Displaying items by tag: Mexico
Mexico: Cemex’s net sales for the first quarter of 2017 have been hit by poor sales in the US, Europe and Asia, Middle East and Africa. Its overall net sales rose by 1% year-on-year to US$3.14bn in the quarter from US$3.11bn in the same period in 2016. However, net sales fell by 2% to Euro834m in the US, by 2% to Euro711m in Europe and by 20% to Euro326m in Asia, Middle East and Africa. The group’s overall cement sales volumes remained stagnant at 15.6Mt.
“We continued to see favourable results from our value-before-volume strategy during the quarter. Sequential and year-over-year pricing increased in the low- to mid-single digits for our three core products. This, together with favourable volume dynamics in Mexico and our Europe and South, Central America and Caribbean regions led to solid growth in consolidated sales and operating EBITDA, on a like-to-like basis. In addition, net income increased close to a tenfold during the quarter,” said chief executive officer Fernando A Gonzalez. He added that the group reduced its total debt by US$470m in the quarter.
By region the group reported a more mixed situation with cement sales volumes increases in all territories except for the US and Asia, Middle East and Africa with particular strong performance in Mexico and Central and South America. In the US sales volumes suffered from poor weather in the western states and a decreasing infrastructure spend. In South, Central America and the Caribbean despite overall gains in sales Colombia reported falling cement sales volumes due to local economic issues. In Europe cement sales volumes fell by 10% in the UK yet growth was recorded notably in Spain and France. Finally, cement sales volumes fell by 9% in the Philippines and by 32% in Egypt.
Mexico: Martha Soledad Rodríguez Rico, the chief financial officer of Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) has died. The company is conducting a succession process that will appoint a replacement in due course.
Mexico: Mauricio Doehmer has been appointed as the president of the National Chamber of Cement. He is Cemex’s corporate affairs and business risk management executive vice-president, according to the El Financiero newspaper. He succeeds Billy Alvarez, an executive with Cementos Cruz Azul.
Cemex retains 9.5% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua
17 March 2017Mexico: Cemex has retained a 9.5% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC) following a sale of some of shares in the Mexican cement producer. Cemex said that the underwriters did not exercise their over-allotment option to acquire shares in GCC. Originally Cemex said in late 2016 that it intended to sell its full 23% minority stake in GCC.
Mexico: Fives has supplied a Fives FCB Horomill for the new production line at Cementos Moctezuma’s Apazapan plant in Veracruz. The cement producer signed the acceptance certificate in mid-February 2017. The FCB Horomill 3800, supplied to fit the raw meal-grinding workshop, is part of the new plant that was inaugurated by Cementos Moctezuma in January 2017.
US: The US Customs and Border Protection plans to start awarding contracts by mid-April 2017 for a proposed border wall with Mexico. The agency says it will request bids on or around 6 March 2017 and that companies would have to submit ‘concept papers’ to design and build prototypes by 10 March 2017, according to the Associated Press. Finalists must then submit offers with their proposed costs by 24 March 2017. No details on where construction will start or how much it will be cost have been released.
Estimates for the cost of a 2000-mile border wall vary significantly. The Government Accountability Office estimates it would cost on average US$6.5m/mile for a pedestrian fence and US$1.8m/mile for vehicle barriers. However, an internal Homeland Security Department report prepared for department secretary John Kelly places the bill at about US$21m according to an anonymous source quoted by the Associated Press. It proposes that existing barriers built during the George W Bush administration be extended first in stages.
The cost of the wall will depend on the height, materials and other specifications of the project. Granite Construction, Vulcan Materials and Martin Marietta Materials are all likely to be potential bidders and Mexico’s Cemex is also likely to benefit from any increase in demand for construction materials in the region.
Elementia’s cement business builds profit in 2016
23 February 2017Mexico: Elementia’s cement division’s sales revenue in Mexico rose by 30% year-on-year to US$155m in 2016 from US$119m in 2015. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 39% to US$65.9m from US$47.3m. It attributed the result to increased prices and a higher capacity utilisation rate.
The cement producer noted that its 1.5Mt/yr upgrade to its Tula cement plant is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2017. The company also competed its acquisition of a 55% stake in US company Giant in the fourth quarter of 2016.
Fives commissions mills at projects in Mexico and Qatar
22 February 2017Mexico/Qatar: Fives has released information on cement plant projects in Mexico and Qatar. It commissioned a second FCB Horomill unit on 31 January 2017 at the cement grinding plant of Cementos Fortaleza, as part of the new 3300t/day complete line under construction at the Tula cement plant in Hidalgo. The first unit was commissioned in early December 2016.
Fives FCB was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract from Cementos Fortaleza in mid-2015 for the design, supply, erection and commissioning of the cement production line. It includes a burning line using a FCB Kiln, FCB Zero-NOx Precalciner, FCB Preheater and Pillard Novaflam burner; raw meal and cement grinding plants using FCB Horomill and associated FCB TSV™ Classifiers; and a petcoke grinding plant using a FCB B-mill and associated FCB TSV Classifier. The FCB Horomill raw meal grinding plant and FCB Kiln are scheduled for commissioned in the second quarter of 2017.
In Qatar, Fives commissioned a cement milling unit on 6 February 2017 for Qatar National Cement Co.'s fifth production line in Umm Bab. This follows the commissioning of another mill at the site on 25 January 2017.
The mills are part of a 5000t/day production line that Fives is building for the client covering raw material preparation to cement despatch. The equipment ordered includes one 6400 kW FCB B‑mill with a FCB TSV7500 Classifier for the raw meal grinding plant, one five-stage FCB Preheater and a FCB Zero-NOx Precalciner, along with a FCB Kiln for the burning line, two TGT process filters and two 4200 KW FCB B‑mills with their FCB TSV4000 Classifiers for the cement grinding plant.
Cemex sells minority stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua
13 February 2017Mexico: Cemex is selling a 15.6% stake in Grupo Cementos de Chihuahua (GCC). If all 51,750,000 shares of GCC are sold the cement producer will raise around US$240m in revenue before expenses. Following the sale Cemex will retain a 7.4% direct interest in GCC.
Cemex grows its profit in 2016
10 February 2017Mexico: Cemex has grown its profit in 2016, reporting that its operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) has risen by 6% year-on-year to US$2.75bn from US$2.59bn in 2015. On a like-for-like basis adjusted for investments, divestments and currency fluctuations it rose by 15%. Its net sales fell by 3% to US$13.4bn from US$13.8bn, although on a like-for-like basis they rose by 4%. Sales volumes of cement remained stable at 66.7Mt. The company hailed a 10-year high in net income for 2016 and said that sales had increased on a like-for-like basis in the fourth quarter due to higher prices and higher volumes in Mexico, the UK and Germany.
“2016 was a very good year for Cemex. Despite continued volatility and uncertainty in the markets, we were able to deliver strong underlying operational and financial results by remaining focused on the variables that we control,” said Fernando A Gonzalez, chief executive officer of Cemex.
By region Cemex saw its net sales rise in both real-terms and on a like-for-like basis to US$2.86bn from US$2.84bn. It said that cement volume growth during the quarter and full year 2016 was mainly driven by the industrial and commercial, formal housing and self-construction sectors. In the US net sales remained static at US$3.67bn but they rose on a like-for-like basis. The company said that construction spending for the cement-intensive segments in the industrial and commercial sector grew by 1% in 2016, reflecting growth in the lodging and office segments, offsetting a decline in energy, agriculture and manufacturing. It also noted growth in the infrastructure spending in the last quarter of 2016 following the US presidential election.
In South and Central America and the Caribbean net sales fell by 9% to US$1.73bn from US$1.89bn. Cemex noted a flat market for cement sales volumes in Colombia in 2016 and high competition in a ‘soft demand’ market. In Europe net sales fell by 5% to US$3.3bn from US$3.43bn. Here, cement sales volumes fell in Spain and Poland through the year. However, sales volumes rose by 7% in the UK due in part to higher sales of blended cement that resulted from fly ash scarcity. Sales volumes in Germany remained flat in 2016 but the market picked up in the second half of the year supported by the residential sector. Finally, the group’s Asia, Middle East and Africa division reported that its net sales fell by 7% to US$1.54bn for US$1.65bn with a significant dip of 14% in sales volumes of cement in the fourth quarter of the year although volume remained flat in the year as a whole. The Philippines suffered from poor weather towards the end of the year although Cemex noted that cement demand weakened in the second half of the year in conjunction with the transition to a new government. In Egypt, government infrastructure spending drove cement demand.