Displaying items by tag: Italy
Italy: HeidelbergCement has completed its acquisition of a 45% share in Italcementi from Italmobiliare. All conditions for the closing of the transaction have been fulfilled following the approval by the relevant competition authorities. The purchase triggers a mandatory tender offer to the remaining shareholders of Italcementi. HeidelbergCement expects the entire transaction to be completed in the second half of 2016.
“By adding Italcementi to our group, we are considerably strengthening our global footprint and innovation capabilities. We see significant potential for value creation with the realisation of synergies and by learning from each other’s best practices. From now on, we will focus all our efforts on the integration of Italcementi into our group,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the management board of HeidelbergCement.
On 28 July 2015, HeidelbergCement and Italmobiliare entered into a share purchase agreement about the acquisition of a 45% shareholding in Italcementi. On 1 July 2016 HeidelbergCement acquired 157.17 million ordinary shares, representing 45% of the share capital of Italcementi for a total consideration of Euro1.67bn. 82.82 million ordinary shares were acquired against cash. The remaining 74.35 million ordinary shares were acquired against the assignment of 10.5 million newly issued shares of HeidelbergCement. Following this, Italmobiliare has become the second largest industrial shareholder of HeidelbergCement, with a stake of 5.3%.
In the share purchase agreement, Italmobiliare agreed to purchase certain non-core assets of Italcementi, including Italgen, Bravosolution, and certain non-core real estate. Italcementi had sold these assets to Italmobiliare on 30 June 2016 for total proceeds of Euro237m.
The acquisition of the 45% stake in Italcementi triggers the obligation to execute a mandatory tender offer to the remaining shareholders of Italcementi. The offering document will be filed with the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB), within 20 days after the closing, and will be published upon completion of CONSOB’s review period. The acceptance period will be agreed with Borsa Italiana. The acceptance period is expected to commence at the end of August 2016.
Italy: Cementir has made a loss of Euro6m in the first quarter of 2016. It made a profit before tax of Euro3.8m in the same period in 2015. It reported that its revenue rose by 2.8% to Euro210m from Euro205m. Its sales volumes of grey and white cement rose by 8.7% to 2.01Mt from 1.85Mt.
The Italian cement producer reported strong performances in the Scandinavian countries, Malaysia and Egypt. Sales revenue in Turkey increased in the quarter but this was offset by currency fluctuations. In China revenue fell by 9% year-on-year in the period. In Italy revenue fell by 8% due to a fall in sales volumes of cement.
Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s cement sales have grown by 3% year-on-year to 5Mt in the first quarter of 2016 from 4.9Mt in the same period in 2015. Overall net sales rose by 5% to Euro540m from Euro513m. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 87% to Euro50.8m from Euro27.2m. It attributed the increase in sales to a strong performance in the US where cement sales grew by 16.3% in the quarter. Elsewhere cement sales fell in Russia and Ukraine.
Italcementi workers prepare for a national strike
25 April 2016Italy: Unions Feneal Uil, Filca Cisl and Cgil Fillea, representing Italcementi cement workers, are preparing to go on strike on 29 April 2016 in protest against plans by HeidelbergCement to cut jobs when it takes over the Italian cement producer. The German cement manufacturer said that it expects that up to 260 workers will be made redundant and another 170 workers will be offered relocation from Italcementi’s base in Bergamo, according to its integration plan.
The unions met with the government on 14 April 2016 and subsequently agreed to go on strike. The unions have presented a counter-proposal to decrease the number of redundancies, including asking HeidelbergCement to confirm that it will maintain production sites and employment levels through the company integration period until 2020. Other suggestions include requests for government-union review of the plan, maintaining a technical centre in Bergamo and providing an additional social security plan for the entire group. The unions will meet with the government next at the beginning of May 2016.
Germany/Italy: HeidelbergCement has released details on how it will integrate Italcementi into its business. Key details of the plan include the sale of Italcementi’s Belgium operations, the retention of the Italcementi brand and headquarters and the Italian cement producer’s i.Lab centre will assume research and development responsibilities for the entire group. However the acquisition is expected to result in up to 260 job losses at Italcementi’s base in Bergamo. The full integration plan is expected to be complete by 2020.
“Following our motto ‘all business is local’, it is important for us to preserve Italcementi's strengths and professional expertise, which have ensured its success in Italy and abroad. I am convinced that we will be able to achieve the planned Euro400m in synergies and bring Italcementi back to profits by operational improvements, streamlining the administration and leveraging the increased size of our combined business,” said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board of HeidelbergCement.
The acquisition still depends on approval from the European Commission and the Federal Trade Commission. On 1 April 2016, HeidelbergCement formally submitted the merger plan to the European Commission.
To this end, HeidelbergCement has decided to sell Italcementi’s entire Belgian operations, primarily consisting of Italcementi’s Belgian subsidiary Compagnie des Ciments Belges. The proposed divestment would remove all overlaps between the activities of HeidelbergCement and Italcementi in Belgium and the Netherlands. Preparations forthe divestment have already started and ‘significant’ interest has been noted. BNP Paribas will support the process.
The plan presented in Bergamo by Scheifele says it intends to keep the industrial network and plants in Italy as well as the Italcementi brand. In addition, HeidelbergCement builds on Italian management heading the Group's operations in Italy. i.Lab, based in Bergamo, where Italcementi will keep the headquarter of Italian country organisation, will become the home of the product research and development division of the whole group.
In order to streamline the overall group organisation some staff and administrative functions will be centralised in Heidelberg. According to the integration plan around 170 people will receive relocation offers to other offices within the group. Any redundancies in Bergamo, which could potentially affect between 230 and 260 people, will be handled using Italy's temporary layoff scheme. In addition, severence packages will be negotiated with the unions. At the end of the transition period in 2020, about 210 to 250 professionals will remain in Bergamo.
HeidelbergCement expects the closing of the acquisition of the 45% stake to be finalised in early July 2016 depending on the decision of the cartel authorities in Europe and the USA. Implementation of the integration plan will start after the closing.
Italy: Italian economic development minister Federica Guidi is scheduled to meet with Bernd Scheifele, CEO of HeidelbergCement, to discuss its acquisition of Italcementi. The transaction has been closely followed by the minister since its announcement and Guidi had already met Scheifele in the early stages of the process, according to the Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper. HeidelbergCement had asked for more time to complete competition requirements at the European level before this latest meeting.
Italy: Cementir Italia has had its Euro125m offer to purchase Sacci SpA approved by the Italian Antitrust Authority, the company has said in a statement. The competition body gave its approval to Cementir Italia’s owner, Cementir Holding.
Cementir Italia submitted its offer for the business in November 2015. The target assets comprise five cement production plants in central and northern Italy, three terminals, several ready-mixed concrete facilities, most of which in central Italy, a transport service and some equity interests in other companies.
Cementir Italia will pay part of the acquisition price upon closing of the transaction and the remainder within 24 months from completion, Cementir said in a previous statement. The first part of the payment is subject to adjustment, it added. Cementir plans to finance the acquisition with new and existing debt.
Italcementi loss grows to Euro69.3m in 2015
19 February 2016Italy: Italcementi’s loss has grown by 41.7% year-on-year to Euro69.3m in 2015 from Euro48.9m in 2014. The multinational cement producer blamed this on falling revenue per unit amidst general poor markets, particularly in Egypt. Despite this its revenue grew by 3.5% to Euro4.3bn in 2015 from Euro4.16bn in 2014, boosted by a stronger fourth quarter and currency effects.
Overall cement clinker sales volumes remained unchanged in 2015 at 43.4Mt. Growth in North Africa, Middle East (Egypt and Kuwait) and the more contained growth in North America was counterbalanced by downturns in Europe, Asia and Trading.
Italcementi expects growth in North America, moderate sales growth Egypt and stability in emerging markets in 2016. Demand for building materials is expected to be stable overall in Italy, France and Belgium, with a general recovery elsewhere in Eastern European and Mediterranean markets. It plans to raise prices in all areas except for India and Thailand.
The group also announced that it has completed the procedures for the sale of non-core assets to Italmobiliare, under the agreements signed by Italmobiliare with HeidelbergCement. Italcementi will sell to its parent Italmobiliare the stakes it holds in renewable energy company Italgen and e-procurement specialist BravoSolution, in addition to a building in the centre of Rome. The asset sales will be wrapped up on finalisation of the agreement between Italmobiliare and HeidelbergCement.
Buzzi Unicem sales revenue rises by 6.2% to Euro2.66bn in 2015
11 February 2016Italy: Buzzi Unicem has reported that its revenue rose by 6.2% year-on-year to Euro2.66bn in 2015 from Euro2.51bn in 2014. Clinker and cement sales volumes increased by 1.7% to 25.6Mt from 25.1Mt. It attributed the growth to market recovery in the US and Eastern Europe and an additional contribution from the Korkino cement plant in Russia.
Following a sharp drop in business during the first six months of 2015, the group reported that the recovery in international trade recorded in the second half of the year was weaker and less than expected, especially in mature countries. Subsequently, its growth in 2015 was half of its previous estimate. Construction activity in the last quarter of 2015 was bolstered by a dry and mild climate in Italy, Central and Eastern Europe allowing construction activity to remain at levels above the seasonal average.
The group’s net debt fell to Euro1.03bn in 2015 from Euro1.06bn in 2014. It expects from preliminary data that its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will be Euro470m in 2015.
Cementir profit rises by 3.1% to Euro103m in 2015
11 February 2016Italy: Cementir Holding has reported that its profit rose by 3.1% year-on-year to Euro103m in 2015 from Euro100m in 2014. Its revenue rose by 2.2% to Euro969m from Euro948m. It attributed the growth to good performance of operations in the Scandinavian countries, Malaysia, Italy and Egypt.
“The Group ended 2015 with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in excess of the target of Euro190m. Improved performance in Scandinavian countries and Italy, plus the stable contribution of the Far East, offset the lower earnings in Turkey and Egypt caused by socio-political tensions across the Mediterranean and the Middle East, as well as the negative impact of the depreciation of some foreign currencies,” said Francesco Caltagirone Jr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cementir. He added that the group reduced its net debt to Euro222m in 2015.
The Italy-based building materials company produced 9.37Mt of cement in 2015, a decrease of 2% year-on-year from 9.56Mt in 2014.