Displaying items by tag: Australia
Boral hampered by construction union action
27 August 2013Australia: Cement maker Boral is claiming that Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) officials in Victoria have defied court orders and are blocking it from accessing sites in an attempt to pressure it not to deal with construction firm Grocon. The CFMEU is in a bitter legal dispute with Grocon over its blockade at a different site in 2012.
Boral says that members of the CFMEU parked their cars across the entrance to the Regional Rail Link site in Footscray, near Melbourne, Victoria, stopping the company from making deliveries. In a letter to staff on 22 August 2013, Boral manager Paul Dalton said that the union had 'banned' Boral from accessing sites because it supplied Grocon.
Dalton said that the blocking of delivery trucks by the CFMEU had increased, saying, "At present, we have no fewer than three injunctions from the Supreme Court in Victoria ordering the CFMEU to stop unlawfully interfering in our business."
Boral makes US$192m loss in 2012 - 2013
21 August 2013Australia: Boral has made a loss of US$192m for its 2012 – 2013 financial year which ended on 30 June 2013. In the previous year it made a profit of US$160m. The building materials supplier attributed the loss to capacity reduction, organisational restructuring and wider problems with the Australian market.
"Like the rest of the industry, Boral's businesses have been contending with low levels of activity, unfavourable mix shifts in demand, increased competition and unrecovered costs associated with the carbon tax. However, in line with the turnaround strategy that I announced in late 2012, we have been relentless about reducing costs, generating cash and reducing capital expenditure, which positions Boral well as markets improve," said Boral's chief executive officer and managing director, Mike Kane.
Boral's sales revenue rose by 5% to US$4.71bn in the year to 30 June 2013 from US$4.26bn in the prior year. Its profit after tax but before significant items rose by 3.2% to US$94.3m from US$91.4m. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) before significant items rose by 14% to US$206m from US$180m.
By business sector, Boral's Construction materials and Cement division saw total sales revenue rise by 7% to US$2.87bn from US$2.67bn. Operating profit rose by 17% to US$243m from US$208m. Kane explained in the company's results that the improvement came from major project activity, prior year acquisitions and property sales. In the 2013 – 2014 financial year the division's performance is expected to remain strong, despite lower property sales and reduced major project work. However, overall the results in 2013 – 2014 are not expected to exceed those in 2012 – 2013.
Australia: Adelaide Brighton's net profit has fallen by 9% to US$55m in the first six months of 2013 from US$60.1m in the same period in 2012. Managing Director of Adelaide Brighton, Mark Chellew, blamed the fall on weak residential and commercial building activity.
"While headline earnings fell, modest growth in underlying net profit on healthy sales growth is encouraging," said Chellew. The Australian building materials manufacturer and lime producer's sale revenue rose by 4.5% to US$523m from US$501m. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) fell by 7.2% to US$81m from US$87.3m.
Adelaide Brighton expects that cement and clinker sales in 2013 will be similar to those in 2012, with demand from projects in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory offset by general problems with the residential and commercial building sectors. In its press release, Adelaide Brighton also mentioned that the Australian Carbon Tax cost the company US$1.81m after tax in the half-year and it is estimated to read US$4.52m for the entire year. However due to policy statements from the political parties ahead of the September 2013 Australian federal election and the company strategies to reduce its carbon output, it reckoned that carbon pricing is unlikely to have any major impact on long term growth.
Australia: Cement Australia and Cement Australia (Kandos) (CA Kandos) have been fined a total of US$172,843 for the death of Colin David Fuller at the Kandos cement plant in 2009. Fuller was fatally injured when he was crushed between two hydraulic rams while working at the factory on 13 September 2009, according to the Mudgee Guardian.
The North South Wales (NSW) Industrial Relations Commission found that CA Kandos and Cement Australia had breached the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000, by failing to install fixed guarding along the entire length of a feeder and conveyor system as required by Australian safety standards and failing to provide adequate supervision and instruction to Fuller. In the judgement Commissioner J Backman found that the systems in place at the time of Fuller's death were comprehensive but defective in a number of respects.
Haver & Boecker launches Australian subsidiary
10 July 2013Australia: Haver & Boecker has publicly announced the creation of its new subsidiary, Haver Australia. Started in early 2013 the four-man team led by René Dechange is based in Malaga near Perth, Western Australia.
In addition to supporting Haver's customer base, the subsidiary is focused on expanding into the mining industry of Western Australia. The new subsidiary offers Haver & Boecker's range of packing technology and Haver & Tyler's mineral processing technology. In addition to sales Haver Australia also covers servicing and spare parts.
Australia: Swiss cement maker Holcim has announced plans to operate Cement Australia as a joint venture (JV), in which both Holcim and Germany's HeidelbergCement AG will hold equal 50% stakes. Holcim will therefore sell 25% of its stake in Cement Australia to HeidelbergCement for an undisclosed amount. The move has already been approved by the Austrian authorities, according to Holcim.
Cement Australia operates two cement plants and a grinding station in the east and southeast of Australia and in Tasmania with a total cement capacity of 4.2Mt/yr. In addition, a new grinding station in Port Kembla with an annual capacity of 1.1Mt/yr is expected to go online in 2013.
Struggling Boral to merge divisions
05 March 2013Australia: Struggling cement and construction materials giant Boral has announced that it will merge its construction materials and cement divisions. The building materials group recently axed 700 jobs but a spokeswoman for Boral said that the only worker to lose their job out of the merger would be the current, long-serving construction materials manager Murray Read, who has been made redundant. Joseph Goss, a senior executive in the cement division of Lafarge North America, has been appointed to manage the newly merged division.
A week after announcing the 700 job cuts in January 2013, Boral upgraded its underlying first-half profit forecast to US$53.2m from US$35.8m. However after restructuring costs, the company suffered a first half net loss of US$25.9m. It said that it expected conditions to remain challenging in the building products market. The result was dragged down by US$78.8m worth of significant items, including impairment charges relating to the suspension of clinker production at Waurn Ponds in Victoria and first half restructuring and redundancy costs.
Adelaide Brighton grows profit by 3.9% to US$158m in 2012
27 February 2013Australia: Construction materials maker Adelaide Brighton has increased its net profit by 3.9% to US$158m in 2012, from US$152m in 2011. The company said that mining and resources projects in South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory had more than offset weakness in residential and commercial construction.
"While net profit increased only modestly in 2012, we see this as a good result considering the challenges facing the industry," said managing director of Adelaide Brighton, Mark Chellew.
The company's revenue rose by 6.9% to US$1.21bn in 2012 from US$1.13bn in 2011. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 1% to US$232 from US$229m.
Although the company didn't provide any specific details on the cement part of its business, it did comment that sales increased overall in 2012 due to increased mining and project demand despite the weak building sector. Energy costs increased by 8%, including the US$3m after tax impact of the carbon tax. Adelaide Brighton said it is employing a number of strategies to mitigate rising energy costs including fixed price energy contracts for a portion of energy requirements, the use of alternative fuels and a continual review of operational improvements.
In December 2012 Adelaide Brighton acquired 30% of an integrated white clinker and cement production facility in Malaysia for US$29.5m. The investment is expected to generate acceptable returns and secure long term supply for Australian markets.
Chellew said the carbon tax, environmental regulations and cost pressures were likely to affect the outlook for 2013 but reaffirmed the company's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint by using imported materials and alternative fuels. The company said the high Australian dollar had enabled it to import more clinker, cement and blast furnace slag at cheaper prices. However, the strong currency and mixed local demand had curtailed domestic price growth.
Boral records US$26m loss in first half of 2012-2013
13 February 2013Australia: Building materials supplier Boral has reported a loss of US$25.1m for the first half of its 2012-2013 fiscal year, due to a sustained weakness in the Australian and US housing markets. It recorded a profit of US$157m in the same period in 2011-2012.
For the half-year ending on 31 December 2012, Boral reported a sales revenue of US$2.86bn, 14% above the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (before significant items) increased by 3% to US$116m. Both figures benefitted from acquisitions that the company made. Profits were hit by US$79.6m impairment charges tied to the suspension of clinker production at Waurn Ponds, Victoria and first half restructuring and redundancy costs.
"In Australia, Construction Materials delivered a solid 25% improvement in EBIT, but Cement reported a 15% decline and Building Products reported a very disappointing US$18.6m first half loss, following an US$11.4m loss in the second half of last year," said Boral's CEO and Managing Director Bob Kane. He added that in the company's cement division, the high Australian dollar and increasing production costs have continued to impact. Boral has taken action to replace Boral's manufactured clinker in Victoria with lower cost imports.
Australia: Ross Harper has been appointed the Executive General Manager of the Cement division of Boral following a restructuring initiative. The new role includes his previous responsibilities as Operations Manager because Boral's cement business is set to decrease in size following the divestments of Boral's Asian Construction Materials businesses along with the planned closure of clinker manufacturing at the Waurn Ponds cement plant. Harper replaces Divisional Managing Director Mike Beardsell who will leave the organisation by the end of January 2013.
Previously National Operations Manager, Boral Cement, Harper joined Boral in January 2006. He has over 30 years experience with industrial process industries including the energy, pulp and paper and building material sectors. He held the role of General Manager, Golden Bay Cement with Fletcher Building before joining Boral as General Manager NSW, Blue Circle Southern Cement. Ross holds a Doctorate in Chemistry from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.