Displaying items by tag: Germany
Germany: HeidelbergCement has posted a 29% rise in core earnings in the first quarter of 2015 as it has benefited from a construction industry recovery in North America and the UK as well as low energy prices and the weak Euro. Operating income before depreciation (OIBD) was Euro299m and sales rose by 4% on a like-for-like basis to Euro2.84bn.
"Business development in the first quarter has strengthened our conviction in our outlook for 2015," said chief executive Bernd Scheifele. HeidelbergCement has reiterated its aim for significant improvements in 2015 sales, operating income and adjusted net profit thanks to strong demand in its core markets, the weaker oil price and Euro and efficiency measures.
HeidelbergCement also anticipates a significant decrease in financing costs due to the decline of net debt to Euro6.1bn from Euro7.8bn, following the sale of its building products business.
Europe: CRH has been approved by the European Commission as a purchaser of assets in the European Union from Lafarge and Holcim. CRH has also received from the European Commission the clearance for the acquisition of these assets. These divestments remain subject to the completion of the merger between Lafarge and Holcim, including a successful public exchange offering to Lafarge's shareholders and approval by Holcim's shareholders.
In France Holcim and Lafarge are divesting all of Holcim's assets, except for its Altkirch cement plant and aggregates and ready-mix sites in the Haut-Rhin region, and a grinding station of Lafarge in Saint-Nazaire. Lafarge's assets on Reunion island are being sold except for its shareholding in Ciments de Bourbon. All of Lafarge's assets are also being sold in Germany and Romania. Lafarge Tarmac assets in the UK are being sold with the exception of its Cauldon and Cookstown plants and certain associated assets. In Hungary all of Holcim's operating assets are being divested and it is selling its assets in Slovakia.
Germany: Uwe Väth has assumed control over operations of the Schenck Process Group, effective 1 April 2015. In this role, he will be responsible for global manufacturing, supply chain and purchasing and will report to Andreas Evertz, president and CEO. At the same time, he will become joint managing director acting from the company headquarters of Schenck Process GmbH, which plays the leading and coordinating role for all European countries as well as Russia and parts of Africa. Uwe Väth comes from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The appointment reflects the enormous importance of operations for the Schenck Process Group. In the future, Horst Klein will take on responsibility as the vice president of purchasing and thus ensure continuity and further development. In this capacity, he will report directly to Uwe Väth.
"Thanks to his comprehensive expertise and many years of experience in the area of operations, Väth will intensively drive the development of the Schenk Process Group forward. Through his activities as a consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he has already gained insights into our company, meaning that both sides can seamlessly build upon this cooperation. I'm very pleased to welcome him as part of the management team," said Andreas Evertz.
As a graduate engineer, Uwe Väth worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers AG in Frankfurt am Main for many years, where he had been a partner since 2011. He had also built up the strategy and operations division and oversaw projects together with his teams in the areas of purchasing, supply chain, production and tool manufacturing, quality and logistics. International customers that are active in the areas of industrial production, process industry and plastics processing were catered to.
Germany: Haver & Boecker has announced that its newest generation INTEGRA® Form-Fill-Seal design system for filling tubular film bags with cement, building products, minerals, chemical products, food and feed stuffs, will be launched by the end of 2015. The largest system is designed for speeds of up to 3200bags/hr.
In addition to speed, the INTEGRA is also able to handle a broader range of fillable product types, weights and packaging types and materials. In addition to powders, granulates and micro-granulates, the system is also able to fill liquids and special products (such as flakes or products with pieces) into valve-type or plastic tubular film bags. Every type of packaging can be used independently of shape and material. The weight spectrum ranges from 1 – 50kg. 2000kg is possible with Big Bags.
"We can find a solution for almost every possible 'product – packaging – weight' combination, completely customised to suit customer wishes," said Robert Brüggemann, business unit manager of Haver Chemicals.
Germany: HeidelbergCement has reported a 26% decline in its 2014 net profit, reflecting a one-time loss and the absence of the prior year's gain. Operating income and revenues, however, increased on higher sales volumes and price increases in major markets. Further, HeidelbergCement announced higher dividend and said that it sees strong growth in fiscal 2015 results and sales volumes.
"We are confident about 2015. The outlook for the global economy is positive but there are still macroeconomic and geopolitical risks," said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board. "We will continue to benefit from the positive development in North America, the UK, Germany and Northern Europe. These countries generate almost 50% of our revenue. The results of the first two months in 2015 confirm our outlook."
In 2014 HeidelbergCement's profit plunged to Euro687m from Euro933m in 2013. The latest results were hurt by a non-recurring evaluation loss of Euro236m from the sale of the building products business, while 2013's results included Euro420m of non-recurring gains. Pre-tax profit fell by Euro91m to Euro931m. Operating income, however, grew by 5% on a reported basis and by 13% on a like-for-like basis to Euro1.6bn. Operating income before depreciation (OIBD) grew by 3% to Euro2.29bn, while its OIBD margin dropped to 18.1% from 18.3% in 2013. Revenue for the year totalled Euro12.6bn, up by 4% from Euro12.1bn in 2013. On a like-for-like basis, revenue growth was 8%. Cement sales volumes grew by 5% year-on-year to 81.9Mt.
HeidelbergCement expects to make Euro1.2bn of investments to upgrade and expand its capacities in 2015. New capacities of more than 5Mt/yr are set to be commissioned in 2015, primarily in Indonesia and sub-Saharan Africa. HeidelbergCement expects to significantly increase its revenue, operating income and net profit for the financial year in 2015. Cement sales volumes are also expected to grow, reflecting the positive development of demand and the commissioning of new capacities.
HeidelbergCement adds new deputy chairman
18 March 2015Germany: The Supervisory Board of HeidelbergCement AG has amended the structure of its managing board with the addition of a new deputy chairman position. Dominik von Achten, managing board member in charge of the North America group, group purchasing and the competence centre materials, assumed the role on 1 February 2015. It was also announced that Bernd Scheifele would continue as chairman of the managing board for the next five years.
"HeidelbergCement is very glad that both Scheifele and von Achten, together with the management and employees of the company, will continue their successful work of the past years. This step will guarantee continuity in the years to come as well as a trusting and constructive cooperation between supervisory board and managing board," said Fritz-Jürgen Heckmann, chairman of the supervisory board.
German cement consumption increases to 27.1Mt in 2014
10 March 2015Germany: Around 27.1Mt of cement was used in Germany in 2014. This represents a 2.2% increase in consumption as compared with 2013. The German Cement Works Association (VDZ) is also predicting further growth for 2015.
"Significant catch-up effects from 2013 and mild weather really bolstered cement consumption, particularly in the first quarter of 2014," said Gerhard Hirth, president of the VDZ. However, the generally reserved economic climate had a dampening effect on construction investment over the rest of the year. "We experienced considerable increases in demand all year, mainly in housing," said Hirth. "In addition, due to the advantages of concrete construction in multi-storey buildings, cement manufacturers have managed to further increase their market share over recent years."
Domestic cement demand for cement was almost completely covered by German manufacturers in 2014. Just 1.2Mt, or 4%, was imported in 2014. Cement and clinker exports fell slightly year-on-year to 6.2Mt.
According to Hirth, the German cement industry has started 2015 with a positive outlook. "Due to the dynamic overall economic development and the continuing high demand for new housing, we are expecting growth of around 1% in cement consumption to approx. 27.3Mt in 2015," said Hirth.
Aumund Fördertechnik announces Robert Gruss as new Managing Director
25 February 2015Germany: Aumund Fördertechnik has announced that Robert Gruss has been appointed as its new Managing Director. He is responsible for sales, service and technology as well as for research and development. He has been in post since 1 November 2014. Gruss will also join Volker Brandenburg on the managing board.
Gruss, aged 49 years, joined Aumund from SMS Siemag AG. He started his professional career with SMS in 1995. For several years he worked in Italy, China and Belgium in managing positions.
During 2015 Aumund's president, Franz-W Aumund, will gradually retire from operational business. He will continue as managing director of Aumund Holding and as member of the advisory boards of the product and daughter companies. Primarily he will dedicate himself to steering and controlling the Aumund Group. Gruss will take over additional responsibilities from the managing Franz-W Aumund.
KORFEZ ENG reports two new European orders
24 February 2015France/Germany: KORFEZ ENG has signed a contract with Italcementi for the supply of a new second compartment mill shell lining for one of its cement plants in France. The system is intended for a 3.8m diameter two-compartment raw mill. A total grinding compartment of 7250mm will be equipped with a combination of lifter and sorting liners. The design work will be carried out in the technical sales office in Neubeckum, North Rhine-Westphalia. Operation is expected to start in the summer of 2015.
KORFEZ ENG has also received an order from a building materials group in Germany for a dip tube cast lining system for its pre-heater, cyclone stage 2. The dip tubes will be executed as a locked hanging segment system tailor-fit to the existing dip tube. KORFEZ ENG determined the optimum material alloy for the application, which is being used for the first time. Manufacturing will be completed in about two months and delivery is planned for April 2015.
HeidelbergCement appoints Dominik von Achten as deputy chairman
11 February 2015Germany: The Supervisory Board of HeidelbergCement has added the position of a deputy chairman to its managing board. Dr Dominik von Achten, member of the Managing Board in charge of the North America Group area, Group Purchasing and the Competence Center Materials, has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Managing Board effective from 1 February 2015. At the same time, Dr Bernd Scheifele had his tenure as chairman extended until 2020.