Displaying items by tag: Philippines

CRH, formerly Cement Roadstone Holdings, announced this week that CEO Albert Manifold is retiring at the end of 2024. He will be replaced by current chief financial officer Jim Mintern in the role. Manifold will continue to work as an advisor to CRH in 2025. Manifold’s time at the head of CRH marks a decade of considerable change at the group. Crudely, CRH had a market capitalisation of US$19bn at the start of 2014 when Manifold became CEO. At the end of 2023 the group’s market capitalisation was US$50bn.

From a cement sector perspective the big events during Manifold’s tenure include CRH’s acquisition of assets around the world from the Lafarge-Holcim merger in 2015, the purchase of Ash Grove Cement in the US in 2018, the divestment of various businesses in emerging markets and the move of the company’s primary listing to the New York Stock Exchange in 2023. However, at the same time, CRH has been constantly sharpening its portfolio. So, for example, the group bought Germany-based lime and aggregates company Fels in 2017 only to later sell off its European lime business in 2023 and 2024. In the late 2010s the group sold off its US and Europe-based distribution businesses. Then, in 2022, it divested its Building Envelope business. Manifold was also the inaugural president of the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA) when it formed in 2018.

Fairly or unfairly, CRH has given the sense over the last decade of often being ahead of the curve in following the cement markets. After it increased its portfolio when Lafarge and Holcim merged, it sold up relatively quickly in India and Brazil. Famously during an earnings call for CRH’s second quarter results in 2019, Manifold said that the group was prioritising its businesses in the developed world. CRH’s focus on the US in the late 2010s through the acquisition of Ash Grove Cement set it up well for the current strength of the cement market in North America, long before others joined the party. Another striking Manifold statement came at the company’s annual general meeting in 2023 when, in the run-up to the US listing move, he described his company as a ‘de facto’ American company.

Things that may have gone less well for Manifold on the cement side, that we know about, include CRH’s quiet attempt to divest its business in the Philippines in the late 2010s. The company wasn’t alone in trying through. Holcim publicly said that it had signed a deal to sell its local business in 2019 only to declare that it wasn’t happening the following year. Cemex is currently in the process of selling its subsidiary in the country, DMCI Holdings, but it hasn’t concluded yet. More recent acquisitions such as assets from Martin Marietta Materials in Texas in early 2024 and a majority stake in Adbri in Australia are clearly strategic and fit the definition of ‘bolt-on’ but they seem to lack the grand ambition of the earlier big deals.

Questions have also been asked about Manifold’s pay over the years. From 2016 onwards the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), for example, has repeatedly raised concerns about executive pay rises at CRH and recommended on occasion that shareholders reject them. Manifold became the highest paid head of an Irish public company and was reportedly the third highest paid CEO on the Financial Times Stock Exchange 100 Index (FTSE 100) in 2022. His response from one interview with the Irish Times newspaper in 2018 was simply: “I’m employed and paid very well to deliver shareholder returns.”

Looking back over the last decade, CRH was well placed to take advantage of the Lafarge-Holcim merger before Manifold started in 2014 but once he was in place it went for it and he led the charge. Yet, the Ash Grove Cement acquisition may prove to be the more momentous move given the current divergence of the European and North American markets. As readers may remember from the time, Summit Materials made a public counter offer but it was rebuffed. Albert Manifold was in charge of CRH and so he takes the credit. These are big shoes to fill. As Richie Boucher, the chair of CRH said in Manifold’s outgoing statement, “Under Albert’s leadership CRH has delivered superior growth and performance with consistently improving profitability, cash generation and returns.”

Philippines: Davao International Container Terminal (DICT) has entered into a joint venture with Philcement to construct a dedicated berth for cement and cementitious material shipments in Davao, reports Port Calls magazine. It will oversee the construction of a 200-metre bulk terminal at berth five. Construction will commence in November 2024 and operation is expected by mid-2026. The terminal is valued at US$12.5m and will handle 2Mt/yr of cement for distribution across Mindanao, with shipping to other parts of the country being considered. Additional equipment and construction costs for a cement terminal are estimated at around US$41m.

Philippines: Republic Cement's resource recovery group, Ecoloop, has diverted 21.4 billion plastic sachets in 2023, equating to 110,000t of discarded materials utilised as alternative fuel in cement co-processing. This marks a 30% reduction in CO₂ emissions per ton of cement, according to The Philippine Star newspaper.

Ecoloop director Angela Edralin-Valencia said "This achievement represents a significant amount of materials diverted from landfills and bodies of water, such as oceans and urban waterways and further underscores Republic Cement’s commitment to environmental stewardship and circular economy principles."

Philippines: James Hardie has shut down its HardieFlex fibre cement board plant in Cabuyao, Laguna, ending over two decades of operations. The company will cease all commercial operations in the Philippines in the coming months.

Philippines: First Gen will supply electricity from geothermal sources to Holcim Philippines plants in Mindanao. Under the agreement, First Gen subsidiary Energy Development will provide 22% of the energy needs for Holcim's manufacturing facilities in Bunawan, Davao City, and Lugait, Misamis Oriental. This partnership is enabled by the Mindanao introduction of the retail competition and open access programme, allowing significant power consumers to select their electricity suppliers. Earlier in August 2024, Holcim announced an electricity supply agreement with Alsons Power to supply 80% of the energy needs for the two facilities.

First Gen president and chief operating officer Francis Giles Puno said "We are pleased to partner with Holcim Philippines to grow viably while decarbonising. It's not an easy journey to decarbonise and provide for a regenerative future. This requires collaboration not just through supplying power, but also through solutions that maximise and optimise electricity requirements and working to find a pathway towards net zero."

Philippines: Thailand-based producer Shera announced that its upcoming fibre cement plant in Mabalacat, Pampanga, has reached 60% completion and is on schedule to commence commercial operations by January 2025. The plant will be the company’s first production facility outside Thailand, capable of producing 0.24Mt/yr of fibre cement. The Mabalacat facility will also export to Taiwan, South Korea and parts of North Asia and Oceania and will create jobs for up to 150 people.

Ongek Taechamahaphant, chair and director, said “Our Mabalacat plant is a major step in Shera’s plan to expand further in the Philippine market. We know that once this facility is fully operational by 2025, more Filipinos will easily be able to access our eco-friendly and durable fibre cement products.”

Philippines: Cemex has received approval from the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to sell 90% of Cemex Holdings Philippines's shares. The approval relates to a joint acquisition by DMCI Holdings, Semirara Mining and Power and Dacon of shares in Cemex Asian South East Corporation, which holds a major stake in Cemex Holdings Philippines. This clearance is a requirement for finalising the transaction, contingent on further compliance by the acquiring companies.

Philippines: Holcim Philippines will invest US$6.5m to upgrade its La Union plant and increase the use of alternative fuels and raw materials to 40%. The project will be implemented by Sinoma CBMIPH Construction and will be completed by late 2025, reports the Manila Bulletin.

Nicolas George, Holcim Philippines president and CEO, said the investment aims to reduce CO₂ emissions, promote recycling, support local waste management and provide income for northern Luzon farmers, who will supply biomass residues as alternative fuels.

General manager Zeng Youbing of Sinoma CBMIPH Construction said “This marks the third collaboration between Sinoma CBMIPH and Holcim Philippines since 2021. We are honoured to contribute to Holcim Philippines' decarbonisation and sustainability goals.”

Philippines: Holcim Philippines has appointed Nicolas George as its president and CEO. He succeeds Horia Adrian, who will assume the role of Head of Decarbonization for Holcim in the Asia, Middle East, and Africa region.

George previously worked as the CEO of Lafarge Algeria from 2021. Before this he was the CEO of Chip Mong Insee Cement in Cambodia. George joined Holcim in 2007 as a Strategy Manager in China and has also worked as the CEO of Myanmar and Uganda for the group. He holds a degree in Industry Management, Innovation, and Performance from the Institut National Agronomique Paris-Grignon.

Philippines: Alsons Power has signed a retail electricity supply agreement with Holcim Philippines, committing to provide 80% of the energy needs for Holcim's facilities in Davao and Lugait, Misamis Oriental.

Edwin Villas, senior vice president and head of supply chain at Holcim Philippines, said “We are confident that our partnership with Alsons Power will help us achieve our business goals and sustainability aspirations. Partnering with Alsons Power is the right choice given its strong and trusted reputation for providing reliable and affordable electricity in its three decades in the energy industry.”