Cement News tagged under: corporate
Lafarge lengthens debt maturity30 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsLafarge, joined the list of companies taking advantage of historically low interest rates to lengthen the maturity on its debt on Tuesday, as the company offered to buy back up to Euro1bn of its debt in exchange for a new bond. Lafarge offered to replace its 5.875 per cent 2008 issue with a new issue with a 10-year maturity. The company said the purpose of the bond exchange was to "lengthen Lafarge’s average debt maturity without increasing the amount thereof and to create a more balanced r... |
Juan Minetti pays creditors US$13m30 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsJuan Minetti, Argentina’s second largest cement producer, and controlled by Holcim, has paid bank and financial creditors some US$13m as part of a debt restructuring, Minetti said in a filing to the Buenos Aires stock exchange. The company saw first quarter net profits drop 55.8 per cent to 28.8m pesos (US$9.75m) from 1Q03 due to exchange rate differences. In 2003, increased sales and a successful financial restructuring helped Minetti post a 121m-peso net profit, recovering from a 210m-pes... |
Siam City Cement names top exec30 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsSiam City Cement, has appointed Leo Mittelholzer as managing director, replacing Vincent Bichet, who has moved to head Holcim’s unit in France. Siam City Cement is scheduled to hold a press conference Thursday to announce its policies under the new management. It will also announce the launch of a new product. Siam City Cement is Thailand’s second-largest cement maker with an annual production capacity of around 10Mt. |
Rough road ahead for UK arm, RMC warns29 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsRMC has warned that reduced spending on roads in Britain coupled with problems at one of its cement plants would slash first-half profits in its UK business by almost half. However, the group, which is the world’s biggest maker of ready mixed concrete, said it was still on track to meet full-year earnings forecasts. Better-than-expected results in the US and France would offset the disappointing performance in the UK, caused partly by problems at the Rugby cement works. David Munro, group ch... |
Gresik shares suspended, Indonesia29 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsShares in Indonesia’s largest cement company, Semen Gresik, were suspended yesterday after its auditors attached a disclaimer to its 2003 results, citing incomplete data from a rebel unit of the group as one of the reasons for the move. Gresik’s central management in Jakarta regained control of the rebel unit, Semen Padang, more than nine months ago, but the group’s auditors, PwC, said it would need until September or October to complete a special audit of the West Sumatran subsidiary. ... |
Cemex seeks US$800m syndicated loan-LPC29 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsCemex is negotiating a US$800m three-year syndicated loan to refinance other debt, Loan Pricing Corp. said, citing unnamed market sources. According to LPC, a unit of global news and information company Reuters Group Plc, Cemex has bumped up the size of the loan from an original $500m. Cemex, which has promised to pay down debt this year in the absence of attractive acquisitions, declined to comment. Its net debt at the end of March stood at $5.352bn. Cemex said in mid-June that its seco... |
Buzzi Unicem approves EUR206m capital hike29 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsThe board of directors of Italy’s Buzzi Unicem has approved a capital increase of EUR206m (US$250.4m). The company will issue a total 24,214, 836 ordinary shares at a price of EUR8.5 (US$10.3) per share. Holders of ordinary or savings shares and owners of convertible bonds due in 2008 will be offered two new ordinary shares per each 15 shares or bonds owned. The shareholders and bondholders will be able to exercise the option rights between 5-23 July 2004. Italian bank Banca IMI, a un... |
L&T re-listed, closes day one at Rs 635: The stocks markets have valued the engineering and construction business25 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsThe stocks markets have valued the engineering and construction business of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) at Rs 635 a share, Rs 395 more than what the Birlas will receive when they sell their 14.95 per cent stake in L&T to the company’s employees’ trust. According to the deal between the Birlas and L&T, finalised last year, the Birla group agreed to sell its holding of 14.95 per cent in L&T to L&T Employees Welfare Trust at Rs 240 a share. The ... |
Grasim offer for CemCo oversubscribed24 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsFifteen months after it opened its ambitious gambit for L&T’s cement business, the Aditya Birla group is poised to finally take control of Ultra Tech CemCo Ltd, into which the 16.5Mt cement division of L&T Ltd has been spun off. The open offer by Grasim Industries, a Birla group company, for a 30 per cent stake in CemCo at INR342 per share, has been oversubscribed by more than two times. It is learnt that the financial institutions (UTI, LIC and GIC) have tendered their entire shareholdi... |
Lafarge eyes buyouts to increase capacity , India24 June 2004, Published under Cement NewsCement major Lafarge India will explore acquisitions to enhance its manufacturing capacity in view of the growing demand for cement. At present Lafarge’s cement manufacturing capacity stands at five million tonne, with another 3Mtof clinker manufacturing capacity. The company has witnessed capacity utilisation of more than 80 per cent in the last few months. "Our cement manufacturing capacity stands at 5Mt while we sell around 4.2Mt. The cement industry is expected to grow at six per... |