargeHolcim
Eurocement Holding AG, the second-biggest shareholder in Holcim Ltd, said Wednesday it is nominating its owner, Filaret Galchev, for a position on the Board of the company that would be created by the planned tie-up between Holcim and Lafarge. The proposed nomination of Galchev in an emailed statement may signal that Eurocement, which holds a 10.8 per cent stake in Holcim, is willing to sup...
Spain: Cementos Portland reports EUR29.5m loss
FCC-owned Cementos Portland closed the first quarter of 2015 with a EUR29.5m loss, representing a 21.2 per cent higher figure when compared with 1Q14. The cement company attributes the fall to lower CO2 sales and new accounting rules relating to annual maintenance costs. Taking into account these effects, results improve by EUR7m. Revenues increased 9.4 per cent to EUR121.8m as the compan...
Hoang Phat Vissai Group acquires control of Song Lam 2 Cement
Hoang Phat Vissai Group has acquired Song Lam 2 Cement JSC in Vietnam's central province of Nghe An from state-owned PetroVietnamCement 12/9 JSC. The group will invest VND500bn to complete and speed up construction of the plant in order to operate it in the next quarter. By purchasing Song Lam 2 Cement Company, Vissai now owns nine clinker and cement production units across Vietnam.
Oman Cement 1Q net profit up 3.7%
Oman Cement reported a 3.7 per cent rise in first-quarter net profit on Wednesday, beating analyst forecasts. The company made a net profit of OMR3.83m (US$9.95m) in three months to 31 March, up from OMR3.70m in the corresponding period of 2014. Three analysts polled by Reuters on average forecast the firm would make a net profit of OMR3.2m. Oman Cement’s first-quarter revenue rose 10.6 per ...
Ha Tien 1 Cement targets US$17.07m pretax profit
Ha Tien 1 Cement JSC (HT1), the largest cement maker in Vietnam by market capitalisation, targets a pretax profit of VND367bn (US$17.07m) this year, down 7.32 per cent YoY. Its revenue is expected to rise 5.9 per cent YoY to VND7.16trn in 2015, HT1 said on its website.
ACC quarterly volumes lower on weaker demand
ACC reported a decline in sales volumes for the January-March 2015 period due to weaker cement demand from the infrastructure and the general construction sectors, India’s second-largest cement producer said in a statement yesterday. The Holcim group company said its cement sales in the first three months of 2015 were down by 10.2 per cent to 5.82Mt versus 6.48Mt in the same period of last ...
Fitch affirms Holcim at 'BBB'; Outlook Stable
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Holcim Ltd's (Holcim) Long-term and Short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) at 'BBB' and 'F2', respectively. The Outlook is Stable. "The affirmation reflects Holcim's leading market positions as one of the world's largest cement producers and our expectation that its financial profile remains commensurate with its 'BBB' rating. We expect a recovery in global end-m...
Future Board of Directors of LafargeHolcim nominated
Holcim and Lafarge have nominated their candidates for the future Board of Directors of the combined merged company, subject to closing of the transaction. The designated Board of Directors will consist of 14 members due to be elected at the Holcim Extraordinary General Meeting on 8 May 2015. Candidates • Wolfgang Reitzle, Co-Chairman (currently Chairman of the BoD of Holcim) • Br...
Bamburi upbeat on outlook
Kenya-based Bamburi Cement’s operating growth increased by 5.8 per cent last year to KES5.5bn (US$60m) and is upbeat on the outlook for both local and export sales. “We are very optimistic about market growth prospects in both our domestic and inland Africa export markets and are well positioned to benefit from them,” Bruno Pescheux, group managing director, told East African Business Week. ...
Brazil: CSN considering merger with cement unit
Brazilian steelmaker CSN is considering a merger with its subsidiary CSN Cimentos, Business News Americas reported. CSN, in a regulatory filing, said it would present the proposal to shareholders for approval. The merger would help CSN achieve synergies and economies of scale. It would result in "process optimisation and maximised results," with all business and administrative activities ca...