Cement News tagged: Corporate
Eastern Province net profit rises 4.8% YoY
Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) posted a 4.8 per cent rise in net profit for the first quarter of 2013, which the company attributed the increase to a better performance at one of its affiliate companies. For the first three months to the end of March 2013, net profit rose to SAR109m (US$ 29.1m) compared to SAR104m in the same period a year earlier. Earnings per share (EPS) stood at...
EU construction output falls in March
Construction output in the EU27 fell by 1.7 per cent in the euro area and 1.1 per cent in March 2013, compared with the previous month, according to first estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Compared with March 2012, production decreased by 7.9 per cent in the euro area and by 7.2 per cent in the EU27 in March 2013. Among the Member States for whi...
HeidelbergCement to sell stake in Indian unity to private equity investors?
HeidelbergCement is reported to be in talks with private equity investors to sell a minority stake in its Indian arm, which could result in the second such deal in the domestic sector in recent weeks. Speculation is mounting that Bain Capital is conducting a due diligence to pick up around 10 per cent in Heidelberg India according to reports by The Telegraph. Other private equity investors s...
PPC to construct new plant in Democratic Republic of Congo
PPC has announced plans to construct a 1Mta cement factory in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of the company’s plans to increase revenue streams outside South Africa to 40 per cent by 2016. The company is expanding in Africa through acquisitions to offset tougher competition in its domestic market and plans an investment of plans an investment of US$200m in the central African cou...
Lafarge WAPCO's debt reduction plans
Lafarge WAPCO plans to pay off a NGN6bn (US$40m) in local debt this year, according to reports by Reuters. The company owes about NGN28.4bn (US$180.43m) in total loans, of which NGN6bn is from Nigerian banks, Fred Amobi, its chief financial officer told analysts at a conference call. He said Lafarge WAPCO had a three-year bond worth NGN11.6bn and a loan from a Nigerian development bank of NG...
Eagle Materials boosts cement and plasterboard volumes
Including its share of the jointly-owned Texas Lehigh Cement, the turnover of Eagle Materials for the financial year to the end of March rose by 27.1 per cent to US$738.9m, including the assets acquired from Lafarge from the end of November last year. Of the total turnover, plasterboard accounted for 41.5 per cent, cement 40.8 per cent, plasterboard liner 10.2 per cent and aggregates and concr...
Lafarge raises EUR200m to accelerate its development in India
Lafarge SA signed an agreement to raise €200m through capital increase subscribed by Baring Private Equity Asia, and representing a 14 per cent minority stake in its Indian subsidiary, Lafarge India Private Ltd. This transaction, which is subject to the approval of local regulatory authorities, will accelerate Lafarge's growth plans in India in all its product lines: Cement, Aggregates and ...
Titan recovers in the USA
Titan's first-quarter turnover showed a 7.8 per cent improvement to €243m while the EBITDA fell by 29.4 per cent, in line with the 29.3 per cent reduction seen this time last year, to €24.3m. The pre-tax loss rose by 33.5 per cent to €23.5m and the net attributable loss rose by 39.7 per cent to €27.1m. Net debt at the end of March, however, declined by 20.1 per cent to €630m, giving a g...
Oficemen names new president, Spain
Isidoro Miranda, CEO of Lafarge Spain, has been appointed president of Spanish cement association, Oficemen. Mr Miranda replaces José Luis Sáenz de Miera of Cementos Portland Valderrivas, who was appointed in late February following the departure of Juan Bejar, also of Portland Valderrivas. Speaking of the challenges the Spanish cement sector faces in light of the current economic climat...
Saudi Cement Co signs contract with Sinoma for kiln upgrades
Saudi Cement Co has announced that it has signed a contract with Sinoma Technology & Equipment Group Co to rehabilitate and restart kiln lines 4 and 5 at its Hofuf factory. Under the deal worth US$19.9m, the Saudi-Arabia based cement producer said it had signed the contract with Sinoma, adding that the work would be "fully financed through the company's own resources." The project is...
Sanghi Industries' 3Q benefits from extended sales reach
Sanghi Industries Ltd has posted a 234 per cent jump in net profit as the Gujarat-based producer increases its geographical sales spread and implements a number of cost-saving measures. Net profit for the third quarter ended 31 March 2013 reached INR419m compared to INR125m for the same quarter in previous financial year. Net sales in the 3QFY12-13 were INR2981m, almost on a par with the IN...
Buzzi Unicem is advancing in Russia and in the USA
Buzzi Unicem's first-quarter turnover declined by 10.5 per cent to €503.14m and the EBITDA dropped by 51 per cent to €11.75m but advances were seen in Russia and the USA. The loss at the trading level was 29.7 per cent higher at €42.03m. Net financial charges declined by 7.3 per cent to €25.83m to give a seasonal pre-tax loss 7.1 per cent higher at €68.82m. Net debt at the end of March was ...
Trinidad Cement Ltd 1Q13 boosted by higher sales volumes and prices
For the first quarter of 2013, Trinidad Cement Ltd recorded EBITDA of JMD114.2m (US$1.16m), reflecting a significant improvement over the first quarter of the previous year and 74 per cent of the total EBITDA achieved throughout 2012. Revenue for the quarter increased by JMD117m compared with the prior year as a result of higher cement sales volumes, the group said in a statement. Volumes w...
Cementir hit by hard Nordic winter
Cementir's first-quarter turnover eased by 0.3 per cent to €194.7m and the EBITDA declined by 26.9 per cent to €9.2m as the cement major was hit by a hard Nordic winter weather. The trading loss increased by 56.1 per cent to €12.4m, but at the pre-tax level the increase in the loss was a more modest 20.3 per cent up to €13.7m. The severe winter weather in Scandinavia and Italy had a partic...
Tajikcement’s coal-fired kiln scheduled for mid-June delivery
China-based Beijing Uni-Construction Group Co Ltd has started preparation works for the installation of a coal-fired kiln at Tajikcement’s state-run cement plant in Dushanbe. Tajikcement, the country's largest cement producer with four 600tpa kilns and two 300tpa lines has not been operational since the beginning of this year due to a lack of natural gas supplies. Citing sources at the Mini...
Pakistan 10-month dispatches rise 4.09%
Pakistan cement dispatches rose by 4.09 per cent in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, the latest data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA) shows. Dispatches for the 10 months to April 2013 reached 27.664Mt compared to 26.576Mt during the same period of the previous year. Domestic sales accounted for 21Mt, representing a 6.03 per cent YoY increase. In Ap...