Displaying items by tag: Egypt
Egypt: Misr Beni Suef Cement has started to produce sulphate resistant cement for use in tunnels and other special projects. The cement producer is aiming to boost sales by selling 200,000t of this new product in 2016, in addition to sales of ordinary Portland cement.
Qalaa Holdings’ net loss rose to US$16m in the third quarter of 2015
10 December 2015Egypt: Qalaa Holdings' revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to US$262m in the third quarter of 2015. In the first nine months of 2015, its revenue rose by 31% to US$777m. The growth was attributed to ASEC Cement and energy distribution business TAQA Arabia. ASEC Holding saw its top line grow by 30% to US$299m.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter of 2015 fell by 9% to US$27.4m. The decrease comes on the back of several factors; Qalaa's exit from Misr Cement Qena, which had been positively contributing to EBITDA; the third quarter of 2015 having two Eid Holidays (Eid El Fitr and Eid El Adha) leading to less working days; and Sudan's Al-Takamol facing temporary fuel shortages during the third quarter of 2015. These factors affected cement revenues and EBITDA. In the first nine months of 2015, Qalaa's EBITDA grew by 71% to US$99.5m.
Qalaa has continued to press forward with its strategy of divesting non-core investments, with several exits concluded during the first nine months of 2015 and more recently in the fourth quarter of 2015. In the second quarter of 2015, Qalaa concluded the sale of its 27.5% stake in Misr Cement Qena, while in the fourth quarter of 2015, the company further reduced its exposure to the cement industry with its business unit ASEC Cement divesting its stakes in subsidiaries ASEC Minya Cement and ASEC Ready Mix.
"We are pressing ahead with plans to divest assets that will allow us to deleverage and devote maximum attention to high-growth businesses in sectors that are vital to the development of our region such as refining, energy distribution and transportation and logistics," said Qalaa Holdings Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. "We remain firmly committed to growing our investments in ERC, Egypt's largest in-progress private-sector megaproject due to begin production in 2017, and TAQA Arabia, which is pursuing exciting new opportunities in gas distribution, electricity generation and renewable energy. In parallel, we are also looking for opportunities to unlock shareholder value at subsidiaries, including ASCOM and Rift Valley Railways, which have strong growth outlooks."
"The sale of ASEC Cement's Egyptian assets alongside other transactions will fundamentally re-shape Qalaa's financials, giving more weight on both our income statement and balance sheet to ongoing operations at our energy and mining units and setting the stage for the transformative impact of ERC," said Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham El-Khazindar. "The near-full impact of the substantial deleveraging that accompanies these transactions will be felt in our fourth quarter 2015 and first quarter 2016 financials."
The company reported a net loss after tax and minority interest of US$16m in the third quarter of 2015, a two-fold increase compared to the net loss of US$7.59m in the same period of 2014. On a nine month basis, however, bottom-line losses narrowed by 31% to US$41.2m compared to US$60m in the same period of 2014
ASEC Cement finalises sale of two units for US$127m
23 November 2015Egypt: ASEC Cement, part of Egypt-based Qalaa Holdings, has finalised the sale of ASEC Minya Cement and ASEC Ready Mix to Misr Cement Qena for a total of US$128m.
ASEC Minya Cement is located in Upper Egypt. It began commercial operations in August 2013, with a capacity of 2Mt/yr. ASEC Ready Mix is a producer and distributor of ready-mix concrete. The company operates six batch plants in Upper Egypt with 382,000m3 of production in 2014.
At the time of sale, ASEC Cement held 46.5% of ASEC Minya Cement and 55% of ASEC Ready Mix. Qalaa and its subsidiary National Development and Trading Company (NDT) together own 70% of ASEC Cement.
"We are pleased to announce that the sale process closed today, putting in place another cornerstone in our strategy to deleverage at both the holding and platform company levels," said Ahmed Heikal, Chairman and Founder of Qalaa Holdings. "Both ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix have established themselves as critical players in the vital Upper Egyptian market and we are honoured to have worked with an exceptional management team at each of them to build them into the companies they are today."
Egyptians Against Coal want to eradicate its use by 2017
10 November 2015Egypt: An independent local coalition called Egyptians Against Coal (EAC) aims to advocate excluding coal use from Egypt's energy and cement industry by 2017 due to its 'hazardous environmental threats,' according to a statement from the group released on 10 November 2015.
In mid-September 2015, the Ministry of Environment approved studies made by seven cement factories to use coal in their production process instead of natural gas. The factories include those of LafargeHolcim, Suez Cement (Italcementi) and Arabian Cement, among others.
Suez Cement has announced that it plans to convert two more of its plants to use alternative energy sources, at a total cost of US$37 - 50m each. The company is aiming to convert the Tora and Helwan plants to use coal and a heavy fuel oil known as mazut, following in the footsteps of the Kattameya and Suez plants in the last few months.
During a meeting, the EAC discussed potential ways to raise awareness and advocacy on both the level of individuals and decision makers. The initiative brings together researchers, economists, lawyers, as well as journalists who are interested in environmental issues.
"We are about to issue a booklet that illustrates everything related to coal use and another booklet about alternative energy resources to produce clean energy," said Amena Sharaf, a researcher at the Egyptian Centre for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR).
According to the EAC, coal use in some factories caused severe harm for its labour force and their families living nearby. It claims that workers 'do not know about friendlier energy alternatives that could be used.'
The use of coal in Egypt raised many concerns on both the local and official levels when the idea was first suggested, including among then-minister of environment Laila Iskandar. The amendments stated that coal will be used on a 'large scale' without stating a definitive number on the industries in which it will be used.
Suez Cement reports 18% revenue fall in the third quarter of 2015
03 November 2015Egypt: Suez Cement Group has reported that a much improved energy availability, driven by coal utilisation and a more steady supply of the heavy fuel oil known as mazut, has allowed the Egyptian cement industry to boost its production by 29% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2015 and 23% in the first nine months of 2015.
During the third quarter of 2015, market demand grew by 2.1%, while cement demand grew by 1.6% in the first nine months of 2015. Combined with a steep reduction in exports, this resulted in a marked oversupply of cement products in the domestic market, causing prices to decline. This trend was exacerbated in the third quarter of 2015 with a market demand slowed down by an unfavourable calendar and strong production activity in contrast with summer 2014, when energy supply was at its lowest. Simultaneously, traditional energy prices grew by around 30% with the implementation by the government of the subsidy lifting programme. Suez Cement was able to maintain its market leadership, but saw its sales volumes decline slightly as it tried to defend its pricing. Exports to regional markets, such as Libya and Yemen, remained limited because of political and economic instability.
Suez Cement reported an 18% decrease in revenues for the third quarter of 2015 and a 12% fall for the first nine months of the year. The company continued to implement its action plans to improve internal efficiencies and modify its energy mix, with two plants now fully converted to use coal and waste-derived fuel. The resulting cost improvement was insufficient to offset the impact from pricing, energy price and cost of labour increases.
Suez Cement expects Egypt's supply-demand imbalance and lower cement prices to remain negative for the rest of 2015. However, it foresees improved cement demand and rebounding prices in 2016. Egypt will move forward with the implementation of several large national projects under the auspices of government stimulation initiatives designed to boost demand for cement across the country.
Suez Cement is currently preparing for the implementation of coal conversion projects at the Helwan and Tourah plants in the next two years. The company's energy diversification programme is focused on increasing the use of waste-derived fuels, petroleum coke, coal and renewable energy in order to prevent fluctuating natural gas and mazut prices from negatively impacting the company's bottom line. Suez Cement anticipates that its energy programme will continue to improve its manufacturing capacity and decrease operational and production overheads.
Egypt: ASEC Cement, a subsidiary of Egypt's Qalaa Holdings, has announced plans to sell its stakes in ASEC Minya and ASEC Ready Mix to Misr Qena Cement for US$125m. The respective stakes are 46.5% and 55%. The deal is expected close on or before 20 November 2015.
Lafarge's investments in Egypt hit US$3bn in 2015
06 October 2015Egypt: Lafarge Egypt's total investments in the local cement market will hit US$3.2bn at the end of 2015, according to CEO Hussein Mansi.
Mansi said that Lafarge Egypt intends to expand in the local market with US$16.8m of new investments in a recycling project. The project is expected to start within six months of the required land being supplied by the government. In the near future, Lafarge Egypt will supply national projects currently being executed by the government such as the New Administrative Capital project and New Suez Canal projects.
Mansi said that Lafarge Egypt plans to increase its current market share, which is currently estimated at 14%.
Egypt: Misr Qena Cement has denied that it has acquired a 46% stake of ASEC Cement Company and a 55% stake of ASEC Concrete, which has been published in local newspapers. Misr Cement said that the published news was based on an assumption and that it would announce the deal when it was finalised.
Egypt reports September 2015 cement sales
02 October 2015Egypt: Egyptian cement production hit 969,403t in September 2015 and the total amount put forth for sale by the producing companies was 945,315t, according to a Ministry of Supply statement. The amount of cement distributed the domestic market amounted to 1.02Mt and the amount exported came to 8260t.
Wind blowing slowly for Suez Cement
28 September 2015Egypt: Talks between Suez Cement (SCGC) and Egyptian authorities are continuing to ensure the continued financial viability of the SCGC's Wind Farm project, according to Managing Director Bruno Carré.
The company, which is part of Italcementi Group, is currently holding discussions with the Egyptian government to reach specific terms that could help in reaching a solution. This would then help the company present the project to banks, which would provide financing for the project.
According to Carré, negotiations have been ongoing with the government since an Economic Summit that was held in March 2014 in Sharm El-Sheikh. "It's a complex issue and it's not moving as rapidly as we wanted," Carré said. He emphasised, however, that the slow progress is understandable, noting that, on the one hand, the Ministry of Electricity is proactive in ensuring the project happens, as it will help in electricity production. However, the ministry also has to bear in mind the economic balances, and will need to consider the Wind Farm project in relation to other projects, Carré added.