September 2024
Dangote makes US$910m profit in 2015 08 March 2016
Nigeria: Dangote Cement has reported that its profit rose by 14% year-on-year to US$910m in 2015 from US$801m. Its revenue rose by 26% to US$2.47bn from US$1.97bn. No comment on the results was given in the financial statements released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Cement production volumes for the group rose by 35% to 18.9Mt in 2015 from 14Mt in 2014. Cement production capacity rose by 87% to 42.6Mt/yr from 22.8Mt/yr.
By business region, sale revenue in Nigeria rose by 5% to US$1.95bn from US$1.86bn. Sales revenue in West & Central Africa rose by over five times to US$212m from US$31m. Sales revenue in South & East Africa rose by over three times to US$307m from US$69.8m.
The statement also reported that Dangote Group set up a 100% owned subsidiary for cement production in Nepal and two 90% owned subsidiaries for cement production in Zimbabwe in 2015.
Venezuela: President Nicolas Maduro has dedicated a new cement production line at the Invecem cement plant in San Sebastian de los Reyes, Aragua. The project has cost US$168m and is part of an agreement between China and Venezuela to build 2.1Mt/yr in production capacity.
Suez Cement denies it plans to exist Egyptian market 08 March 2016
Egypt: Suez Cement has denied that it is planning to leave the Egyptian market. The announcement comes in response to media speculation following the cement producer’s admission that it has been unable to repatriate profits of Euro50m from the country for about a year. Suez Cement is 55% owned by Italian cement producer Italcementi.
Suez Cement’s Managing Director Bruno Carre blamed the problem on a foreign currency crisis in Egypt. The country’s central bank has introduced measures to reduce non-essential imports to save hard currency. Subsequently, businesses are unable to access US Dollars for imports and goods are piling up at ports.
Cemex obtains consent to amend its credit agreement 08 March 2016
Mexico: Cemex has obtained consent to amend its credit agreement dated 29 September 2014 in order to delay the scheduled tightening in its consolidated financial leverage and coverage ratio limits by one year. The formalisation of the amendment is subject to customary conditions and is expected to be finalised in the following days.
The amendment to the credit agreement will allow the leverage ratio covenant to remain at 6.0 times until and including 31 March 2017. It will then gradually decline to 4.0 times by 30 June 2020. The margin grid in the credit agreement will be modified such that if the consolidated leverage ratio is greater than 5.50 times in the reference periods ending on 31 December 2016, 31 March 2017, 30 June 2017 and 30 September 2017. The applicable margin will be 425 bps instead of 400 bps. All other levels in the margin grid remain unchanged.
In addition, the credit agreement will be amended to allow Cemex the right, subject to meeting local requirements in the Philippines, to sell a minority stake in a subsidiary that directly and indirectly mainly owns Cemex’s cement manufacturing assets in the Philippines.
Tanga Cement in discussions to use Usambara Railway 07 March 2016
Tanzania: Tanga Cement is in discussions with the Tanzanian government to increase its use of the Usambara Railway to transport its products to Arusha, according to Makame Mbarawa, the Minister for Works, Transport and Communication. Mbarawa made the comments to local press on a visit to Tanzania Railway facilities and a cement plant in Maweni.
Tanga Cement has pledged to use the railway line to transport 35,000t/month. The move is intended to minimise damage to the country’s road network. In the 2014 – 2015 year Tanzania Railways transported 44,000t of cement. From July to December 2015 the railway transported 24,960t of cement, according to Masanja Kadogosa, the Deputy Director General of Tanzania Railways.
UltraTech to restructure Jaiprakash Associates deal if mining law amendment not approved 07 March 2016
India: UltraTech will create a separate corporate structure for the cement assets of Jaiprakash Associates it has agreed to buy if a key mining law is not amended by June 2016. An amendment to the Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act in 2015 suggested that the transfer of mining rights could only be passed by auction, leading to delays in several mergers and acquisitions in the cement industry.
"We have considered both scenarios. If the amendment goes through, it is a clear asset purchase. If not, there are structures we have in mind, with which we will be able to do the deal," said Atul Daga, chief financial officer of UltraTech to the Hindustan Times. He added that the deal is not entirely linked to the mining amendment. "The agreement is for specific assets. It's more about how you structure it. I do not want to comment on the structure until the closure of the definitive agreement."
If the MMDR Act amendment is not approved, Jaiprakash Associates will need to create a separate entity out of the assets being sold to UltraTech, for the deal to proceed. However, it will refinance Jaiprakash's borrowings at lower rates if the MMRDA amendments get approved.
UltraTech announced in late February 2016 that it was purchasing the majority of Jaiprakash Associates’ 22.4Mt/yr cement portfolio instead for US$2.4bn.
India: Members of the Birla family have challenged the take-over of the Reliance Infrastructure in the Calcutta High Court claiming that it was done without the consent of the family or the court. The move follows a prolonged legal battle in 2004 between the Birla family members and chartered accountant R S Lodha. Lodha claimed that M P Birla's widow Priyamvada had bequeathed the assets of the estate to him. The matter is still being contested legally.
Representatives for Birla Corporation defended the purchase saying that the funds were not being taken from the estate and that it was being done through internal accrual and other sources. They added that the US$715m take-over would be a 'sweet deal' as the assets of the Reliance Infrastructure cement company were new. The deal was announced in early February 2016.
Germany/Sweden: Sandvik Mining and Schenck Process have signed a global partnership agreement. The partnership provides increased crushing circuit productivity for Schenck Process double and single deck high capacity banana screens and Sandvik high productivity cone crushers. It also enables a single service provider approach to support customers throughout the entire plant life cycle.
“This partnership agreement allows our customers to raise their overall crushing and screening plant productivity by focusing on process efficiency in its entirety, as opposed to individual pieces of equipment,” said Mary Verschuer, President Minerals & Metals, Schenck Process Group. She added that mid-tier miners looking for a single solution across the crushing circuit will benefit from the deal.
Schenck Process Business Unit Minerals & Metals is supplier of solutions for screening applications in mining. Sandvik is a supplier of crushers and crushing technologies. The agreement covers both new crushing and screening plants and replacements.
Angola: A TEC has released information regarding its work on the construction of a 2MT/yr greenfield cement plant for Nova Cimangola. As an EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) partner, the Austrian engineering and technologies company is coordinating and surpervising the 30 months construction period. The scope of supply for the project includes: tender preparation and contract negotiation; technical services; civil, mechanical and electrical erection supervision; and supplier quality assurance. The cement plant will be finished by the start of 2017.
Vietnam: Only four cement producers have built waste heat recovery (WHR) systems by the end of 2015 despite a request by the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Holcim, Chinfon, Ha Tien and Cong Thanh are the only companies to have built the upgrades. The delay has been blamed on the high cost of implementing WHR systems and the market’s poor sales.
According to Nguyen Hoang Cau, secretary general of the Vietnam Cement Association, there are more than 40 cement production lines in the country subject to the requirement. These also include foreign cement producers such as Taiwanese-backed Phuc Son Cement, Hong Kong’s Luks Cement Vietnam Limited, and Japanese-funded Nghi Son Cement. Cement producers have complained to local press about their inability to build WHR systems without financial help.