Displaying items by tag: Results
Holcim swings to loss in final quarter
29 February 2012Switzerland: Holcim has reported Euro363m loss for its fourth quarter of 2011 after being hit by a Euro643m impairment charge on its assets in South Africa and Europe. It said that it expects organic growth in operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in 2012. For 2011 as a whole, Holcim reported higher sales volumes for cement, aggregates and ready-mix concrete, although its consolidated net sales decreased by 4.2% (7.5% increase like-for-like). Its operating EBITDA decreased by 12.3% (down 0.2% like-for-like). Its net income fell to Euro565m.
Holcim said that it expects demand for building material to rise in emerging markets in Latin America and Asia, as well as in Russia and Azerbaijan in 2012. It also expects a slight improvement for North America. In Europe, Hocim believes that demand will remain stable, provided that the situation is not undermined by further systemic shocks in the Eurozone. "Holcim expects that the group will achieve organic growth in terms of operating EBITDA," the company said in its quarterly report.
Bamburi profit increases due to new subsidiary and stability
29 February 2012Kenya: Profits at Bamburi Cement rose by 12% in 2011 backed by stronger revenues from the domestic market and its newly-expanded Ugandan subsidiary. The company earned a pre-tax profit of US$102m in 2011 compared to US$91m in 2010. The group's turnover increased by 28% to US$433m in 2011 from US$338m in 2010. Given pricing pressure in Kenya, Bamburi's main market, the better than expected revenue growth was mainly supported by increased volume sales from the company's Ugandan subsidiary, which was expanded in the last quarter of 2010.
"2011 was characterised by stable domestic prices and better export prices, due to the appreciation of the US dollar,"said Hussein Mansi, Bamburi's managing director. However, the company, like many others worldwide, suffered from a jump in power costs. For this reason, the company is still cautious regarding the local and global macroeconomic environment for 2012. "The uncertain political environment in Kenya continues to make visibility difficult," said Mansi.
FCC profit slides by two thirds in 2011
29 February 2012Spain: Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) closed 2011 with an attributable net profit of Euro108.2m, down 64.1% year-on-year. The slump was explained by the poor performance of FCC's cement producer Cementos Portland Valderrivas. Total sales went down by 1.3% to Euro11.76bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 8.3% to Euro1.25bn. Net debt stood at Euro6.28bn at the end of 2011, down 19% from a year earlier.
CRH sees strong performance in 2011
28 February 2012Ireland: The Irish cement group CRH, which has cement interests in many key growth markets, has released financial results for 2011 that show an improvement in all of its fiscal indicators. Sales came in at Euro18.08bn for the year, compared to Euro17.2bn in 2010, a 5% improvement. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at Euro1.65bn, up by 3% compared to 2010 when its EBITDA was Euro1.61bn. CRH's operating profit for 2011 was Euro871m, a 25% improvement compared to 2010 and its pre-tax profit was Euro711m, up by a third compared to the Euro534m it made in 2010.
CRH's Chief Executive Myles Lee said, "The positive profit outcome for 2011 demonstrates the advantages of CRH's product and sectoral end-use balance and the benefits of the extensive reorganisation and restructuring measures implemented in response to the exceptionally difficult markets of recent years. Assuming no major economic or energy market dislocations, we expect to generate further like-for-like revenue growth in 2012 with the achievement of targeted price increases a key priority. This combined with benefits from acquisitions completed in 2011 leads us to expect further progress in the year ahead."
Arabian Cement Company profits up by 59% in 2011
23 February 2012Saudi Arabia: The Arabian Cement Company has posted a net profit of US$109m for the year ending 31 December 2011, an increase of 59% compared to the US$68m that it made in 2010. Its gross profit reached US$130m in 2011, an increase of 58% compared to US$85m in 2010, and its operating profit was US$120m, a rise of 55% compared to US$77m. The company attributed the profit rise in 2011 to increases in production and sales.
Pakistan sees improvement in first half of fiscal year
22 February 2012Pakistan: Many Pakistani cement manufacturers have posted robust earnings during the first half of the 2012 financial year, which ended on 31 December 2011. Across the six major producers, representing 68% of the market, the overall profitability of the sector grew by a factor of 2.2 over the same period of 2010. Overall net sales of the sector grew by 32% to US$418m.
Separately most Pakistani cement producers posted profits for the six month period. DG Khan and Lucky Cement, which between them contribute around 25-28% of total cement sales, posted robust earnings per share growth. On the other hand, Fauji and Thatta Cement, despite better overall margins, posted losses. Fauji Cement posted losses due to lower utilisation of its new 2.1Mt/yr plant due to power outages and lower demand, while Thatta cement remained in the red due to extremely low sales, which were approximately 20% of those expected.
Lafarge’s income plummets in Q4
17 February 2012France: Lafarge has posted a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to higher prices of its raw materials and energy, negative currency swings and a write-off of Euro285m on assets, mainly in Greece.
Lafarge posted a Euro3m net loss for the quarter ending 31 December 2011 compared with a net profit of Euro62m for the same period in 2010. Sales rose 5% in the same period to Euro3.81bn from Euro3.63bn a year earlier.
Overall for the full year in 2011 Lafarge posted a net income of Euro593m, a drop of 28% compared to Euro827m in 2010. The income drop occurs in the same year when Lafarge sold its gypsum assets, generating a net gain of Euro266m. Sales rose 3% for the year to Euro15.3bn from Euro14.8bn in 2010. The company achieved its target to reduce net debt by Euro2bn, taking the figure down from Euro14bn in 2010 to Euro12bn in 2011.
Cement sales were driven by emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. In these regions sales increased by 6% to Euro7.69bn in 2011 from Euro7.16bn in 2010. This represents more than two-third of cement sales for the company.
Yearly sales in Asia grew by 3% to Euro2.1bn in 2011, despite the depreciation of most of the Asian currencies against the Euro. Notably in the fourth quarter sales increased by 15% in Central and Eastern Europe, rising to Euro220m in 2011 from Euro192m in the same period in 2010. This was attributed to improved market situations in Russia and Poland and overall mild winter weather conditions.
Mature markets experienced contrasted trends, with volume growth in Canada, UK and France, stable volumes in the United States, and Greece and Spain still impacted by the difficult economic environment.
Lafarge expects that costs of raw materials will rise at a slower pace in 2012 than in 2011 and sees demand for cement rising between 1% and 4%. It also expects it will be able to raise its prices as demand for cement increases, mainly in emerging markets. Lafarge expects to further reduce its debt thanks to cost-cutting plans and further divestments of more than Euro1bn in 2012.
Akmenes reports improved in 2011
14 February 2012Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania's only cement manufacturer, posted a revenue of Euro63.2m for the whole of 2011, a rise of 37% compared to the Euro46.4m it took in 2010. Cement sales increased by 19% to nearly 0.98Mt.
Lithuania accounted for 55% of the company's sales, with sales rising by 14% year-on-year to 0.54Mt. Sales in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad rose by 25% to 0.18Mt, or 19% of total sales, while sales in Belarus fell by 25% to 71,000t. Its sales in EU countries surged by 67% to 185,000t.
Akmenes Cementas is in the process of implementing its biggest-ever production modernisation project, worth Euro101m, which involves shifting from wet to dry cement production.
Taiheiyo results highlight 'attractive' Japanese cement industry
09 February 2012Japan: Taiheiyo Cement Corp. has released interim results for the first nine months of its current fiscal year, which ended on 31 December 2011. The results showed a group revenue of US$7.0bn, slightly up on the first nine months of the previous fiscal year.
Its operating profit was reported as US$242m, more than double the US$111m seen in the previous fiscal year. Its pretax profit was US$134m and its net profit for the period was US$14.2m, a turnaround from a US$72.1m loss made in 2010.
Taiheiyo forecast that the whole of the 2012 fiscal year (ending 31 March 2012), would see a revenue of US$9.3bn, an operating profit of US$350m and a net profit US$146m.
Taiheiyo's results come after a decision by Morgan Stanley MUFJ Securities to increase its rating for the Japanese cement sector to 'attractive,' the highest ranking on its three-tier scale. Shares in major companies such as Taiheiyo and Sumitomo Osaka Cement jumped sharply with the new rating.
Analysts at the brokerage said that profits at cement firms will rise in line with their ongoing efforts to cut costs. It also said that higher prices, an increasingly balanced supply and demand relationship and rising demand related to earthquake reconstruction efforts will also support profits in the cement industry.
The analysts also said that investors have undervalued shares of Sumitomo Osaka Cement and Taiheiyo Cement despite expectations that their earnings will improve in the 2012 fiscal year.
Ciments Français 2011 sales and revenues down marginally
08 February 2012France: Ciments Français, part of the Italcementi Group, has announced its consolidated revenues and sales results for the year ending 31 December 2011. These show that, in a difficult economic environment, group sales decreased marginally in its cement sector. Cement and clinker sales were down by 1.4% year-on-year to 42.4Mt in 2011 but sales increased in France, North America, India and Morocco.
In western Europe the company sold 9.9Mt of cement and clinker, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year. In North America it sold 4.2Mt, a 5.1% improvement on 2010. In 'emerging' Europe, north Africa and the Middle East it sold 16.1Mt of cement and clinker, 5.4% less than in 2010. In Asia the company sold 11.1Mt, up by 0.3% compared to 2010.
In the fourth quarter of 2011 Ciments Français' sales were down by 1.7% year-on-year at 10.2Mt. The group sold 2.2Mt of cement and clinker in western Europe (+0.7% year-on-year), 1.1Mt in North America (+7.4%), 4.0Mt in emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (-3.0%) and 2.6Mt in Asia (-5.0%) during the final quarter. Sales in Thailand took a large hit due to the severe flooding there in late 2011.
The group's total consolidated revenues for 2011 across all of its business units came in at Euro3.89bn, which it attributed to reduced volumes and currency fluctuation effects in some countries, notably Egypt, North America and India. Revenues improved in France, Belgium and Thailand.
Its cement segment took in Euro2.59bn, a drop of nearly 8% compared to 2010. Sales were highest in western Europe (Euro1.27bn), followed by emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (Euro1.03bn), Asia (Euro499.5m) and North America (Euro405.1m).