Displaying items by tag: Malaysia

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) has reported a first quarter profit of US$4.04m, down by 64% year-on-year from US$11.4m in 2019. Sales fell by 32% to US$65.9m from US$97.6m. The company said, “Ordinarily, there is a lower level of activity in the first quarter;” however it predicted a 50% year-on-year profit drop for its cement division in the first half of 2020. It said that it expects its construction materials and trading division’s performance to “pick up and remain strong” in the second half of 2020.

Malaysia: Singapore-based Hong Leong Asia subsidiary HL Cement Malaysia has acquired an 88% stake in Tasek Corporation. Hong Leong Asia subsidiary Ridge Star has acquired the remaining 12% minority stake. MarketLine News has reported the total value of the deal as US$19.4m.

Philippines: LafargeHolcim’s sale of its 86% stake in Holcim Philippines to San Miguel Corporation for US$2.15bn has fallen through after the Philippines Competition Authority (PCC) failed to approve the deal within 12 months of its conclusion. Reuters News has reported that the agreement, dated 10 May 2020, covered the exchange of four integrated plants and one grinding plant. LafargeHolcim has been divesting assets to pay off debt. The sale of its Holcim Philippines stake would have completed its withdrawal from the South-East Asia market, where its operations across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines had been valued at US$4.90bn.

LafargeHolcim has said that three of its four integrated Philippines cement plants have been able to resume operations following the lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. It says that it will ‘focus on strengthening operations in the Philippines.’

Malaysia: The Cement and Concrete Association of Malaysia (CCA) has praised the government’s decision to grant an exception to cement plants in order to allow production to resume in the third phase of the country’s lockdown, beginning on 28 April 2020. The Straits Times newspaper has reported that the current and previous stages of the lockdown have exacerbated the cement sector’s losses over the past two years.

The CCA said that the development ‘will have a multiplier effect on the economy.’ CCA chair Datuk Yeoh Soo Keng said that 100,000 jobs ‘depend either directly and indirectly on cement production,’ including many ‘in small and medium enterprises’ that will not survive the outbreak without it. “Cement is the fundamental building material of our country’s wealth,” he added. The CCA thanked the government for the ‘welcome reprieve’ and urged it to allow ‘related sectors to slowly and gradually resume operations, for the industry to effectively function.’

Germany: Gebr. Pfeiffer has appointed the current head of its Malaysia office Timothy Burden as president of its US subsidiary Gebr. Pfeiffer Inc., effective 1 January 2020. Burden brings 15 years’ materials handling and crushing engineering and sales experience to the role. He studied at Queen’s University Belfast and attained his Masters in engineering from the University of Southhampton in 2004.

Gebr. Pfeiffer will replace Burden in the Malaysian office with Vesa Peurakari, an experienced project and service manager and sales professional with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Gothenburg.

Malaysia: Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) has responded positively to the government’s announcement that it will be subdividing its annual contracts for road maintenance between new concessionaries besides CMS’s 51% subsidiary PPES Works in 2020. “Competition in any market naturally breads competitive efficiency. This can only be good for the public and road users,” said CMS Group Managing Director Isaac Lugun. “We maintain the lion’s share,” he added.

Malaysia: Tasek Corp Bhd's net loss for the third quarter of 2019 narrowed to US$1.3m from US$1.45m a year earlier. It said that it was hampered by high production costs and increased price competition. Its revenue however, rose by 6.9% to US$38.7m compared with US$36.2m in the third quarter of 2018.

Over the first nine months, Tasek's net loss widened to US$5.6m, from a revenue of US$102.7m, up by 1.3% year-on-year. "The board views the outlook for the last quarter of the year to remain challenging if pricing pressure continues," reported Tasek, as cited by the Sun Daily.

Malaysia: Following 12 months of graduated succession plan implementation, Cahya Mata Sarawak (CMS) is ready for the retirement of Group Executive Director Ahmad Alwee Alsree Datuk Syed. CMS chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rashid Bin Abdul Manaf accepted Datuk Syed’s retirement with an outpour of thanks for his ‘immeasurable contributions over 15 years of loyal and faithful service.’ All of Datuk Syed’s roles have now passed to successors within the company, with Isaac Lugun Dato taking over as group managing director.

Malaysia: Malayan Cement has appointed Ho Say Keng as its company secretary. Serene Lee Huey Fei and Koh Poi San have resigned from the post.

Ho Say Keng is the company secretary/accountant of the YTL Corporation Group, YTL Power Group, YTL Land & Development Group and YTL Cement Group. She is a fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (FCCA), a registered member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants and an affiliate member of the Malaysian Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators. She obtained her Diploma of Commerce (Financial Accounting) from Kolej Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1981. She joined the YTL Corporation Berhad Group in May 1986 and her responsibilities include coordination of the group's treasury, banking and corporate finance matters.

Malaysia: Lafarge Malaysia has been renamed as Malayan Cement. It follows the divestment of the cement producer from LafargeHolcim to YTL Cement in May 2019.