Cement News tagged: Corporate
China Resources Cement's 1H profit likely to fall 21%
China Resources Cement has warned of a sharp drop in gross profit margin in 1H12 to 21 per cent from the 33 per cent last year as selling prices for cement products have fallen. "Starting from 2012, the market selling prices of cement products in China have continued to drop generally. Inevitably, the selling prices of the group's cement products have been impacted," it said in a statemen...
Moody's says CCI ruling to hurt Holcim & Lafarge
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 cred...
Cemex launches refinancing plan
Cemex launched a proposal on Monday to refinance debt due in 2014. The company said it will propose a three-year extension of debt maturing in February 2014 to February 2017, and it plans a US$1bn pay down of debt in 2013, which may include some asset sales. The company said it had meetings scheduled with its lenders on June 29 and July 2 to discuss the refinancing proposal, which was negotia...
Holcim investor sells CHF320m stake, Switzerland
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...
Ricardo Lima to become new Cimpor CEO, Portugal
Ricardo Lima, currently vice president of operations of InterCement, is to be the new CEO of Cimpor following, parent company, Camargo Corrêa’s takeover of the Portuguese cement major last week. Ricardo Fonseca de Mendonca Lima has been at his current role at InterCement since 2004. Last Wednesday, Brazilian industrial conglomerate Camargo Correa completed its takeover of Cimpor, controlli...
Conch acquires stake in Xingjian Qingsong, China
Anhui Conch Cement Co has completed the acquisition of a 19.99 per cent stake in Xinjiang Qingsong Building Materials and Chemicals (Group). The company said in a statement filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange that, together with an Anhui Province-based subsidiary, it bought 137.8 million shares of Qingsong Building Materials through a private placement. Qingsong Building Materials ear...
Tangshan Jidong Cement acquires majority stake in Wubao Jidong, China
Tangshan Jidong Cement announced it has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Wubao Jidong Special Cement for CNY173m, reports Securities Times, citing a company filing yesterday. At the same time, Shandong Linqu Shengwei Special Cement acquired a 10 per cent interest in Wubao Jidong Special Cement for CNY34.1m. According to Tangshan Jidong Cement, the acquisition will not have a significant i...
Concerns over Ghana’s cement duopoly
The World Bank has expressed its concern over the dominance of Ghana Cement Company (Ghacem) and Diamond Cement Company in the sale of cement in the country, local press report. The bank is worried that the two companies control more than 80 per cent of the market and suppress competition in the sector with negative consequences on the prices and supply of cement to the building and constru...
Camargo completes Cimpor takeover, Portugal
Brazilian conglomerate Camargo Correa has completed its takeover of Cimpor, now controlling 94.8 per cent of the Portuguese producer, Cimpor said in a statement on the CMVM market regulator's website. The success of the move was largely expected by analysts who will now look at the terms in which the company's assets will be split between Camargo and Votorantim. The deal includes an asset swa...
JPMorgan sells 2.18m shares in Shanshui Cement, China
JPMorgan Chase & Co has sold 2.18 million shares in China Shanshui Cement Group Ltd at HK$ 5.48 per share on 11 June, media reported, citing information released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Change in Executive Board of Gebr Pfeiffer SE
Otto Jung is to retire on 20 June 2012 after nearly 40 years with Gebr Pfeiffer SE. Robert Schnatz will take over Mr Jung’s technical responsibilities on the Executive Board. Otto Jung started his career as a development and project engineer. In 1988 he became head of the projects & sales department and order processing. In 1996 he was appointed to the Executive Board of Gebr. Pfeiffer SE, a ...
Hungarian construction down 4.8% in April
Output of Hungary’s construction sector fell 4.8 per cent YoY in April 2012, data from the Central Statistics Office showed on Monday. The decline was slower than figures recorded in the month before and, according to some industry experts, there could be a return to growth next year. The decline slowed from a steep 12.6 per cent contraction in March and a 15.2 per cent YoY fall in February...
Reliance MF hikes stake in Madras Cements, India
Reliance Mutual Fund has increased its stake in India-based producer Madras Cements to just over five per cent with the acquisition of 90,000 shares. With this acquisition on 14 June, the Chennai-based cement maker said the fund house's holding in the company now stands at 5.01 per cent, or 1.193 crore shares, according to a Bombay Stock Exchange filing by Madras Cements. Reliance Mutual Fun...
ContiTech buys British special-purpose belt company, UK
ContiTech has strengthened its industrial business in specialised conveyor belts by purchasing Specialised Belting Supplies Ltd, Thetford, UK. This British company has been in the market since 1984 and, with 50 employees, produces primarily steep-angle conveyor belts for the transport of bulk materials including ore, coal or gravel. “The purchase of this profitable and established company i...
ANH Refractories appoints senior engineer to target Euro cement market
ANH Refractories, based in North West UK, has hired Senior Refractory Engineer Stefan Frank to drive export sales across Europe. He has been charged with kickstarting a new campaign to increase ANH’s profile and drive sales in emerging cement markets in countries including Turkey, Ukraine and Italy. The American owned firm, which has a US turnover of $550m, delivers refractory solutions, se...
Signs of recovery for China’s cement sector
Analysts at brokerage Daiwa have noted "green shoots of recovery" for China's cement sector. It says growth for infrastructure investment has rebounded for three consecutive months and industry inventory levels are set to fall; "we expect the government's policy loosening to accelerate construction activity, resulting in an uptrend for cement demand and prices starting from 2H12."