Cement News tagged under: Mexico

RSS feed

Cemex improves first-quarter trading profit

24 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Cemex' first-quarter turnover declined by 5.3 per cent to US$3399.87m, but EBITDA did improve by 6.3 per cent to US$568.54m. Helped by a 12.7 per cent reduction in the depreciation and amortisation charge, the trading profit rose by 25.3 per cent to US$335.32m. The net interest charge declined by 15.3 per cent to US$338.08m, to give an 82 per cent drop in the pre-tax loss from US$167.88m to US$30.86m. The effective net debt was 3.4 per cent lower at US$15,769m, of which 86 per cent was in...

GCC expects declining growth on low oil prices

10 April 2015, Published under Cement News

Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) expects sales growth to decline this year after record revenue last year as low oil prices constrict demand in the United States, the company's top market. GCC Treasurer Luis Carlos Arias told Reuters in an interview that after a nearly 20 per cent sales spike in 2014, the company projects only single digit growth in the US, which accounts for about 70 per cent of total sales. Demand in Mexico is expected to fall slightly, he said.

Buzzi Unicem returns to a net profit

30 March 2015, Published under Cement News

On a turnover just 0.1 per cent lower at EUR2506.4m, Buzzi Unicem's underlying EBITDA did increase by 7.1 per cent to EUR404.8m in 2014, while at the headline level there was a 4.8 per cent advance to EUR422.7m. Following a 23 per cent reduction in impairment charges, depreciation and amortisation, the trading profit (EBIT) more than doubled from EUR86.5m to EUR178.7m. After a net interest charge 52.1 per cent lower at EUR53.1m, the pre-tax profit jumped from just EUR16.0m to EUR175.6m. A...

Cemex aims to trim debt by US$1bn in 2015

18 March 2015, Published under Cement News

Cemex is aiming to cut its debt by up to US$1bn this year. The company believes it can refinance US$2.9bn in bonds at a coupon of around nine per cent this year, according to a presentation to investors. Cemex had total debt of US$16.29bn at the end of 2014. Separately, Cemex said it expected compound annual growth of four per cent in sales volumes between 2014-2016.

Holcim expects 3-5% growth in Mexico

12 March 2015, Published under Cement News

The Mexican cement market will expand by 3-5 per cent in 2015, according to a forecast by Holcim México. Although dollar volatility, lower oil receipts and the decreased government spending may impact negatively on cement consumption, the National Infrastructure Plan (NIP), a dynamic housing sector and higher remittances are expected to boost cement demand this year. In the first half of 2015 the recovery that started in 2H14 is expected to take hold. "There are conditions to believe th...

Rodolfo Montero new Holcim México CEO

03 March 2015, Published under Cement News

From 1 March, Rodolfo Montero becomes the new CEO of Holcim México, succeeding Eduardo Kretschmer, who will leave Holcim after 34 years. Mr Montero previously held the position of CEO of Holcim Ecuador, a post for which he was appointed for in 2010. He started work for Holcim in 1990 and has since fulfilled a variety of roles, including business manager for ready mix concrete in Costa Rica, CEO of Holcim Nicaragua and Cemento Panamá as well as commercial director of Holcim Sri Lanka. He ...

GCC's fourth-quarter sales rise 18% YoY

02 March 2015, Published under Cement News

GCC (Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua) reported a sales increase of 18 per cent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period of 2013, totaling MXN2546.1m (U$$170m), reflecting an increase in both Mexico and the US across all the company's products. In the US, sales rose 17.6 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 and totaled MXN1735.6m. Cement sales volumes grew five per cent and concrete 20 per cent, driven by demand in Texas, South Dakota, Iowa, New Mexico, Arkansas and Oklahoma,...

Cemex creates Cemex Energia

20 February 2015, Published under Cement News

Cemex announced today the creation of Cemex Energia, an energy division that aims to develop a portfolio of power projects that will supply about 3-5 per cent of Mexico's electricity needs over the next five years. “We are very enthusiastic about Mexico’s energy sector future, and we will leverage on our experience in developing projects that benefit the country,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex. First milestone The first milestone achieved by the new unit is the signing of a jo...

Mexico: LH merger green light

18 February 2015, Published under Cement News

Mexico’s Federal Commission for Economic Competition (Cofece) has granted approval for the merger of Lafarge and Holcim (LH). Lafarge is a market player in Mexico through an indirect stake in ELC Tenedora de Cementos, which produces white and grey cement in its plants in Hidalgo state. “On 16 December 2014, Lafarge sold its stake in ELC to Elementia and as such does no longer have any stake in the Mexican cement industry and therefore, the operation does not have any effect on the str...

Cemex’ US EBITDA rises by 65% and trading loss almost eliminated

06 February 2015, Published under Cement News

Cemex' turnover improved by 3.2 per cent in 2014 to US$15,708.5m and the EBITDA advanced by 3.7 per cent to US$2740.5m, while the trading profit rose by 12.3 per cent to US$1275.6m. The net interest charge rose yet again and was up by 4.3 per cent to US$1608.4m, while the pre-tax loss was reduced by 53.2 per cent to US$124m and the net attributable loss emerged 39.8 per cent lower at US$507.3m.  Net debt, including perpetual notes, declined by 6.7 per cent during the year to US$16,291...