Displaying items by tag: France
LafargeHolcim supplies 10,000t of cement for Brest expansion
15 November 2019France: LafargeHolcim has fulfilled its contract with the Port of Brest for the delivery of 10,000t of cement and almost 0.17Mt of draining sand by sea to the port in the Département of Brittany. A Euro220m project has been underway since 2016 for expansion and diversification of the port’s handling capacity, with completion scheduled for 2020. LafargeHolcim says that it proposed specific construction solutions for use of its materials in improving the accessibility of Brest’s existing wharves and building a new ‘heavy’ wharf.
Vicat releases nine-month sales report
06 November 2019France: Vicat has sold Euro2.06bn-worth of cement in the nine months to 30 September 2019, up by 5.7% year-on-year from Euro1.95bn in the corresponding period of 2018. Its cement section’s sales lagged behind concrete and aggregates, with a rise of 4.5% to Euro991m from Euro948m in the nine months to 30 September 2018. “The Group’s strategy of raising prices is paying off in almost all operating regions, while energy costs fell,” said Vicat Group Chairman and CEO Guy Sidos. He expects exchange rate gains to pay dividends in the final quarter, notably in Turkey.
Jordan: 21.8% state-owned Jordan Cement, 50.3% subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has laid off 200 of its 550 employees after incurring losses of US$87m in the nine months to 30 September 2019. Reuters has reported that the company, whose 2018 losses were US$48.9m, up by 4.0% year-on-year from US$47.0m in 2017, made the sackings ‘to ensure its continuity,’ according to Jordan Cement CEO Samaan Samaan. The company has operated a single line at its 2.0Mt/yr integrated Rashadiyah cement plant since the closure of its 2.0Mt/yr Fuhais plant in 2013. The country’s 9Mt/yr-capacity cement sector serves a domestic demand of 4Mt/yr.
France: Hoffman Green Cement Technologies has launched an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Euro50m on the Euronext Growth market. The company wants to use the funds to build two new plants with a capacity of 0.25Mt/yr in Vendée and in the Paris region, according to the Le Figaro newspaper. Hoffmann Green Cement Technologies inaugurated its pilot plant at Bournezeau, Vendée in 2018. The unit is developing cement products using flash-calcined metakaolin and blast-furnace slag.
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s executive committee has taken on Magali Anderson in the newly-created role of Chief Sustainability Officer. Anderson is a mechanical engineer with extensive managerial and functional experience who joined LafargeHolcim in 2016 as its Head of Health and Safety. LafargeHolcim CEO Jan Jensich has stated that the appointment “will accelerate LafargeHolcim’s vision of running its operations with zero harm to people and the environment.”
Holcim Belgium begins export of cement to France by rail
23 September 2019Belgium: Holcim Belgium has finished loading around 1250t of cement from its 1.7Mt/yr integrated Obourg cement plant onto a train in Obourg in Belgium’s Hainaut province. It leaves on 24 September 2019 for Lafarge France’s Bonneuile-Sur-Marne, Île-de-France depot. La Province has reported that LafargeHolcim began the process on 20 September 2019 with the conveyance of cement by three shuttle trucks to the train’s 12 carriages. LafargeHolcim spokesperson Séverine Baudoin has explained that the undertaking, LafargeHolcim’s first of its kind in the region, is a part of its sustainable development plan applied to distribution to new clients in the Paris area.
LafargeHolcim launches new ready-to-use concrete range
20 September 2019France: LafargeHolcim France has become the first cement manufacturer to offer tailor-made concrete solutions, with a range of concrete products for eight different applications. These include concretes made with specially adapted cement for thermal insulation, resilience to acid and seawater and optimised CO2 balance.
Lafarge Cement Syria executives challenge indictment for alleged payments to jihadists
17 September 2019France/Syria: Four Lafarge Cement Syria executives, including Bruno Lafont, CEO of Lafarge from 2006 until its 2015 merger with Holcim, have appeared in court in France to challenge their June 2017 indictments on charges of funding terrorism. This related alleged payments by Lafarge Cement Syria of Euro13m to IS to ensure the safe activity of its Syrian sites throughout the country’s civil war. A ruling will be handed down on 24 October 2019. Agence France Presse has reported that the Syrian-Canadian Amro Taleb, a former Lafarge Cement Syria intermediary whom executives have described as a ‘crook,’ has been indicted on the same charge.
CRH increase first half sales and EBITDA
22 August 2019Ireland: CRH’s revenue for the six months up to 30th June 2019 was Euro13.2bn, up 11% from Euro11.9bn over the same period in 2018, with a 36% increase in EBITDA to Euro1.54bn from Euro1.13bn in the first half of 2018.
In its interim results, CRH attributed increased cement volumes in the US to synergy delivery and strong price realisation in spite of adverse weather conditions in its key markets, noting ‘a strong contribution from our Ash Grove acquisition,’ obtained at the end of June 2018.
A general improvement in cement pricing in the EU28 saw operating profits ahead of the first half of 2018, with increased demand in the French market from non-residential and civil engineering sectors offsetting the effects of reduced residential demand. The UK market reversed this trend, with operating profit behind 2018 due to higher input costs and volume pressure.
In addition to operating profit improvements reported by subsidiary businesses in the Philippines, CRH group benefited from its share in profit after tax of China’s Yatai Building Materials and India’s My Home Industries Limited, both of which enjoyed improved operating profits compared to 2018.
Vicat fights poor markets in Turkey, Switzerland, Indian and West Africa in first half of 2019
02 August 2019France: Vicat’s sales rose by 4.6% year-on-year to Euro1.34bn in the first half of 2019 from Euro1.28bn in the same period in 2018. This was mainly due to its acquisition of Brazil’s Ciplan in late 2018. At constant scope and exchange rates its sales fell by 0.6% due to poor markets in Turkey, Switzerland, Indian and West Africa. Its earnings before interest and tax fell by 9.4% to Euro97m from Euro107m. Cement sales volumes dropped by 4.9% to 10.8Mt from 11.4Mt and concrete volumes decreased by 6.7% to 4.3Mm3 from 4.57Mm3.
“In the first half of 2019, solid performances in France, Asia and the US drove an increase in our sales and earnings before interest, taxation, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA). These results reflect a marked improvement in the operational profitability given the on-going increase in consumed energy costs, the deteriorating macroeconomic situation in Turkey and the exceptional rainfalls in California that we experienced in the first half,” said Guy Sidos, the group’s chief executive officer (CEO).
By region, the group’s sales and earnings rose in France but fell in the rest of Europe. Sales grew in the Americas region, even without the Ciplan acquisition, but earnings fell due to a Euro10.6mn settlement payment booked in the US in the first half of 2018. The group’s sales fell in India but earnings rose due to price increases. Poor markets in Turkey and Egypt hit sales and caused a loss.