Displaying items by tag: Portugal
Cimpor to invest US$1.33bn in Latin America by 2017
18 September 2013Portugal: Cimpor intends to invest around US$1.33bn in Latin America by 2017, according to its CEO Ricardo Lima. The main objective of Cimpor is to reinforce its position in Brazil where it already operates in all regions, except in the northern parts of the country, Lima told the Portuguese news agency Lusa.
The Portugal-based cement producer will spend part of the investment building a new cement plant in northern Brazil, at either Belém or Manaus. Due to positive results in the Argentine market another plant is planned for Argentina's western province of San Juan. In October 2013 Cimpor will inaugurate a plant in Paraguay where it holds a 35% share of the market but where it currently sells its surplus Portuguese cement.
Sales drop in Portugal and Angola knocks Semapa’s H1 2013
04 September 2013Portugal: Poor cement sales in Portugal and Angola have reduced Semapa's net profit by 52.3% year-on-year to Euro39.3m for the first six months of 2013 from Euro82.3m in the same period in 2012.
Sales in Portugal fell by 15.2% to Euro82.2m for the period and sales in Angola fell by 20% to Euro11.6m. In Portugal Semapa blamed the on-going decline in the construction sector. In Angola it blamed imports from China. Despite political instability and regional variation in Tunisia, sales rose slightly by 0.5% to Euro36m for the period. Sales in Lebanon rose by 5.4% to Euro44.7m.
Overall the Portuguese conglomerate, which holds businesses in cement, pulp and paper and environmental services, saw its sales rise by 4.5% year-on-year to Euro990m for the first half of 2013. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 11.6% to Euro202m.
Cimpor improves quarterly performance
04 September 2013Portugal: Cimpor has reported that its sales rose by 19.6% year-on-year to Euro1.30bn for the first six months of 2013 from Euro1.09bn in the same period in 2012. It attributed the rise to increased sales of cement and clinker from business expansion in South America following assets brought in by owner InterCement.
The subsidiary of Brazil's InterCement saw its volumes of cement and clinker rise by 4.1% to 13.5Mt from 12.9Mt. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6.3% to Euro284m from Euro267m. It decreased its net loss by 63.5% to Euro74.8m from Euro204.8m.
Cimpor starts imports to northern Brazil
16 July 2013Brazil: Portuguese cement producer Cimpor, which has been controlled by the Brazilian diversified holding group Camargo Corrêa since June 2012, has started its first exports to northern Brazil.
The first shipment of 28,000t/yr of cement reached the port of Manaus, northwestern Brazil in July 2013, according to local press. Cimpor's main rivals in this region will be Brazilian sector players Votorantim Cimentos and Joao Santos.
Camargo Corrêa's subsidiary InterCement, which owns directly Cimpor, projects to import some 70,000t/yr of Portuguese cement to Brazil in 2013. Cimpor is also targeting exports to Bolivia amid the continuing severe economic downturn in Portugal.
Cimpor Q1 results benefit from asset swap
29 May 2013Portugal: Cimpor has seen its turnover and earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grow in the first quarter of 2013, due to the assets brought in from an asset swap with InterCement.
Turnover grew by 22% to Euro636m from the same quarter in 2012. EBITDA rose by 15.2% to Euro147m from Euro128m. The Portugal-based cement producer gained new operations in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay from the asset swap while it lost assets in Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, China and Peru.
Total cement and clinker sales increased by 5.9% to 6.4Mt from 6.1Mt. However, operations that remained with Cimpor suffered a 4.6% drop in sales due to continued demand retraction in Portugal and increased competition from imports in South Africa.
Cimpor and InterCement joined in Brazil
04 February 2013Brazil: The Portuguese cement production group Cimpor has announced the merger of two of its subsidiaries in Brazil, namely Cimpor Cimentos do Brasil and InterCement Brasil. Both companies are fully and indirectly owned by Cimpor, which itself is controlled by Brazil's Camargo Corrêa. The merger project received the green light of Cimpor's board of directors on 30 January 2013.
"The merger of these two companies in the Cimpor universe will make it possible to create joint value, promoting synergies, leading to improved operating efficiency and quality of services offered to the Brazilian market," said Cimpor said in a statement filed with the Portuguese market regulator.
The deal to merge the two subsidiaries comes after an asset swap between Cimpor, InterCement and Votorantim that took place in 2012.
Cimpor appoints new directors
02 January 2013Portugal: Portuguese cement producer Cimpor has appointed Luiz Roberto Ortiz Nascimento and André Pires Oliveira Dias as members of the board of directors. The move follows the resignations of Erik Madsen and Walter Schalka.
Ortiz Nascimento, aged 62 from Brazil, holds a degree in economics from Mackenzie University in São Paulo. He became the chief executive officer of construction and trade at Camargo Corrêa, the owner of Cimpor, in 1992.
Oliveira Dias, aged 31 and also from Brazil, holds a degree in Business Administration and International Business from the American Intercontinental University in London. He has worked for Camargo Corrêa since joining its trainee program in 2005. Most recently he was the strategy and planning department manager since 2009.
Cimpor blames Euro206m first-half loss on Spain
05 September 2012Portugal: Cimpor has blamed a Euro206m loss in the first half of 2012 on the worsening economic climate in Spain. By comparison, the company's net profit for the six months ending on 30 June 2011 was Euro138m.
The Portuguese producer recorded a loss in net operating income for the period of Euro140m compared to a gain of Euro198m in 2011. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 15.3% to Euro267m from Euro316m.
Overall cement and clinker sales for the company fell by 6.3% to 12.9Mt from 13.8Mt. Sales in Spain declined by 34.5% to 0.82Mt from 1.25Mt. Sales in China fell by 29.1% to 1.36Mt from 1.92Mt. Sales in Turkey fell by 12% to 1.28Mt from 1.45Mt. Cimpor attributed its decline in Turkey to a severe winter and its decline in China to difficult market conditions. Other major markets in Portugal and Brazil reported increases of 3.7% to 2Mt and 4.2% to 2.77Mt respectively. Despite the sales increase by volume, turnover fell in Portugal for the half-year.
In July 2012 Cimpor was taken over by Brazilian industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa Group.
Camargo wins battle for Cimpor
11 July 2012The news that Brazil's competition regulator, Cade, has approved Camargo Corrêa's attempt to control Portugal's Cimpor after over two years of poker-faced mergers, acquisitions and deals, has significantly changed the cement landscape of the country. Camargo will now be allowed a controlling stake in the Portuguese producer assuming that Votorantim, Cimpor's other major shareholder, sells its Brazilian Cimpor assets to a third player.
The deal looks likely to happen fairly quickly, with Votorantim stating that it never intended to remain as Camargo's partner in Cimpor. Lafarge appears to have first refusal as the original seller of the stake to Votorantim, but Cade may want to avoid this due to Lafarge's strong Brazilian position.
With its Cimpor interests now set to go to another producer, the regulator is clearly looking to spread the cement wealth in the country. Cade also said that Camargo must sell some assets in Brazil's heavily developed São Paulo state - presumably not to Votorantim! An asset swap will see Cimpor assets abroad transferred to Votorantim.
The Brazilian cement market has become increasingly concentrated since 1990. At that time there were 19 different producers; by 2000 there were 12. That number has since increased slightly, but Votorantim, Cimpor, Camargo Corrêa, Holcim and Lafarge still have 85% of the integrated capacity between them. Cade's attempts to moderate their influence is understandable, given that some regions are currently now supplied by Votorantim-owned production to the tune of 70%. Accusations of cartels have been rife in Brazil for many years.
Consumers, both large and small, will be hopeful that the deal will go through smoothly and that a drop in market concentration will reduce prices in the country. Even the Brazilian government is affected. It is seeking to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on road, port and home construction and for expansion of its mines, farms and factories. If prices of building materials can be reduced, it will be able to accelerate its general development and ramp up extraction and production of its valuable natural resources.
Cimpor bought by Camargo Corrêa
22 June 2012Portugal: The Brazilian industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa has completed its takeover of Portugal's Cimpor on 20 June 2012 and now controls 94.8% of the cement-maker.
The success of the move was largely expected by analysts who will now look at the terms in which the company's assets will be split between Camargo and its Brazilian rival Votorantim. The deal includes an asset swap with Votorantim, Cimpor's second largest shareholder.
Camargo will integrate its South American and Angolan cement operations into Cimpor. Votorantim will then have the opportunity to buy Cimpor's operations in China, India, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Peru and part of its Spanish business at a set price defined by independent auditing companies.
Camargo, which was already the largest single shareholder in Cimpor with a 33% stake, launched a Euro2.5bn bid for the rest of the company in March 2012. Portugal's state-owned bank CGD, investor Manuel Fino and Millennium BCP's pension fund all accepted Camargo's Euro5.50/share offer.
The Portuguese government has said a Cimpor deal will help CGD deleverage and defended Camargo's bid from suggestions that it was against the national interest. Cimpor has been one of Portugal's most successful and internationally-diversified companies.