13 February 2018
Australia: Boral Ltd has announced that its profit for the first half of the 2017-2018 fiscal year (from 1 July 2017 – 31 December 2017) rose by 13%. The company benefited from the 2017 acquisition of the US-based building products firm Headwaters Inc. and continued growth in its Australian business.
It reported a net profit of US$136.0m for the six month period, a rise of 12.7% compared to the same period of the 2016 – 2017 fiscal year when it made US$120.7m. Its profit before amortisation and significant items increased by 58% to US$$186.5m.
"These strong results confirm that our transformation strategy is on track," said Chief Executive Mike Kane. "The Headwaters acquisition has helped transform Boral into a construction materials and building products group with a greater geographic reach and improved prospects for growth."
Boral’s US business, which was only breaking even in 2015 – 2016, recorded a fourfold rise in earnings, despite adverse impacts from bad weather, including two hurricanes.
Kane also said Boral’s Australian arm, its largest divison, was ‘exceptionally strong’ during the half. Boral reported a 12% rise in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from that business.
"Higher revenues and earnings were driven by increased spending on infrastructure, in line with our expectations that a large proportion of our work would gradually shift from residential to infrastructure projects, primarily in the eastern states," said Kane.
Pacasmayo sees strong finish to 2017 13 February 2018
Peru: Cementos Pacasmayso has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter of and the full year 2017.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, sales volumes of cement, concrete and blocks increased by 7.3%, primarily due to increased sales volumes to the self-construction segment and to a pick up in public sector spending. The company’s cement-based earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 13.9% to US$32.3m, but consolidated EBITDA decreased by 35.7% due to a write-off in a water-desalination project.
For the full year, sales of cement, concrete and blocks decreased by 0.8%, despite the significant decline in sales volume during the first four months of the year due to the effects of the El Niño. It is important to note that year-on-year sales volume has increased steadily every month, from May 2017 through to the end of the year. Cement EBITDA for the year reached US$114.9m, a decrease of only 2.2%, despite the aforementioned detrimental El Niño effects on both sales and costs.
French cement sector to increase use of wood waste 13 February 2018
France: The French cement industry union (SFIC), plus three other professional organisations, has announced that has committed to increase the amount of wood waste used in France’s cement plants. It has committed to increasing the amount used by 90% compared to 2015 by 2020.
90,000t of wood were used as fuel in cement production in 2015. The goal is to use 170,000t in 2020. Four cement plants will act as pilot sites. The wood used must be from the same region as the plant burning it. According to the SFIC, alternative fuels account for 41% of cement fuels used in France.
INC to increase production in March 2018 13 February 2018
Paraguay: Industria Nacional del Cemento (INC) expects to begin March 2018 with a 30% production rise, following the opening of a new mill, according to its president Jorge Mendez. Production will increase to 1.4 million bags per month, from 1.1 million bags per month at present. Its market share will increase to 70%-75%, from 51% at present. This is anticipated to add an extra US$50m to the company’s turnover. The new mill is currently 90% complete and has cost the company US$11.5m.
Fujairah Cement earnings down 13 February 2018
UAE: Fujairah Cement Industries Co (FCIC) has reported a decline of 9% in its profits for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to the same period a year ago. Earnings decreased to about US$2.7m in the fourth quarter of 2017 from US$3.0m in the fourth quarter of 2016.
During the 2017 fiscal year, the cement producer posted a drop of 35% in its profit to US$10.1m compared to US$15.4m in 2015. This was in part due to a 7% decrease in revenue and higher general and administrative expenses, which rose by 29% to US$6.4m.