Cement News tagged: Corporate
Gresik sees output rising 18% next year, Indonesia
Indonesia’s leading cement producer PT Semen Gresik expects cement production to increase by 18 per cent next year, however, it has hinted that domestic sales growth could slow next year compared to the robust figures expected in 2012. The company’s president director Dwi Soetjipto said the company’s production growth could rise to 26Mt in 2013 from output of about 22Mt in 2012. In the f...
Argos looking to raise US$411m with bond issuance
Grupo Argos is looking to raise up to COP750bn (US$411m) with the issuance of mandatory convertible bonds scheduled for November 27, local paper La República reported. Groupo Argos is the parent company of Colombia's largest cement firm, Cementos Argos. The placement, already approved by Colombian financial regulator Superfinanciera, will start with an initial value of COP500bn, with the pos...
Fitch Ratings: mixed picture for EMEA companies
Fitch Ratings says 3Q12 results reported by Fitch-rated Europe Middle East and Africa (EMEA) cement companies, Holcim Ltd ('BBB'/Stable), HeidelbergCement AG ('BB+'/Stable) and Lafarge SA ('BB+'/Stable) showed a number of positives, but confirmed that general market conditions are still challenging and the outlook remains uncertain. Europe disappoints The European markets represented a n...
Maple Leaf Cement Factory on course for higher FY13 profit
Pakistan cement producer Maple Leaf Cement Factory, is on course to record its most highest profit in six years on the back of higher cement prices and lower interest rates to reduce loan payments. According to reports by Businessweek, earnings per share may rise to about PKR3 in the year ending June 2013, according to Waleed Tariq Saigol, a member of the company’s board of directors. EPS i...
Buzzi Unicem to lift stake in Dyckerhoff to 96.6%
German cement producer Dyckerhoff AG said its parent company Buzzi Unicem SpA had agreed to buy additional ordinary and preferred shares in it, raising its total share capital in the firm by 3.6 per cent to 96.6 per cent. Dyckerhoff did not reveal the value of the transaction but specified that during the current year and including the most recent agreement Buzzi Unicem had bought shares in ...
Metso strengthens position in China
Metso is strengthening its presence in the fast growing Chinese construction market through two strategic actions: establishing a joint venture with LiuGong Group Corp and acquiring 75 per cent ownership of Shaorui Heavy Industries Ltd. Joint venture with LiuGong Group Corp Metso and LiuGong Group Corp. Ltd (LiuGong) will form a 50:50 joint venture to develop the track-mounted crushing a...
Udaipur Cement Works appoints additional director, India
Udaipur Cement Works has informed that Ganpat Singh has been appointed as an additional director on the board of directors of the company with effective from 1 November 2012.
HeidelbergCement cancels S&P ratings agreement
HeidelbergCement has cancelled its long-standing rating agreement with the rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P). Its agreements with FitchRatings and Moody's will continue unchanged. HeidelbergCement's issuer/corporate rating is Ba1 stable by Moody's Investor Service and BB+ stable by Fitch Ratings. "Thanks to its outstanding reputation at the credit markets and the ratings from Moody’s...
Holcim continues Colombian feasibility study
Holcim approved the continuation of the feasibility study to build a new cement plant in Colombia. According to Miguel Angel Rubalcava, Holcim’s president in Colombia, the investment is around US$600m. "We are evaluating the departments of Bolivar and Antioquia, as possible locations for its site but we have not decided," he said. The new 2Mta works would generate about 1000 direct and i...
Tarmac & Lafarge UK joint venture appoint key directors
Anglo American plc and Lafarge announced the appointments of their 50-50 UK joint-venture’s chairman, CEO and CFO. Jamie Pike will be the non-executive chairman, Cyrille Ragoucy as CEO and Guy Young as CFO of the joint venture, which will combine Tarmac’s and Lafarge’s cement, aggregates, readymix concrete, asphalt and asphalt surfacing and maintenance services and waste services businesse...
Holcim makes centenary CHF5m donation
For 40 years, the Ernst Schmidheiny Foundation has been supporting special project weeks designed to provide young people in Switzerland with a grounding in economics and business management. As part of its centenary celebrations, building materials group Holcim is making a donation of CHF5, in recognition of the major commitment shown by the Foundation and its partners. A core element of t...
Suez Cement to invest US$40m in environmental upgrade and fuel adjustments
Suez Cement is planning to invest around US$40m over the next couple of years to enhance environmental performance at its plants as well as switching partly to coal and refuse, according to Alborsa newspaper. Suez Cement managing director Bruno Carre said that the company is considering a number of investment opportunities in the Egyptian market in light of recent political and economic de...
Gansu Cement to raise RMB1.68bn via rights issue
Gansu Qilianshan Cement Group Co plans to raise up to RMB1.68bn via a rights issue. The company will sell 142m shares to its shareholders at a ratio of three new shares for every 10 held at RMB6.26/share. Proceeds from the issue will be used to repay bank loans and replenish working capital.
CRH cuts costs and eyes emerging markets
CRH showcased a credible, bottom-up cost savings plan during its recent analyst day in London, UK. Cost savings are expected to offset more than 75% of the impact of lower volumes as the group presented an additional E450m of cost savings during 2012-15. “Targets appear achievable and weighted towards the heavy-side Materials businesses in Europe and the Americas, where logistics, procureme...
Cemex to return to profitability in 2013?
Mexican cement producer Cemex is seen on track to return to profitability as soon as 2013, according to analysts quoted by Reuters. The company recently refinanced US$6.7bn in debt, negotiating much-need room to push back looming payments for up to four years. Measures included a commitment to pay down US$1bn in March of next year, revised financial covenants and a debt swap, all of which h...
Yanbu Cement records 25.5% YoY rise in quarterly net profit
In the quarter ended 30 September 2012, Yanbu Cement saw total revenues fall 21.4% to SAR339.6m (US$90.5m) and net profits slipped from SAR215.6m to SAR156.7m when compared to the previous quarter. However, on a YoY basis, the company recorded a 149.7% sales revenue increase from SAR272.5m. In terms of net profit, the Saudi Arabian cement producer reported a 25.5% advance from SAR124.9m.