Displaying items by tag: Germany
HeidelbergCement profit up by 79% in 2013
19 March 2014Germany: HeidelbergCement has announced its consolidated financial results for 2013. The year saw its revenue reach Euro14bn, a 3.4% increase year-on-year, with operating income 5.2% higher than 2012 at Euro1.61bn. Its profit was up by 79% year-on-year reaching Euro945m, with earnings per share more than doubling to Euro3.98.
The company said that it had brought the year to a 'successful close' in a difficult economic environment. It highlighted a return to steady economic growth in North America and Europe as well as continued growth in Asia and Africa.
"In 2013, we generated our best results since the financial crisis," said Dr Bernd Scheifele, Chairman of the Managing Board of HeidelbergCement. "This was mainly due to the successful implementation of our FOX 2013 programme, price increases in major markets, reduced financing costs and lower non-recurring charges. Consequently, we were able to improve revenue, operating income and operating margins in all our business lines on a comparable basis. At the same time, we clearly achieved our target of noticeably increasing profit for the financial year and earnings per share."
HeidelbergCement's cement sales volumes rose slightly year-on-year, driven by the positive development of sales volumes in the North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean Basin group areas, which more than offset a decline in demand elsewhere, especially in Eastern Europe.
For 2014, HeidelbergCement expects continued improvement, including in Eastern Europe. "In 2014 we will benefit from economic development in industrial countries, particularly in North America, the UK, Germany and Northern Europe," said Scheifele. "These countries generate almost 50% of our revenue. Furthermore, we are improving our market position in growth markets with the commissioning of modern production facilities. In view of these factors, as well as our high operational efficiency, we consider ourselves well-equipped to benefit over-proportionally from the accelerating economic growth in the interests of our shareholders."
HeidelbergCement sees improvement in 2013 despite regional variation
06 February 2014Germany: HeidelbergCement has announced its unaudited results for the fourth quarter of 2013 and the full year of 2013.
The German multinational cement producer reported revenues of Euro13.94bn for 2013, a 3.4% increase on 2012 (like-for-like), although revenue was slightly down (by 0.6%) in absolute terms. Operating income before depreciation was also up in like-for-like terms (2.0%) but was down by 2.1% across all business at Euro2.42bn. Operating income was flat at Euro1.61bn in 2013, a 5.2% rise like-for-like and a 0.2% rise in absolute terms.
For the fourth quarter of 2013, HeidelbergCement took revenues of Euro3.48bn (up 6.9% like-for-like and down 0.3% in absolute terms), had an operating income of Euro661m (up by 1.8% like-for-like and down 5.3% in absolute terms) and had an operating income of Euro463m (up by 12.4% like-for-like and up by 2.4% in absolute terms.
HeidelbergCement reported that its cement sales volumes rose slightly year on year, driven by the positive development in sales volumes in its North America, Asia-Pacific and Africa-Mediterranean Basin regions, which more than offset the decline in demand elsewhere, particularly in eastern Europe. It sold 91.3Mt of cement, cement clinker and ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) in 2013, a rise of 1.4% in like-for-like terms and a rise of 2.6% in absolute terms.
In the fourth quarter of 2013 it sold 23.6Mt of cement, cement clinker and GGBS, which was 6.3% more than in 2012 in like-for-like terms and 7.5% more in absolute terms. HeidelbergCement said that its fourth quarter sales volumes had benefited from milder than usual weather that led to an extended construction season in Europe.
Western and northern Europe
For 2013 as a whole, HeidelbergCement reported that its interests in western and northern Europe benefited from the emerging recovery in demand for building materials in the UK, which was driven by private residential construction and large infrastructure projects in London. Sales volumes of cement at its UK plants increased from low levels by a double-digit percentage. In Benelux and Northern Europe, sales volumes were steady or saw only a marginal decline. Sales volumes in Germany diminished, partly as a result of the long period of bad weather at the beginning of 2013.
Despite a slight overall decline in sales volumes in this region, revenue before exchange rate effects remained largely stable thanks to successfully-implemented price increases. Falling energy costs also had a positive impact on operating income and profit margins.
Revenue for northern and western Europe was Euro4.15bn, a real-terms fall of 1.3% (a 0.3% fall like- for-like). Operating income was Euro319m, a 4.9% increase in real terms over 2012 (a 5.6% fall like-for-like). Cement sales for the region came in at 20.9Mt, a 1.8% fall when compared to 2012.
Eastern Europe and central Asia
Over the course of 2013, HeidelbergCement had a difficult year in eastern Europe and central Asia. In the first half of 2013, construction activities were adversely affected by the long winter and demand for building materials saw a decline in many countries of eastern Europe due to weak economic development and low infrastructure expenditure. In addition, prices were under pressure in a number of markets, the result of the combination of low demand and increased competition. Increases in sales volumes in Russia due to an increase in the capacity of the Tula plant near Moscow and a slight volume increase in Georgia did not compensate for the weak demand.
The situation improved in the second half of 2013. Poland was the first country in eastern Europe to show signs of a recovery. The fourth quarter was also boosted by a sustained period of mild weather. As a result, revenue and operating income improved despite negative exchange rate effects.
Revenue for the region in 2013 came to Euro1.34bn, a 4.2% decline like-for-like and a 6.9% decline in absolute terms. Operating income was Euro150m, a 20% drop in like-for-like terms and a 21.8% dip in absolute terms. Cement, clinker and GGBS sales for the region were 16.7Mt in 2013, a 2.9% drop in both real and like-for-like terms compared to 2012.
North America
In 2013 the recovery of cement demand continued in North America, driven particularly by growth in residential construction. HeidelbergCement reported that revenue and results in North America had benefited from successfully-implemented price increases in 2013 but that these parameters were also adversely affected by the weakening of the Canadian Dollar in comparison with the Euro.
Revenue for North America was Euro3.41bn in 2013, a 3.4% rise in like-for-like terms and a 1% fall in real terms. Operating income was Euro378m, a 19.9% rise in like-for-like terms and a 17.4% rise in real terms. HeidelbergCement sold 12.5Mt of cement, clinker and GGBS in North America in 2013, a 6.8% rise in both like-for-like and absolute terms.
Asia-Pacific
Demand for HeidelbergCement's products remained very strong in its Asia-Pacific region, with construction activity stimulated by the economic growth in the region. Sales volumes also benefited from the increase of its share in Cement Australia from 25% to 50%. The Asia-Pacific Group area recorded the largest negative exchange rate effect as a result of the weakness of the Indonesian Rupiah and Australian Dollar against the Euro.
Revenue for HeidelbergCement in Asia-Pacific came in at Euro3.42bn in 2013 as a whole, a 5.2% like-for-like rise year-on-year and a 1.7% fall in real terms. Operating income for the year was Euro686m, a 0.7% rise like-for-like and a 6.3% fall in absolute terms. The company sold 31.9Mt of cement, clinker and GGBS in the region, a 3% rise in like-for-like terms and a 6.3% rise in absolute terms.
Africa and Mediterranean basin
HeidelbergCement reported a continuation of positive demand development in Africa in 2013. It said that it was able to increase its cement deliveries, partly as a result of new capacity. The building materials business in Turkey also developed positively and only the Spanish market remained in decline in this region. Although revenue and results in the Africa-Mediterranean Basin Group area were also impaired by negative exchange rate effects, HeidelbergCement reported that it was able to improve these figures thanks to strong operational development in Turkey and Israel.
Outlook for 2014
In North America, HeidelbergCement reports that it expects a continuing economic recovery and consequently a further increase in demand for building materials.
In eastern Europe, a stabilisation of the national markets is expected following the weak phase experienced during 2013. Poland should be the first country in this area to benefit from the emerging recovery. In central Asia, a further rise in demand for building materials is anticipated. In western and northern Europe, positive market development is expected in all countries. This is based on the healthy economic development in Germany and northern Europe as well as a recovery in the UK and Benelux. In Asia and Africa, HeidelbergCement still expects sustained growth in demand.
"Considering the positive outlook for the world economy and our advantageous geographical positioning, we are cautiously confident about the future," said Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement. "However, substantial macro-economic risks still remain. The effect of the tapering of the Federal Reserve on the currencies in emerging countries represents a considerable uncertainty. The decline in exchange rates in the second half of 2013 will also impair our revenue and results, particularly in the first half of 2014."
"We will focus on what we can directly influence: the management of our operational business," continued Scheifele. "In 2014, we will once again work on further improving our margins by means of our ongoing programmes and a continued focus on reducing costs and increasing efficiency. Price increases will continue to be at the forefront of our efforts in 2014."
The complete consolidated financial statements of HeidelbergCement including a full outlook will be published on 19 March 2014.
ENTECCOgroup acquires Turbofilter GmbH
05 December 2013Germany: ENTECCOgroup announced on 2 December 2013 that it has acquired Turbofilter GmbH in order to further strengthen its activities in the steel and flue gas cleaning industry.
Turbofilter GmbH, founded by Fritz von Opel in Essen in 1958, has more than 50 years of experience in offering process-oriented solutions for industrial dust removal and flue and exhaust gas cleaning worldwide. It manufactures standard filters and complicated turnkey plants in the field of environmental technology.
"The union with the ENTECCOgroup and the restructuring of Turbofilter GmbH concerning long-term job and location security, as well as the positioning in the market, are the right steps at the right time. Together with the ENTECCOgroup we will speed up our expansion even faster," said Rainer Bertling and Jürgen Waller, shareholder and manager of Turbofilter GmbH.
ENTECCOgroup has made the environmental technology industry a priority. The industry expanded from US$560m in 2003 to US$744m in 2010 and currently employs more than 3.5 million workers in Europe. These numbers are expected to double by 2020.
Second Loesche Technical Seminar held in Dusseldorf
04 December 2013Germany: The second Techincal Seminar was held by the Loesche Training Centre in Dusseldorf, Germany, between 7 - 9 October 2013. It was attended by more than 40 delegates.
Theodora Bruns and the Loesche Training Center team organised the seminar and Dr Daniel Strohmeyer, Process Technology department of Loesche GmbH, moderated the sessions. Nine lecturers presented an overview on process and operation of a Loesche Mill, its hydraulic system and the latest development in classifier technology. Specific attention was paid to wear, repair and spare parts for Loesche Mills. Lectures on oil quality, oil sampling and new cement types were also included.
MVW Lechtenberg & Partner and Tridiagonal Solutions sign cooperation agreement for CFD solutions in the cement and lime industry
28 November 2013Germany/India: The exclusive Cooperation Agreement will enable MVW Lechtenberg & Partner (Germany) and Tridiagonal Solutions (India) to combine activities in the worldwide cement and lime industry to utilise Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models to develop, design and troubleshoot combustion processes.
CFD is the computer-aided solution technique to describe and simulate flow-related physical phenomena such as fluid flow, heat transfer and combustion. CFD has proven itself as a powerful technique to solve flow-related problems across a range of industries. Various cement, lime and power plant applications that can be analysed using CFD include kilns and boilers, flue gas cleaning systems, bag filters, bypass systems, NOx reduction systems, heat recovery steam generators and related equipment.
"With recent advances in the understanding of combustion, multi-phase, turbulent reacting flows and computational resources, it is now possible to develop and use computational models to simulate the performance of cement and lime plant equipment with our huge database on alternative fuels and raw materials and their influence on processes. With the outstanding experience of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling professionals from Tridiagonal Solutions we can now provide a reliable and cost effective process modeling solution to the industry," said Dirk Lechtenberg, managing director and founder of MVW Lechtenberg & Partner.
Besides CFD Modeling, the cooperation also offers a powerful framework for state-of-the-art technology services that include process engineering and consulting (including manufacturing of pilot plants), experimental fluid flow modeling, discrete element modeling (DEM), granular dynamics consulting (EDEM - CFD coupled simulations) and simulation software development.
"Tridiagonal has been delivering process performance enhancement and product development solutions to leading companies from chemicals and process, oil and gas, power generation, pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry. We are excited to partner with MVW and bring our expertise to the cement and lime industry. The synergy between Tridiagonal and MVW's expertise will lead to new insights and innovative solutions in the cement and lime industry worldwide" said Sandeepak Natu, Head-India Europe Business Unit of Tridiagonal Solutions.
Andre Tissen appointed head of Beumer cement business unit
20 November 2013Germany: Andre Tissen has been appointed manager of the cement business unit at Beumer Group effective from October 2013.
His responsibilities include managing Beumer's cement competency centre at the company's headquarters in Beckum, marketing Beumer's product portfolio, developing Beumer's sales team, optimising the company's sales structure and coordinating communication between the company's factories around the world.
Tissen, aged 43, has previously held various sales positions in the cement industry. Before joining Beumer, Tissen worked as Sales Manager, Europa & Key Accounts, at a conveyor equipment specialist.
VAS wins Cemex contract
20 November 2013
Germany: VAS® the IT logistics system from FRITZ & MACZIOL group has won a contract from Cemex in Germany. The Mexico-based multinational cement producer will use a bespoke version of the software and will roll the system out to several Cemex plants starting in Germany. FRITZ & MACZIOL cited VAS®'s ability to cover all requirements towards an IT logistics solution specified by Cemex as a key reason for its selection. At Cemex the implementation of a VAS® workshop is currently being prepared.
"Cemex takes over the role of a trailblazer. At present many firms operating in the raw material sector are thinking about how to standardise their global operations and logistic processes by using a template-based solution in order to replace their older and often isolated systems," said Claus Jordan, the Director of Business Development and Marketing of the FRITZ & MACZIOL Industrial Applications and Services division.
Jordan sees the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies as a reason for this development, as they can be used to simplify the automation of logistic processes within different plants. He added that, "A template-based rollout reduces time, effort and costs on the customers side and as such secures a fast return-on-investment."
Adrian Brown, Sales Director for FRITZ & MACZIOL in UK and Ireland, described VAS® to Global Cement.
This process-orientated software solution for the raw materials industry, forms the entire process chain from delivery via dispatch and loading, right up to departure. As the link between ERP systems and technical systems, VAS® represents the key function for efficient process sequences. In addition, VAS® supports reporting functions and supplies real-time information to further systems, for example for production, sales or controlling. All external technical systems such as the weighing, silo or metering technology are completely integrated into the VAS® logistics system processes.
According to Brown, VAS® is currently used in more than 160 plants worldwide within the raw materials industry. More than 30 of these implementations are within the cement and minerals industries in the UK and Ireland.
Reinhold Festge elected president of the VDMA
13 November 2013Germany: Reinhold Festge, Managing Partner of Haver & Boecker, has been elected as the new president of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) at a gathering of its members in Stuttgart on 18 October 2013. He succeeds Thomas Lindner of the Groz-Beckert KG in Albstadt who served as president of the VDMA since 2010. Karl Haeusgen and Carl Martin Welcker were elected as vice presidents.
Festge, born in 1945, originally trained as a doctor before he majored in Business Administration and then became managing director of Haver & Beumer Latinoamericana in Brazil. From 1985 to 1987 he served as the managing director of Haver Filling Systems in the US. In 1987 he became a partner of Haver & Boecker.
Festge is a member of the restricted board and sits on the main board of the VDMA. From 1998 to 2004 he was chairman of the VDMA professional association for construction and building material machinery. He was chairman of the VDMA state federation of North Rhine Westphalia from 2005 to 2011.
HeidelbergCement hurt by weaker currencies
08 November 2013Germany: HeidelbergCement said that profit for the third quarter of 2013 fell by 7% due to weaker currencies in emerging markets.
Operating income before depreciation was Euro811m in the third quarter of 2013 compared with Euro872m during the same period in 2012. Sales fell by 1.3% to Euro3.89bn.
The German cement producer said that lower energy and raw material costs and price increases could not compensate for the negative currency effects. A cost-cutting programme dubbed 'Fox 2013' had already exceeded a full-year target of Euro240m, generating cash savings of Euro253m.
Belgium/Germany: The European Commission has launched an investigation into the planned sale of Cemex's assets in the west of Germany to Holcim as the deal may harm competition. The commission is concerned that the planned acquisition of the German company Cemex West may reduce competition in parts of Germany and Belgium, where Cemex West is an 'actual or potential competitor' of Holcim. The commission intends to make a decision by 10 March 2014.
In August 2013 the Mexican cement producer Cemex and Swiss multinational cement maker Holcim announced plans to swap assets in Europe. On 18 October 2013 the commission announced that it would investigate Cemex's bid to buy Holcim's cement operations in Spain.