Displaying items by tag: PPC
2017 in Cement
20 December 2017To mark the end of the calendar year we’re going to round up some of the major news stories from the cement industry in 2017. Like last year this piece also complements the corresponding article ‘The global cement industry in 2017’ in the December 2017 issue of Global Cement Magazine. Remember, this is just one view of the year's events. If you think we've missed anything important let us know via LinkedIn, Twitter or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Recovery in Europe
2017 was the year that the European cement industry finally had something to shout about after a lost decade since the financial crash of 2007. The good news was led by a revival in cement consumption in 2016 that looks set to have continued in 2017. Prospects in Germany and Spain feel similar and a series of mergers and acquisitions have taken place in Italy suggesting that investors believe that the market is about to recover there too. Sure, Brexit is looming but as contacts have told Global Cement staff throughout the year, if the British want to damage their economy, that’s their business.
Renewal and recrimination at LafargeHolcim
Lafarge’s conduct in Syria during the civil war has cost its successor company LafargeHolcim dear, with the loss of its chief executive officer (CEO) Eric Olsen and potential reputational damage if the on-going investigation in Paris finds fault. At the time of writing Olsen, former Lafarge CEO Bruno Lafont and the former deputy managing director for operations Christian Herraul are all being questioned by the inquiry into the affair as it attempts to determine who knew what and when. LafargeHolcim has drawn a line under the debacle by appointing outsider Jan Jenisch as its new CEO in mid-2017. He has made changes to the group’s management structure that were announced this week but has he done enough? If anything truly ‘explosive’ emerges from the investigation, the question for anyone across the world buying LafargeHolcim’s products may be whether or not they want to finance extremism through their purchase.
US doesn’t build wall but does okay anyway
The US Portland Cement Association (PCA) may keep downgrading its forecasts of cement consumption growth but the local industry is doing fairly well anyway. All sorts of cement producers with a presence in the US have benefited from the market, despite extreme weather events like Hurricane Irma. President Donald Trump may not have delivered on his infrastructure development promises or built his fabled wall yet but his recently-approved tax reforms are likely to benefit the profits of cement producers. The decision by Ireland’s CRH to buy Ash Grove Cement in September 2017 may remove the largest domestically-owned producer from US hands but it shows confidence in the market and heralds the continued creeping growth of the building materials company into an international empire.
South America shows promise… just don’t mention Brazil
Countries like Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela may not be performing to expectations but other countries south of the Darian Gap, have been growing their respective cement industries. The leader here is Argentina that is riding a full-scale construction boom with capital investment chasing it from the producers. Bolivia is following a decade of growth although this may be starting to slow somewhat. Chile appears to be realigning itself to take in more exports. And finally, Brazil may also be starting to return to growth too. Although cement sales were continuing to fall year-on-year in the first nine months of 2017 the rate has been slowing. Local producer Votorantim also reported improved market conditions at home.
India stares into the demand gap
UltraTech Cement finally managed to buy six cement plants and five grinding plants from Jaiprakash Associates for US$2.5bn in 2017. The acquisition marked the end of the long-running deal between the companies and what may be a new phase in further integration in the Indian industry. In September 2017 the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) complained that the sector had 100Mt/yr of excess production capacity out of a total 425Mt/yr. The government’s demonetisation policy sank cement production growth in late 2016 and production has struggled to improve since then. Some estimates expect growth to return in around 2020 as the demand gap shrivels. Further merger and acquisition activity can only help until then, although the current government flip-flopping over a petcoke ban and import duties may get in the way.
China restructures with an eye on overseas market
As discussed last week the mind-bogglingly massive merger between China National Building Material (CNBM) and China National Materials (Sinoma) is proceeding with the press equivalent of radio silence. If one trusts the company figures then the largest cement producer in the world will get even bigger following completion. Once the big Chinese producers start building lots of overseas plants then the implications of combining a major producer with a major plant builder may become clear outside of China. Alongside this the buzzword on the Chinese cement company balance sheets this year have been a major rollout of co-processing at plants and a policy of ‘peak shifting’ or simply shutting off production at selected plants in the winter months. Somehow despite all of this the official figures suggest that cement production is still growing in China.
The African mega deal that wasn’t
The prospective bidding war for South Africa’s PPC has turned out to be a bust. A low offer was made in September 2017 by a Canadian investment firm with the aim of merging PPC with local rival AfriSam. Vague expressions of interest from the usual suspects followed over the following months before everything fizzled out. What the dickens was going on? A difference of opinion between the board and shareholders? A poor market in South Africa giving everyone the jitters? If any readers know, please get in touch. PPC’s poor showing at home mirrors Dangote Cement’s travails. Both companies have suffered domestically whilst going full tilt elsewhere in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Indonesia about to pick up?
And finally, a report from Fitch Ratings this week suggests that growth in Indonesia is set to pick up once again. The market dragged down HeidelbergCement’s mid-year financial results as cement consumption dropped in the same period. Like India, Indonesia faces a consumption-capacity mismatch. However, with annual consumption poised to grow at over 6%, the time to close that gap will narrow. Some good news to end the year with.
Global Cement Weekly will return on 3 January 2018. In the meantime Merry Christmas and a have Happy New Year!
PPC to focus on consolidation in South Africa and expansion abroad
15 December 2017South Africa: Peter Nelson, the chairman of PPC, says that the company is not interested in merger or acquisition activity. Instead the cement producer will focus on its current business strategy by development projects in Sub-Saharan Africa, executing its ‘mega plant’ plan in South Africa and making further efficiency drives in its subdued domestic market. In an interview with Reuters he described talks with LafargeHolcim about a potential takeover as ones that, “…fell short on value”. "PPC is not looking to sell its assets, it's not looking to merge it's assets, it's looking to focus on its business, deliver cash flow and deliver shareholder value," said Nelson.
LafargeHolcim pulls out of talks with PPC
14 December 2017South Africa: LafargeHolcim has ended its talks with PPC regarding a possible transaction in Africa. The Switzerland-based building materials company originally said it was discussing a possible bid for PPC in October 2017. Fairfax Holdings stopped its bid for PPC in December 2017 and expressions of interest by CRH and Dangote Cement have also ceased.
Fairfax stops bid for PPC
12 December 2017South Africa: Canada’s Fairfax Holdings has stopped its bid for PPC. The investment body made an offer of around US$150m in September 2017 to buy a partial stake in PPC on condition that the cement producer agreed to a merger with AfriSam. The South African cement producer subsequently described the offer as low to its shareholders and said that is was anticipating a higher offer. Rival expressions of interest were also received from CRH, Dangote Cement and LafargeHolcim. Dangote Cement withdrew its bid in October 2017 and CRH decided not to continue its bid in December 2017.
CRH stops bid for PPC
07 December 2017South Africa: PPC says that Ireland’s CRH has formally decided not to continue in a bid for it. The Irish building materials company made a non-binding expression of interest in mid-November 2017. It then had time to conduct due diligence before submitting an updated bid. PPC is still dealing with offers from Fairfax Africa Investments and LafargeHolcim.
PPC turns the tables
29 November 2017There are two significant cement producers around the world up for sale at the moment. Last week we dealt with India’s Binani Cement, which has so far attracted 15 separate bids from a number of international and domestic players. Now, we turn our attention to South Africa, where PPC remains the target of approaches by LafargeHolcim and CRH.
This week PPC rejected a partial offer from Canada’s Fairfax Holdings, which it considered neither fair nor reasonable. Like a mutual friend at a party that insists two people ‘really are perfect for each other,’ Fairfax had stipulated in its terms that PPC should merge with AfriSam to create a South African super-producer. It does not appear that this idea went down well and that particular combination now seems further away than ever.
When the news broke that it had rejected Fairfax, we thought that PPC’s stance seemed a little ‘too cool.’ However, looking just at the oversized and import-addled South African market does not give the full picture of what’s happening for PPC at the moment. It has significant and growing activities in the rest of Africa too.
Later this week PPC released its results for the first half of its 2018 fiscal year. Suddenly, its handling of the Fairfax offer made more sense. Over the six months to 30 September 2017, PPC nearly tripled its profit to US$21.1m. Crucially, sales from outside South Africa grew far more rapidly than those at home. While domestic earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 4%, EBITDA from elsewhere increased by 25%. These results bode well for a potential bidding war that now favours PPC.
Even from this greatly enhanced position, PPC was not finished with its announcements for the week. Today it revealed that it plans to build a new ‘mega-factory’ in the Western Cape. Johan Claassen, the interim chief executive of PPC, said there would probably be a formal announcement about new capacity in the Western Cape in 2018. He said that PPC had decided to conduct a feasibility study into a possible replacement for its Riebeeck plant. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is in progress and the plant is reported to be ‘semi-brownfield.’ Claassen said that the new facility would use around 25% of the current Riebeeck equipment and cost US$200/t of installed capacity.
The news of its results and announcement of the new plant represent a good PR move by PPC given the difficulties faced by the wider South African market. The new information will certainly give cause for CRH and LafargeHolcim to think again about the values of their offers, should PPC also be of the view that these also undervalue the company.
PPC plans Western Cape ‘mega-plant’
29 November 2017South Africa: PPC is planning a ‘mega-plant’ in the Western Cape Province. Johan Claassen, PPC’s interim chief executive, stated that it was looking to replace its Reibeeck plant with a ‘semi-brownfield’ facility that used around 25% of the current plant’s equipment. The company has long planned to expand its Western Cape capacity but domestic demand has not yet been high enough to justify the investment. There has been overcapacity in the market as well as imports from other regions, both of which have depressed cement prices.
Claassen said that the plant would cost around US$200/t of installed capacity, without mentioning the intended capacity. He said that financing was already in place. He added that PPC had been able to increase its selling prices by 2% in the six months to 30 September 2017 and that, even with slow growth, South Africa would need the additional capacity supplied by the new plant by 2020.
Claassen said that a formal announcement would be likely in early 2018.
PPC results could fuel more acquisition interest
24 November 2017South Africa: PPC has seen its net profit rise significantly in the six months to September 2017. It nearly tripled its profit year-on-year to US$21.1m from US$7.3m.
The company benefited particularly from a strong performance from its assets outside of South Africa. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) from its non-domestic assets rose by 25%, while group EBITDA grew by 4% to US$86m. The results bode well for a potential bidding war that now favours PPC shareholders.
Earlier in the week, PPC effectively rejected a conditional partial offer from AfriSam and Canada’s Fairfax Group for the company, stating that it undervalued the company. This latest set of results brings this assessment into sharper focus and may give cause for CRH and LafargeHolcim to think again about the values of their own non-binding offers, should PPC also be of the view that these also undervalue the company.
PPC rejects Fairfax offer
23 November 2017South Africa: PPC has said that its independent board would not recommend Canadian firm Fairfax Africa Investments' partial offer to shareholders, considering it neither fair nor reasonable. In September 2017 Fairfax offered to buy 22% of PPC for US$144m on the condition that PPC accepted a merger proposal with rival AfriSam.
"The Independent Expert, having considered two possible outcomes of the proposed merger, is of the opinion that the partial offer, both in the context of the proposed merger as well as on a stand-alone basis, is not fair and reasonable," said PPC in a statement.
CRH expresses formal interest in bidding for PPC
14 November 2017South Africa: Ireland’s CRH has submitted a formal expression of interest to PPC towards making a cash offer for a controlling stake in the South African cement producer. The board of PPC has given CRH until the week commencing 20 November 2017 to conduct due diligence and make a firm offer. PPC said that it is still considering an offer from Fairfax Financial Holdings with the aid of Investec. It is also in discussion with LafargeHolcim about a potential deal.