Displaying items by tag: CRH
CRH considers Sree JayaJothi purchase
24 July 2013India: Irish building materials supplier CRH is considering acquiring Sree JayaJothi cements, part of Shriram Group, according to the Economic Times of India. CRH may purchase Sree JayaJothi cements through its joint-venture with MyHome Industries. The value of the deal is around US$250m.
Sree JayaJothi cements has a cement plant at Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, with a clinker production capacity of 2Mt/yr and a cement production capacity of 3.2Mt/yr. Currently CRH has a cement production capacity of 3.2Mt/yr in India through a joint-venture.
In response to queries, Shriram confirmed to the Bombay Stock Exchange that it is discussion with potential investors including CRH.
Irish tonic – news from CRH
10 July 2013Following on from last week's analysis column (Global Cement Weekly #107: Gimmie Water - water conservation in the cement industry) Irish cement producer CRH has released its 2012 Sustainability Report.
Unfortunately, no comparable figures for water usage per cement production were published and CRH noted usage measurement as a group objective. Its best estimate was that the group used 36Mm3 of water in 2012, with 12% of that figure (4.4Mm3) used in cement production.
Otherwise plenty of good news filled the report with improvements shown for most of the key indicators. Notably chief executive office Myles Lee pointed out that CRH had substantially increased alternative fuel usage in its European cement operations in 2012 and that this helped with rising energy costs.
Sticking with CRH, the Irish cement producer recently released information on its development strategy for the first half of 2013.
Despite - or perhaps because – of decreasing profits in 2012, CRH's development spend has nearly doubled year-on-year to Euro470m from Euro250m. The increase is mainly due to the asset swap with Cementos Portland Valderrivas (CPV), which was announced in February 2013. CRH agreed to transfer a 26% stake in Corporacion Uniland to CPV. In return, CPV agreed to transfer its 99% stake in Cementos Lemona to CRH, as well as giving CRH its UK-based cement importer Southern Cement.
In its press release CPV specifically mentioned that the asset swap would reduce its exposure to the Spanish cement market. On CRH's side the inclusion into the deal of a UK cement importer may be incidental but having an additional destination for potential excess Spanish cement production capacity can only be prudent.
Elsewhere this week, Turkmenistan's decision to protect domestic cement production with a 100% import duty raises interesting implications for exporters in the region such as Iran. It is unclear whether Turkmenistan is blocking Iranian exports altogether or just taxing them more. Either way, following news of a Iraqi block on Iranian exports, it seems likely to dent Iran's ambition to reach 18Mt of exports in the 2013 – 2014 Iranian calendar year, which will end on 20 March 2014.
CRH releases 2012 sustainability report
10 July 2013Ireland: Irish building materials supplier CRH has shown continued improvements in most of its cement sustainability initiative key performance indicators in its 2012 sustainability report.
Of note, CRH improved its net CO2 emissions per tonne of cementitious product by 5% to 637kg/t. Fuel substitution rose to 20.8% from 17.3%. The Lost Time Incident (LTI) rate per million man-hours for direct employees fell from 2.54 to 1.49. Particulates per specific g/t of clinker fell to 108 from 328.
However, CRH's emission for SOx per specific g/t of clinker rose to 304 from 204. CRH blamed this rise on an increased use of alternative fuels in some plants.
In his forward to the report chief executive office Myles Lee commented that CRH's Materials Division had substantially increased alternative fuel usage in its European cement operations in 2012 that softened cost inflation in energy-related inputs.
Donald McGovern Jr to join board of CRH
26 June 2013Ireland: Donald A McGovern, Jr will join the board of CRH as a non-executive director effective from 1 July 2013.
McGovern, a US national aged 62 years, is currently Vice Chairman for Global Assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a position he has held since July 2008. McGovern will retire from PwC on 30 June 2013, following a 39 year career with the firm, during which time he directed the US firm's services for a number of large public company clients. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds a Master's Degree in Business.
Lafarge to sell Ukraine plant to CRH
26 April 2013Ukraine: France's Lafarge has announced the sale of its cement activities in Ukraine to Ireland's CRH for an enterprise value of Euro96m. The deal comprises one wet process cement plant located in the Lviv region, in the western part of the country. The Global Cement Directory 2013 lists the plant's capacity as 1.7Mt/yr.
The transaction, which is expected to close before the end of 2013, is subject to the relevant Ukrainian authorities' approval. Lafarge retains a presence in Ukraine through three aggregates quarries serving the Ukrainian, Russian and Polish markets.
Ukraine cement producers report losses in 2012
24 April 2013Ukraine: Volyn Cement has reported a loss of Euro2.86m for 2012. It recorded a net profit of Euro1.75m in 2011. The company based in Zdolbuniv, Rivne region, saw its net revenue remain stable at Euro62.8m. Multinational cement producer Dyckerhoff owns 98.4% of the shares in Volyn Cement.
Podilskiy Cement has reported a loss of Euro9.6m for 2012. The Khmelnytskyi region-based cement producer saw net revenue rise by 31.2% to Euro92.8m in 2012. Podilskiy Cement's plant has six kilns with a production capacity of 3.7Mt/yr. The business is controlled Ireland's Cement Roadstone Holdings.
Despite Europe - European cement production in 2012 continued
27 February 2013With the annual results for 2012 in from Lafarge, Holcim and CRH we now return to look at how the European markets coped.
Holcim summed up the mood perfectly in its media release on its annual results for 2012. First it pushed the big positive (net sales up overall) but then finished its first (!) sentence with: '...despite the difficult economic environment in Europe.'
Overall in Europe, Lafarge saw its cement volumes fall by 9% to 29.6Mt from 32.5Mt. Notably sales volumes fell significantly in Spain and Greece, by 26% and 37% respectively.
Holcim saw its cement volumes fall by 2% in Europe to 26.3Mt from 26.8Mt. There were specific country figures from Holcim but it did comment that the 'severe crisis' in southern Europe had 'contaminated' economies further north such as a France, Benelux, Germany and Switzerland.
CRH was less candid about its cement business in Europe although it did report that its sales revenues fell by 10% to Euro2.69bn in 2012 from Euro2.99bn in 2011. Notable losses occurred in Poland (11% volume decline), Ireland (17% decline) and Spain (30% decline).
These figures compare against a 4% decline in volumes in Western and Northern Europe to 22.1Mt from 21.3Mt by HeidelbergCement, a 13% drop in overall net sales to Euro3.05bn in Cemex's Northern Europe section and a 16% drop in volumes to 16Mt from Italcementi in its Central Western Europe region.
The question to ask at this point is how HeidelbergCement and Holcim managed to suffer smaller losses compared to everybody else. Less exposure to southern Europe is one answer. Depressingly though they both suffered similar drops in profit indicators such as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to the others (20% and 33% respectively).
Both Holcim and CRH are expecting continued tough conditions in Europe in 2013. However, both companies are mildly optimistic that the worst has passed, with talk of the work of the European Central Bank supporting peripheral Eurozone economies showing some effect. Lafarge doesn't even mention Europe in its outlook.
As mentioned in Global Cement Weekly #87 on 13 February 2013, EU regional GDP growth is forecast to become positive in 2013. Everybody is going to be watching the European quarterly results for the cement majors in 2013 very carefully indeed. In the meantime all every cement producer with a presence in Europe can do is to carry on cutting costs.
CRH chief executive to retire in 2013
27 February 2013Ireland: Myles Lee, the Group Chief Executive of CRH, has confirmed to the board that he intends to retire from the company at the end of 2013 having reached the age of 60. CRH has indicated that it was likely that Albert Manifold, CRH's CEO, would become the new chairman.
Lee has completed a five year term as chief executive and 10 years as an executive director. Lee joined CRH in 1982, joining the board in November 2003 as finance director, later becoming chief executive in January 2009.
CRH profit down by 5% in 2012
27 February 2013Ireland: Irish building materials supplier CRH has reported a loss before tax of 5% to Euro674m in 2012 from Euro711m in 2011. Chief executive Myles Lee pinned the blame on weakening consumer and investor confidence within the Eurozone, although this was tempered by the recovering US market.
The group's sales revenue rose by 3% to Euro18.7bn in 2012 from Euro18.1bn in 2011. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) remained flat at Euro1.64bn compared to Euro1.66bn.
By region, CRH's Europe Materials division, which includes cement production, saw its sales revenue fall by 10% from Euro2.99bn to Euro2.69bn. EBITDA fell by 7% to Euro405m from Euro 436m. However, CRH's cement production volumes increased in Ukraine by 32% due to a new cement plant and an acquisition in Odessa. Ireland and Spain only comprised 5% of the division's EBITDA. Ireland saw a 17% decline in cement volumes and CRH declined to present any data about Spain other than a 30% decline across 'all sectors.'
America Materials saw its sales revenue increase by 13% to Euro4.97bn from Euro4.40bn. EBITDA increased by 7% to Euro566m from Euro530m.
In its outlook CRH expects its American operations to make progress in 2013, fuelled by the continued recovery of the US economy. Its European forecasts suggest only modest growth at best for 2013. American improvements and further profit improvement initiatives are expected to outweigh continued trading pressures in Europe.
CPV and CRH swap assets
26 February 2013Spain/Ireland/UK: On 26 February 2013 Irish buildings materials supplier CRH plc announced that it and Spanish cement business Cementos Portland Valderrivas SA (CVP) had reached an agreement, effective immediately, regarding an asset swap in relation to certain Spanish assets.
CRH will transfer its 26% stake in Corporacion Uniland SA to CPV. In return, CPV will transfer its 99% stake in Cementos Lemona SA to CRH. CRH will also acquire Southern Cement Ltd, a cement importation business, based in Ipswich, UK as part of the transaction. As part of the transaction CRH and CPV will terminate all legal disputes with each other.