September 2024
CRH to leave Belgard Castle headquarters 02 November 2015
Ireland: CRH is leaving its Belgard Castle headquarters in Tallaght, Dublin, after 40 years. The company is moving to a former GlaxosmithKline building in Rathfarnham, Dublin, bringing together 250 staff now at Belgard Castle and Cabinteely, Dublin. It will continue to own Belgard Castle, an 18th-century building and will use it for group functions and facilities. The group office at Stone-mason's Way is undergoing refurbishment and will provide CRH with 'a world-class facility.' CRH expects to complete the new offices by the end of 2015.
Fauji Cement posts profits of US$5.71m 02 November 2015
Pakistan: Fauji Cement Company Limited's profit rose from US$5.71m to US$10.5m in the third quarter of 2015, which ended on 30 September 2015. Company revenue grew by 4.9% year-on-year to US$41.6m as local dispatches remained strong and prices remained intact.
"The result outperformed the market forecast for the quarter on the back of lower-than-anticipated cost of goods sold and financial charges," said Faizan Ahmed. "Resultantly, gross profits grew by 41% to US$18m. In addition, financial charges declined by 40% to US$1.88m due to deleveraging and monetary easing."
West China Cement to buy Yaowangshan Cement for US$121m 02 November 2015
China: West China Cement has agreed to acquire the entire equity interest of Tongchuan Yaowangshan Ecological Cement Co Ltd as well as shareholder's loan of US$121m. The Yaowangshan cement plant in Yaowangshan, Tongchuan, Shaanxi has 2.2Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
China Conch Venture and Red Day Limited, which is owned by West China Cement's Non-executive Director Ma Zhaoyang, agreed to inject US$14.2m and US$4.73m into Xi'an Yaobai Environmental Technology Engineering Co Ltd. Upon completion, Yaobai Environmental will be 60% owned by Conch Venture, 20% by Red Day and 20% by West China Cement.
West China Cement expects to record a US$63,096 loss as a result of the transactions. The parties agreed to develop Yaobai Environmental into the only platform for the treatment of dangerous and hazardous waste for the parties within China. West China Cement believes that the investments from Conch Venture and Red Day, which will provide additional financial resources to Yaobai Environmental, is an important step towards this goal and paves the way for further collaboration among the parties.
India: HeidelbergCement India has appointed Juan-Francisco Defalque as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the Company with immediate effect.
Lucky Cement reports US$28.2m net profit for the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year 30 October 2015
Pakistan: Lucky Cement's net profit rose by 11.2% year-on-year to US$28.2m during the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015. On a consolidated basis, its net profit rose by 13.8% to US$31.3m.
The company's net sales revenue declined by 1.2% to US$98.1m during the quarter. This was primarily attributed to a 2.7% decrease in sales volume, which was partially offset by a 1.5% increase in net retention due to an improved sales mix. Lucky Cement's domestic sales volume grew by 11% to 1.07Mt, whereas export sales volumes fell by 23.2% to 490,000t.
The Board of Directors have also decided to set up a 2.3Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement manufacturing plant in Punjab. The expected project cost is US$200m and construction work is expected to start in the first quarter of the 2016 calendar year. It is expected that plant will become operational in the second quarter of the 2018 calendar year. Lucky Cement also reported progress on its key foreign and local projects; namely an integrated cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a 660MW, supercritical, coal-based power project; a 50MW wind farm, electricity supply to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO); and a waste heat recovery unit at its Pezu power plant.
Semen Indonesia’s cement production to reach 30Mt in 2016 30 October 2015
Indonesia: PT Semen Indonesia's CEO Suparni has predicted that company production will reach 30Mt in 2016 and is optimistic that sales performance will improve in the fourth quarter of 2015 until next year.
"In 2016 we will increase the number by 5%. This year is at 28.6Mt, so it's almost 30Mt," said Suparni. "Starting in August 2015, we recorded an increase that has continued to rise until this day." Since August 2015, the company's plant in Padang, Gresik and Tonasa have begun to achieve maximum utilisation. Suparni also said PT Semen Indonesia has started to supply some infrastructure projects whether for both the government and private companies. "Those projects include tolls, dams and others," said Suparni.
Looking by the numerous infrastructure projects that have been worked on, Suparni predicts that next year's company expenditure will rise by 20 – 25%. He also expects PT Semen Indonesia's earnings to increase by 5 – 6% as prices will increase.
China: Anhui Conch Cement's operating profit fell by 31% year-on-year to US$1.1bn in the first nine months of 2015 as weak demand and price competition took a toll. Its revenue dropped by 13% to US$5.96bn.
Chinese demand for cement has languished following a rush of infrastructure building. Domestic cement production shrank by about 5% year-on-year to roughly 1.7Bnt during the first nine months of 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Ambuja Cements’ third quarter 2016 net profit falls by 36% 29 October 2015
India: Ambuja Cements reported a 36% decline in its standalone net profit at US$23.6m for the third quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015, due to an additional depreciation charge, among other factors. Its total standalone income fell by 4% to US$324m during the quarter.
Holcim more than doubles profits in the third quarter of 2015 29 October 2015
Philippines: Holcim Philippines' profits more than doubled in the third quarter of 2015 due to strong sales from sustained construction activity into the rainy season. Its net income grew to US$32.5m from US$15.3m in the same period of 2014. Its net sales rose by 23.2% year-on-year to US$212m.
Holcim Philippines' profits for the first nine months of 2015 grew by 12.7% to US$96.7m. This brings the company's sales for the first nine months of 2015 to US$595m, some 9.44% higher than in same period of 2014. Cement demand was healthy nationwide and strongest in Visayas and Mindanao, with no let-up in the building activity by both the private and public sectors.
Holcim Philippines Country CEO Eduardo A Sahagun said that the company's third quarter results were made possible by the improved performance of the plants, which can now operate longer before maintenance activities. "Demand usually dips during the rainy season but this time, we experienced even stronger demand in the third quarter. Under these conditions, it is critical to sustain operations to support the market and we did so due to the steady investments for better plant performance," said Sahagun. Sahagun said that logistics operations also improved with more flexibility to supply the National Capital Region through its newly-acquired Holcim Manila Terminal.
Vietnam: Vietnam is estimated to have produced 54.8Mt of cement in the first ten months of 2015, up by 10.4% year-on-year, including 6.1Mt in October 2015, up by 10.8% year-on-year, according to the government-run General Statistics Office. Vietnam currently has 76 cement production lines with a combined output of 81.6Mt/yr.