Cimpor boosted by South American operations

Cimpor's underlying first half turnover improved by 19.6 per cent to EUR1299.8m as the company is boosted by its new South America operations but Portuguese losses more than double.

EBITDA for the six month period advanced by a more modest 6.3 per cent to EUR284.2m. Ignoring non-recurring charges, the EBITDA would have been some 19 per cent ahead a EUR331m, while the improvement on the re-stated last year numbers was 28.1 per cent.  On this basis, the trading profit increased by 34.6 per cent to EUR190.5m, but a jump in the net financial charge from EUR31.6m to EUR228.0m led to a pre-tax loss of EUR37.5m compared with a EUR110m profit. The net attributable loss amounted to EUR74.8m, compared with a profit of EUR73.5m.  Net debt at the end of June stood at EUR3757m to produce a gearing level of 55.2 per cent. 

Capital expenditure in the period jumped from EUR94.8m to EUR209.31m on the back of considerably higher spending in Brazil which, at EUR168.5m, accounted for 80.5 per cent of the total. The Brazilian Camargo Correa Group now controls 94.2 per cent of the equity.  The new additions in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay contributed an EBITDA of some EUR116m, compared with EUR46m in 2012 from the assets disposed of to Votorantim.

Group cement deliveries improved by 4.1 per cent to 13.47Mt, with those assets that were continuously part of the group showing a 3.9 per cent reduction to 7.22Mt. 

Brazil is now by far the most important contributor, with cement shipments here registering a 104.5 per cent jump to 5.9Mt because of the increased sphere of consolidation. The turnover registered a 78.3 per cent advance to EUR617.5m and was negatively affected by a 10 per cent reduction in the value of the Brazilian currency.  The trading profit was ahead by 69.6 per cent to EUR154.4m, giving a trading margin of 25 per cent compared with 26.3 per cent a year earlier. 

In volume terms, Argentina, which also includes the Paraguay numbers, is now the second largest contributor, with a cement volume of 3.12Mt and a turnover of EUR315.5m. The trading profit was EUR32.8m, giving a trading margin of 10.4 per cent. The Argentinean first-half results represented an all-time record for that company, Loma Negra.

Portugal, which now also includes Cape Verde, essentially served by cement exports from Portugal, saw cement shipments ease by 2.5 per cent to 2.04Mt. Turnover, however, fared worse and fell by 19.3 per cent to EUR150.8m and the trading loss more than doubled from EUR13.5m to EUR29.1m. The trading and shipping operations generated a turnover 24 per cent ahead at EUR129.4m, with cement exports from Portugal going mainly to Africa and South America.

Egyptian cement deliveries declined by 7.8 per cent to 1.62Mt, with second quarter shipments falling by 16.7 per cent, as economic and social unrest depressed cement deliveries. The turnover came off by 7.6 per cent to EUR93.4m, while the trading profit fell by 23.6 per cent to EUR22.1m.

In South Africa, the tonnage was increased by 6.2 per cent to 0.57Mt and the turnover came down by 16.2 per cent to EUR59.2m as the rand exchange rate fell by 6.3 per cent, and the trading profit almost halved to EUR11m, partially affected by increased import pressure. The group cement deliveries in Mozambique were ahead by seven per cent to 0.56Mt, though the second half showed a 4.5 per cent decline. Turnover improved by 4.7 per cent to EUR63.3m but the trading profit eased by 7.6 per cent to EUR9.3m, having risen six-fold during the first half of last year.