Displaying items by tag: Brazil
Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ sales revenue has remained stable at US$968m in the third quarter of 2017, boosted by its performance in North America. At home in Brazil the cement producer benefitted from improved market conditions, including higher prices and higher revenues from mortars and agricultural lime. Despite this though its local revenue fell by 4.9% year-on-year in line with the national market. The cement producers adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 27% to US$157m but the company blamed this on a non-recurring tax adjustment.
Europe: The closing date of the merger between refractory manufacturers RHI and Magnesita is expected to be 26 October 2017. This follows approval by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) for the prospectus for admission to listing of RHI Magnesita shares on the Premium Listing segment of the Official List of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s (LSE) Main Market for listed securities. The new company, RHI Magnesita, will start trading on the LSE on 27 October 2017.
Loma Negra aims to raise US$800m in initial public offering
16 October 2017Argentina/US: Loma Negra aims to generate up to US$800m in an initial public offering in Argentina and the US. Around US$700m of the money raised will go to its parent company Brazil’s InterCement, according to Reuters. InterCement is selling a 32% stake in the company to pay its debts. Subsequently it will hold a 57% stake in the Argentine cement producer. No schedule for the transaction has been disclosed.
Brazilian cement sales continue falling so far in 2017
13 October 2017Brazil: Sales of cement have fallen by 7.6% year-on-year to 40.5Mt in the first nine months of 2017 from 43.8Mt in the same period of 2016. The data from the Brazilian cement association SNIC showed that cement sales had fallen in all regions of the country with particular decreases in the North and North-East areas. SNIC president Paulo Camillo Penna commented that the rate of decline was slowing compared to 2016 and that further progress was expected in 2018. He added that fruther government infrastructure investment was necessary to encourage this trend.
Brazilian governor seeks reopening of Itapissuma cement plant
02 October 2017Brazil: Wellington Dias, the governor of Piauí, is seeking the reopening of the Itapissuma cement plant. Owners João Santos Group closed the plant in March 2017 due to an 80% drop in sales caused by the country’s poor economy. Around 500 employees were laid off, according to the state government. The cement producer planned to make a final decision on the future of the plant by the end of September 2017. However, the governor has intervened to try and coordinate the purchase of the plant by a local business consortium.
Votorantim Cimentos to sell stake in Suwannee American Cement
27 September 2017US: Votorantim Cimentos is selling its 50% stake in Suwannee American Cement based in Florida. The sale is intended to focus Votorantim’s portfolio and reduce its debts according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. The effects of Hurricane Irma are expected to increase the selling time. Votorantim operates the 1Mt/yr Suwannee cement plant in Branford with Anderson Columbia. The cement producer supplies markets in Florida and Georgia.
Cimpor grows sales in first half of 2017 on back of Portuguese recovery
15 September 2017Portugal: Cimpor’s sales rose by 2.6% to Euro921m in the first half of 2017 from Euro897m in the same period in 2016. Recovery in the Portuguese market buoyed its sales despite continued issues in Brazil, Egypt and Mozambique. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 2.6% to Euro166m from Euro170m due to non-recurring costs. However, the cement producer said that, excluding these its earnings would have remained stable and would have even risen by 4% if CO2 permits management had been disregarded. Its cement sales volumes fell by 2.7% to 11.5Mt from 11.8Mt.
SNIC predicts Brazilian cement industry recovery from 2018
12 September 2017Brazil: Paulo Camillo Penna, the president of the Brazilian cement association SNIC, predicts that the local industry will start to recover in 2018. His comments follow the publication of data for August 2017, according to the Valor Econômico newspaper. He added that the country would need four or five years of growth to resume the levels of 2014, the last year sales increased reaching 71Mt. Sales of cement have been falling less steeply than previously but are still projected to end 2017 with a decrease of 7%. Sales are then forecast to grow by 1% in 2018 with a more rapid recovery expected to begin in 2019.
RHI and Magnesita make sales ahead of merger
11 September 2017Europe: RHI and Magnesita have announced divestment agreements ahead of their proposed merger. RHI has signed a contract with a European refractories supplier for an undisclosed sum regarding the sale of its dolomite business in the European Economic Area. The sale consists of the production sites at Marone in Italy and Lugones in Spain. Magnesita has entered into a definitive agreement with Intocast to divest its business related to the production and supply of magnesia carbon bricks produced at the company's Oberhausen plant in Germany for Euro20.3m. Both sales were required by the European Commission as part of the merger process.
“With the sale of the two sites, the combination of RHI with Magnesita is also still right on schedule,” said RHI’s chief executive officer Stefan Borgas with regards to his company’s divestments “We expect the confirmation by the European Commission in the near future.”
RHI signed a contract in August 2017 to sell its production sites at San Vito in Italy and Sherbinska in Russia that produce fused cast refractories for the glass industry. Production at the company’s plant at Aken in Germany was stopped in the first half of 2017 for an indefinite period. RHI plans to sell or close the plant to maintain its production utilisation rate across the business.
Loma Negra files for US$100m initial public offering
07 September 2017Argentina/US: Loma Negra has filed for a US$100m initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange. The subsidiary of Brazil’s InterCement wants to sell shares of Loma Negra in Argentina and New York to raise cash and cut debt, according to sources quoted by Reuters. Proceeds from the offering will be used to reduce debts at InterCement’s parent company Camargo Correa. The Brazilian company originally purchased Loma Negra in 2005 for US$1bn.