Displaying items by tag: Greece

Greece: Titan Group’s share exchange offer between its subsidiaries has failed. It blamed this on a lack of ordinary shares being tendered despite the support of Titan’s core shareholders and its board of directors. The voluntary share offer was intended to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. The group said that its strategy remained focused on international growth. It added that broadening sources of funding and improving access to international capital and credit markets was an important priority.

Greece: Titan Cement says that its turnover, earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and net profit after taxes all grew year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2018. Overall, its second half results were better than in 2017. The growth mostly came from the US and South East Europe, but the company said that the situation in other regions has not shown any significant change. The cement producer made the announcement as it is undergoing a voluntary tender offer process.

Israel: Nesher Israel Cement has dismissed 20 workers at its Haifa plant. The redundancies took place in October 2018 due to a fall in production, according to the Globes newspaper. The company is also considering making staff change at its Ramla plant. Previously, Israeli cement producers have blamed Turkey and Greece for declining business and have lobbied for anti-dumping tariffs.

Greece: Titan Group’s turnover fell by 3.7% year-on-year to Euro1.10bn in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro1.14bn in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 8.2% to Euro196m from Euro215m. It attributed this to wet weather on the eastern seaboard of the US. It said that production ‘challenges’ at the group’s Florida operations forced it to increase imports to its terminal at Tampa to meet customer demand, although this lowered its margins.

Greece: Titan Group has submitted a share exchange offer to help list its shares at exchanges in Brussels and Paris. Following the completion of the process, Belgium-based Titan Cement International will become Titan's ultimate parent company managed from Cyprus, according to Reuters. The group intends to list its shares at Euronext Brussels with secondary listings on the Athens Exchange and Euronext Paris. Titan says it wants to broaden its funding sources by improving access to international finance.

Greece/UK: Titan Group has joined the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), a global organisation dedicated to strengthening and promoting the sector’s contribution to sustainable construction. The cement producer said that its participation would build on its commitment to, “actively engage in collaborative initiatives aiming to address global sustainability challenges.”

Launched in January 2018, the GCCA intends to become a respected industry voice and trusted source of information on sustainable construction. It complements and supports the work done by cement associations at national and regional level. As of January 2019 GCCA will incorporate the activities of the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) following a strategic partnership with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

Israel: Danny Tal, the commissioner for trade levies at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, will recommend duties on cement imports from Greece and Turkey. Nine different manufacturers will be affected by anti-dumping duties of 7-20%.

Tal drew up the duties following a complaint by cement maker Har-Tuv, which said continued cheap imports would lead to its closure. The complaint was also supported by Nesher Cement, Israel’s only clinker producer.

Tal concluded that the Greek and Turkish companies had violated fair trade rules, with the Greek companies generally ‘dumping’ at lower prices than the Turkish ones.

"We welcome the decision to protect the local industry from illegal imports and to maintain the industry and fair competition over time, and we hope that the recommendation will be adopted and implemented by all relevant levels as soon as possible," said Har-Tuv.

Turkey: İsmail Bulut, the head of the Turkish Cement Manufacturers Association (TÇMB), says that the local industry exported US$124m of cement in 2017. He told the Daily Sabah newspaper that the sector has a production capacity of 81Mt/yr. TÇMB data shows that it exported 7.98Mt of cement in 2017 to nearly 100 countries. The top destinations for Turkish cement included Syria, the US, Israel and Ghana. It also exported 4.93Mt of clinker led by Ghana, Colombia, Ivory Coast and Guinea. Despite the high levels of exports, the country also imported relatively small amounts of clinker for Greece and Bulgaria in 2017.

Greece: Titan Cement’s turnover fell during the first half of 2018 due to a stagnant US market and negative currency effects. Its turnover fell by 7.9% year-on-year to Euro713m in the first half of 2018 from Euro774m in the same period in 2017. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 14% to Euro122m from Euro142m. However, its net profit rose by 78% to Euro24.8m from Euro13.9m.

In the US the group reported that demand for cement continued to grow but that ‘exceptionally’ rainy weather in the eastern states held back sales and ‘production challenges’ in Florida had to be addressed through increased imports via its Tampa terminal. Turnover declined in Greece due to falling infrastructure projects and a poor house-building sector.

Markets in southeastern Europe reported mixed performance with overall turnover falling. In Egypt negative currency affects limited turnover although earnings rose in both local and Euro terms. In Turkey the net results of Adocim were close to the previous year’s levels. In Brazil a truck drivers’ strike in May 2018 dented a construction market that was showing ‘encouraging’ signs.

Greece: Titan Group’s turnover fell slightly to Euro1.51bn in 2017. Bad weather, the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound and weakening of the US Dollar affected its operating results despite a buoyant US market. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) fell by 1.9% year-on-year to Euro273m in 2017 from Euro279m in 2016. Its net profit fell by 66.5% to Euro42.7m from Euro127m.

The cement producer’s turnover grew by 9.9% to Euro873m in the US despite Hurricane Irma in September 2017 and other poor weather effects. In Greece it reported that build activity weakened further in 2017. It said that although export volumes remained high, its profit margins were hit by the lowering value of the US Dollar and increased fuel prices. Overall, the turnover of its Greece and Western Europe region fell by 4.8% to Euro249m. In Southeastern Europe turnover rose by 10.5% to Euro226m due to increased demand for building materials. Turnover in the Eastern Mediterranean region fell by 36.5% to Euro158m due to negative currency effects in Egypt and a fall in cement demand.