Displaying items by tag: Profit

Colombia: Grupo Argos subsidiary Cementos Argos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.30bn in the first half of 2021, up by 11% year-on-year from US$1.17bn in the first half of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 30% to US$267m from US$205m. Cement shipments were 8.60Mt, also up by 30%, from 6.62Mt. The company said its performance was ‘solid’ in every region in which it operates. The sharpest sales increase was in Colombia, where sales rose by 38% to US$314m from US$228m and cement shipments rose by 40%. It continued to execute its BEST efficiency programme and RESET plan for a sustainable restart post-Covid-19 pandemic. Additional challenges included 40 days of roadblocks in Colombia and political and a period of social instability in Haiti.

Cementos Argos’ CEO Juan Esteban Calle said “We are very satisfied with the figures achieved during the first half of the year in our three regions, and we are optimistic about the future for our customers, the progress of their housing and infrastructure projects, which are contributing significantly to employment recovery, as well as the levels of economic activity and the creation of social value in all the countries and markets where we are present, and with the noteworthy recovery of the company's financial flexibility in recent months, which is thanks to the commitment, creativity, passion and innovation of all our employees and to the success in the deployment of the BEST and RESET programmes.”

He added “Our strategy of creating social value is at the centre of the corporate strategy and in our higher purpose, and today, we are reassuring our commitment to contribute to the reactivation of the economy and to closing equality gaps. During the first half of 2021, we continued investing in the expansion of Cartagena Port, which generates additional employment and brings great social investment to the area. Additionally, we are making progress in initiatives such as Casa para Mi and Hogares Saludables that will allow us to contribute to the dreams of having decent housing for thousands of people in the country.”

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.89m in the first half of 2021, up by 48% year-on-year from US$1.28m in the first half of 2020. Its cement revenues rose by 57% to US$1.35bn from US$859m. The group recorded earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth of 56%, to US$1.04bn from US$667m.

During the half, the group began the consolidation of its Uruguay-based Artigas’ cement operations at its Minas, Lavalleja, cement plant at a total investment cost of US$40.0m. It also agreed to acquired Cementos Balboa on 24 June 2021. In March 2021, the group issued sustainability-linked debentures, the first of their kind in the Brazilian market.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group (SCG) recorded first-half consolidated sales of US$7.66bn in 2021, up by 27% year-on-year from US$6.05bn in the first half of 2020. The group’s profit for the period more than doubled to US$1.16bn from US$500m. This was despite a 21% rise in its cost of sale to US$5.79bn from US$4.79bn. The company ends the period with total current liabilities of US$5.38bn, up by 11% half-on-half from US$4.84bn at 31 December 2021.

Pakistan: Lucky Cement’s consolidated sales in the 2021 financial year, which ended on 30 June 2021, were US$1.26bn. The figure corresponds to a rise of 67% year-on-year from US$752m in the 2020 financial year. Standalone cement sales rose by 31% to 9.96Mt – consisting of 7.56Mt of local sales and 2.41Mt of exports – from 7.60Mt in the 2020 financial year. The company more than doubled its consolidated profit after tax to US$171m from US$44.4m. Its cement segment’s profit after tax more than tripled to US$85.5m from US$20.3m, and all group companies were profitable.

Lucky Cement attributed the sales growth to increased capacity due to the commissioning of a new line at one of its cement plants in the second half of the 2020 financial year. During the 2021 financial year, the company commenced trial production at its new 1.2Mt/yr-capacity Samawah cement plant in Iraq. It overcame Covid-19-led disruptions to complete the trial in March 2021.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Cement’s consolidated sales totalled US$207m in the first half of 2021, up by 3.9% year-on-year from US$199m in the first half of 2020. Its net profit for the period took an 8.2% drop to US$54.9m from US$59.8m.

Australia: James Hardie has raised its full-year earnings forecast for the 2022 financial year to US$550-590m from US$520-570m. The decision follows a year-on-year increase in consolidated sales of 35%, to US$843m from US$624m.

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s first-half consolidated net sales increased by 8% year-on-year in 2021 to Euro8.94bn from Euro8.25bn in the first half of 2020. Cement sales grew by 10% to 61.8Mt from 56.3Mt. Sales volumes increased in all regions, with the sharpest increase of 19%, to 15.3Mt from 12.9Mt, occurring in Western and Southern Europe. The group recorded a profit for the period of Euro825m, compared to a Euro3.1bn loss in the first half of 2020. It reduced its net debt by 17% to Euro7.5bn from Euro9bn.

Chair Dominik von Achten said “HeidelbergCement has closed the first half of 2021 with an excellent result. We have achieved record values in relevant key figures. Our ‘Beyond 2020’ strategy is taking effect: we are making good progress in all areas. Against this background, we have announced an extensive share buyback programme for the first time in the company's history. With this, we want our shareholders to participate appropriately in the economic success of our company.”

China: Asia Cement China recorded a 23% year-on-year rise in net sales in the first half of 2021 to US$820m from US$668m in the first half of 2020. Its profit for the period also rose, by 21% to US$171m from US$141m.

The company increased its cement sales to US$796m, up by 26% from US$630m. It said that total Chinese cement sales hit a record high during the half of 1.15Bnt, up by 14%. Average cement prices were lower than in the corresponding period of 2020. The company said that it expects prices to rise after bad weather ends in late August and the supply of steel and aggregates resumes fully.

Greece: Titan Group’s consolidated net sales in the first half of 2021 were Euro821m, up by 4% year-on-year from Euro786m, with an 11% rise in cement and clinker sales. The group’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also recorded a 4% increase, to Euro143m from Euro137m. Net profit more than doubled to Euro58m from Euro22m.

Chair Dimitri Papalexopoulos said “Looking ahead we see continuing top line growth, with gains in both volumes and prices. In the short term, the spike in freight rates and energy costs is not allowing us to enjoy the kind of impact in margins which top line growth would imply.”

Taiwan: Taiwan Cement’s revenue came to US$2.88bn in the first nine months of 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 6%. However, its operating income was US$800m, a 9% year-on-year increase compared to the first nine months of 2019. Its net income was US$640m, 4% higher than a year earlier.

“The fourth quarter is the traditional peak season for the cement market and we remain optimistic about our performance,” said Edward Huang, Senior Vice President and Spokesperson of Taiwan Cement.