Displaying items by tag: LafargeHolcim
Philippines: Holcim Philippines has ordered power monitoring equipment from CMR Philippines for its 2.3Mt/yr Lugait cement plant in Misamis Oriental. It includes the development, delivery, installation, testing and networking of the electrical installation at the unit. Current and voltage transformers are to be supplied as part of a package of engineering support that also sees CMR completing the integration and connection of plant wide power monitoring to Siemens PCS 7 process control technology.
“Winning the Holcim contract reflects the expertise we can bring to successfully delivering complex and technologically advanced industrial projects,” said Rojel Rivera, general manager at CMR Philippines.
CMR Philippines is part of the CMR Group, which designs, manufactures and commissions automation, control system and turnkey project solutions for global industrial and renewable energy sectors, alongside specialist instrumentation for high power diesel engines.
Huaxin Cement grows sales by 32% to US$4.09bn in 2018
29 March 2019China: Huaxin Cement’s sales revenue rose by 32% year-on-year to US$4.09bn in 2018 from US$3.11bn in 2017. Its net profit grew by nearly 150% to US$772m from US$309m. Its cement sales volumes increased by 3% to 70.7Mt and its ready-mix concrete (RMX) sales increased by 11% to 3.56Mm3. By region is operating revenue grew in all domestic regions, except for Jiangxi.
During 2018 the cement producer completed its acquisition of Chongqing Lafarge Shui On Cantian Cement. Its Tibet Shannan Third Phase 3000t/day and Shigatse Second Phase 3000t/day project were put into operation. In total the group added 4.77Mt/yr of cement production capacity in 2018. In its future risk analysis it said that production capacity reduction in the cement industry is ‘yet to be improved and that the ‘fundamental contradiction’ of the overcapacity has not been solved.
Switzerland’s LafargeHolcim’s runs Huaxin Cement as a joint venture. The company operates almost 200 subsidiaries in nine provinces in China as well units in Tajikistan and Cambodia. It has a cement production capacity of 100Mt/yr, RMX capacity of 23.3Mm3/yr and an aggregate capacity of 25Mt/yr.
Holcim Philippines approved to build new plant
29 March 2019Philippines: Holcim Philippines plans to build a new cement plant in Bulacan province have been approved by the Board of Investments. The 2.5Mt/yr Bulacan Line 3 plant is part of the company US$300m investment drive to increase its production capacity by 30% by 2020, according to the Manila Times newspaper. The approval also grants the projects tax incentives covered by the government’s investment code.
France: LafargeHolcim France has started the second phase of a Euro100m upgrade project its Martres-Tolosane cement plant. It is starting the construction phase of a new production line following the completion of site preparation and civil engineering. French company Boccard is coordinating the work. Commissioning of the upgrade is scheduled for mid-2020.
Morocco: LafargeHolcim Morocco’s turnover fell by 2% year-on-year to Euro725m in 2018 from Euro743m in 2017. Its consolidated net profit dropped by 18% to Euro156m from Euro177m. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim said that its sales had fallen less than the 5% that the local cement market suffered. It blamed a drop in operating income on lower revenue and rising petcoke costs. The cement producer said it was ‘confident’ about the fundamentals of the building materials sector. It plans to commission a new cement plant in the Souss region in 2020.
Aggregate Industries achieves ISO 44001 certification
22 March 2019UK: Aggregate Industries, a subsidiary of LafargeHolcim, has achieved recommendation for ISO 44001 certification for Collaborative Business Relationship Management Systems, awarded by the British Standards Institute. The certification was awarded company-wide to Aggregate Industries for demonstrating relationship management across a variety of projects, which include a multitude of internal business areas and external partners.
“I am incredibly proud of achieving this certification. ISO 44001 is quickly becoming a prerequisite for highways, infrastructure and major projects which specify requirements for the effective identification, development and management of collaborative business relationships,” said Paddy Murphy, Managing Director of Contracting at Aggregate Industries.
Poland: Lafarge Poland delivered over 0.2Mm3 of ready-mix concrete (RMX) in 2018 for use in various infrastructure initiatives including road expansion projects. In 2019 the company plans to produce 0.32Mm2 of concrete surfacing for a motorway extension. The subsidiary of LafargeHolcim set up its LH Engineering business in 2017 to help implement infrastructure projects. It offers engineering services and the delivery of building materials, including RMX, aggregates and other products.
Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia has appointed Yeoh Khoon Cheng as its chief executive officer (CEO). He has held the role of interim CEO since late 2018 and was also the company’s chief financial officer (CFO), according to the New Vision newspaper. Edward James Coultrup will succeed Yeoh as CFO.
Yeoh, aged 60 years, holds over 30 years of experience in the cement industry and 18 years of experience as a CFO. He has worked for LafargeHolcim’s subsidiaries and predecessor companies since 1999. He first held the CFO post in Malayan Cement Berhad, now Lafarge Malaysia, from 1999 until 2011. He has since been CFO at Lafarge Cement China and Huaxin Cement. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).
Holcim Philippines launches new blended cement product
18 March 2019Philippines: Holcim Philippines has launched a new blended cement product called Solido. It is intended to produce concrete that is better than that made from Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) in terms of durability and compressive strength. The product is also more environmentally friendly than OPC as it uses less clinker. The cement producer is also offering technical training, test and field support to potential users. It says it has launched the product to support the country’s construction boom.
2018 for the cement multinationals
13 March 2019All the major multinational cement producers reported growing sales in 2018. Yet, the big growth was found outside of Europe, with China Resources Cement (CRC), Ultratech Cement and Dangote Cement all posting sales revenue growth of above 10%. Similarly, cement sales volumes continued to rise. CRC and Ultratech Cement were the standouts here, with the latter benefitting from its acquisitions including, most recently, Binani Cement. Concrete sales volumes were the same, rising for all the companies with the exception of Buzzi Unicem. It suffered market issues in Italy and Germany.
Graph 1: Sales revenue from selected multinational cement producers in 2017 and 2018 (Euro billions). Source: Company financial reports.
Graph 2: Cement sales volumes from selected multinational cement producers in 2017 and 2018 (Mt). Source: Company financial reports.
Graph 3: Ready-mixed concrete sales volumes from selected multinational concrete producers in 2017 and 2018 (Mm3). Source: Company financial reports.
With the major Chinese producers, including CNBM and Anhui Conch, yet to release their annual results for 2018, CRC is included in this roundup to give an idea of how that market is performing. Both CNBM and Anhui Conch have released profit alerts anticipating bumper results in 2018 though. This is likely due to boosted local cement prices.
The major story for the European-based producers was one of asset sales and debt reduction. LafargeHolcim returned to positive income in 2018 with a focus on its Strategy 2022 programme. HeidelbergCement’s earnings were hit by poor weather in the US and insufficient divestments. Cemex, although based in Mexico, retains a significant European presence and so it included here. It suffered from poor sales outside of its base in Mexico and the US. CRH continued on its trajectory as the world’s biggest building materials company with solid sales and earnings growth. Interestingly though given its expansion strategy in recent years CRH’s debt to earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) ratio remains better than the other three majors above, even after its purchase of Ash Grove Cement in mid-2018 taken into account. Although other financial comparisons are worth considering, such as EBITDA margin.
Despite Cemex’s relatively high net debt compared to its peers it has been cutting its debt the fastest, at 8% to US$10.4bn in 2018. Its current plan is to reach an ‘investment-grade’ balance sheet by 2020. LafargeHolcim and HeidelbergCement are in ‘cuts’ mode leading to all sorts of speculation about where they might sell next. The wilder rumours in the press include preparations by LafargeHolcim to sell its entire operation in the Middle East and Africa. Similar tales about a sale in the Philippines are more credible but remain unconfirmed. HeidelbergCement is keeping its cards closer to its chest but poor performing territories that might be up for sale include some of its Italian plants and parts of Africa.
Of the larger producers without a European presence, Ultratech Cement has been negatively effected by energy costs during the nine months to the end of 2018 with its income and EBITDA down. Dangote Cement’s performance in 2018 was driven by sales at home in Nigeria although earnings elsewhere continued to grow.
With all of this in mind the scene appears set for a breakout by a major Chinese producer to buy a big bolt-on acquisition or expansion by regional or national players along the lines of that seen by Semen Indonesia or UltraTech Cement. Taiwan Cement has been ahead here with its purchase of a 40% stake in Turkey’s Oyak Cement but what we’re really waiting for is a majority position within a country or territory. At which point CNBM and the like will have earned its place in the 2019 version of this article. Perhaps the age of truly multinational cement producer is coming to an end as regional players become more prominent.