Displaying items by tag: Results
Statistics Canada reports falling cement shipments in 2015
14 January 2016Canada: Cement manufacturers produced 1.11Mt of cement products in November 2015, down by 12.2% compared to October 2015. Domestic cement shipments fell by 15% from October 2015 to 1.08Mt in November 2015. Including imports, shipments were down by 19.9% to 1.10Mt.
China Resources Cement expects 2015 net profit to have plunged
14 January 2016China: State-owned China Resources Cement said that it expects its 2015 net profit to have fallen sharply year-on-year due to lower selling prices and exchange losses from foreign loans, following dismal data for the first nine months of 2015.
Its net profit for the nine months of 2015 fell by 60.6% year-on-year to US$165m, as its exchange loss from non-Chinese Yuan net borrowings surged fourfold year-on-year to US$83.8m. Cement and clinker also suffered from narrow gross margins of 24.1% and 11.3% for the nine months that ended on 30 September 2015 compared to 34.6% and 13.9% from 2014.
Qassim Cement’s profit grew by 4% in 2015
11 January 2016Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement Co's quarterly net profit during the fourth quarter of 2015 amounted to US$37.4m, up by 4.69% from US$35.7m for the same quarter of 2014.
The main reasons for the net profit increase were higher sales volume and value, lower general and administrative expenses and higher other income. Gross profit during the fourth quarter of 2015 was US$42.3m, some 0.83% higher than the US$41.8m in the same period of 2014. Its operating profit increased by 7.96% to US$40.6m during the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to US$37.6m in the same quarter of 2014.
The company's net profit in 2015 grew by 4.05% year-on-year to US$156m and its gross profit grew by 2.33% to US$168m. Its operating profit grew by 4.49% to US$160m during 2015.
Qalaa Holdings’ net loss rose to US$16m in the third quarter of 2015
10 December 2015Egypt: Qalaa Holdings' revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to US$262m in the third quarter of 2015. In the first nine months of 2015, its revenue rose by 31% to US$777m. The growth was attributed to ASEC Cement and energy distribution business TAQA Arabia. ASEC Holding saw its top line grow by 30% to US$299m.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter of 2015 fell by 9% to US$27.4m. The decrease comes on the back of several factors; Qalaa's exit from Misr Cement Qena, which had been positively contributing to EBITDA; the third quarter of 2015 having two Eid Holidays (Eid El Fitr and Eid El Adha) leading to less working days; and Sudan's Al-Takamol facing temporary fuel shortages during the third quarter of 2015. These factors affected cement revenues and EBITDA. In the first nine months of 2015, Qalaa's EBITDA grew by 71% to US$99.5m.
Qalaa has continued to press forward with its strategy of divesting non-core investments, with several exits concluded during the first nine months of 2015 and more recently in the fourth quarter of 2015. In the second quarter of 2015, Qalaa concluded the sale of its 27.5% stake in Misr Cement Qena, while in the fourth quarter of 2015, the company further reduced its exposure to the cement industry with its business unit ASEC Cement divesting its stakes in subsidiaries ASEC Minya Cement and ASEC Ready Mix.
"We are pressing ahead with plans to divest assets that will allow us to deleverage and devote maximum attention to high-growth businesses in sectors that are vital to the development of our region such as refining, energy distribution and transportation and logistics," said Qalaa Holdings Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. "We remain firmly committed to growing our investments in ERC, Egypt's largest in-progress private-sector megaproject due to begin production in 2017, and TAQA Arabia, which is pursuing exciting new opportunities in gas distribution, electricity generation and renewable energy. In parallel, we are also looking for opportunities to unlock shareholder value at subsidiaries, including ASCOM and Rift Valley Railways, which have strong growth outlooks."
"The sale of ASEC Cement's Egyptian assets alongside other transactions will fundamentally re-shape Qalaa's financials, giving more weight on both our income statement and balance sheet to ongoing operations at our energy and mining units and setting the stage for the transformative impact of ERC," said Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham El-Khazindar. "The near-full impact of the substantial deleveraging that accompanies these transactions will be felt in our fourth quarter 2015 and first quarter 2016 financials."
The company reported a net loss after tax and minority interest of US$16m in the third quarter of 2015, a two-fold increase compared to the net loss of US$7.59m in the same period of 2014. On a nine month basis, however, bottom-line losses narrowed by 31% to US$41.2m compared to US$60m in the same period of 2014
LafargeHolcim finances and rumours down-under
02 December 2015This week we got our first real sense of how things are going at the new global cement leader LafargeHolcim. The group released its first 'combined' results, which cover the third quarter of the year and the nine month period to 30 September 2015.
First impressions are that LafargeHolcim is having a tough time of it, struggling, as many cement industry players are, with an increasingly tricky and uneven global market. It reported a fall in net sales and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2015, compared to the same period of 2014. Cement sales were also down by 1.3%. The group said that lower than expected demand was the reason behind lower sales, particularly in China and Brazil, which continue to struggle economically. It also picked out India as a country where momentum was lacking.
Of course, it's not all bad. While net sales were down, they were only down very slightly, by 0.6% year-on-year in the first nine months. Many a cement producer would love to pull in Euro20.4bn in sales and ship 189Mt of cement in just nine months! And, after a sticky start to the year, the picture is improving in some regions, with third quarter performance buoyed by improving fortunes in Asia, excluding China and India. LafargeHolcim was able to continue banking on the strong recovery in North America and parts of Europe, where some markets, such as the UK, continue to buck the otherwise depressing trend.
While these results will be a concern they are by no means horrific. However, they have already given rise to (or at least sped up) LafargeHolcim's future divestment plans. According to Dow Jones, LafargeHolcim plans to raise Euro3.23bn in 2016 from selling off assets, around half as much as Lafarge and Holcim had to sell to allow the merger to go through. The company has reportedly started discussions with interested parties, including private-equity firms and industry rivals about some of the assets. The proceeds will be returned to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks, according to CEO Eric Olsen.
Which assets will be divested remains to be seen. However, it reportedly won't involve LafargeHolcim's assets in Australia and New Zealand, at least in the short term. In the past week or so local media has reported that LafargeHolcim's assets in the two countries were to be sold off. However, since then Holcim Australia's Chief Executive Mark Campbell said the company was 'not currently being sold.' Campbell also added that he couldn't rule out a possible sale in the future.
So, while being clear that LafargeHolcim has no plans to sell its Australian and New Zealand assets at the moment, what could happen if it did? The starting point is complex, especially in Australia. According to the Global Cement Directory 2016, there are six operational integrated cement plants and 12 grinding plants in the country, which share a combined 13.9Mt/yr of cement capacity. LafargeHolcim has a 50% interest in Cement Australia's 4.0Mt of cement capacity, giving it 2Mt/yr of capacity and around 14% of national capacity. The other 50% of Cement Australia is owned by HeidelbergCement. Other major players include Adelaide Brighton, which has 2.3Mt/yr in its own name and a 50% stake in Independent Cement, and Boral Cement, which owns 2.3Mt/yr of capacity outright and 50% of SunState Cement's 1.5Mt/yr of capacity. In New Zealand there are two integrated plants, one operated by Golden Bay Cement and one by LafargeHolcim. The latter, however, is due to be closed in 2016.
If LafargeHolcim was to leave the mix in Australia, it is possible that neither Adelaide Brighton nor Boral would be able to take over its share, due to their already-large market presences. This may leave the door open for other regional players, perhaps a Chinese player looking to exit that country's rapidly-declining domestic market? Cemex is contracting and still heavily indebted, leaving it out of the running. While it is also possible that assets could be sold to private equity firms, another interested player could be Ireland's CRH, with 'cash to burn' and recent disappointment from its failure to buy Lafarge and Holcim's former assets in India.
Of course, if the assets aren't for sale, it won't be possible to buy them, meaning that for now the above is just speculation. However, the quick analysis above does highlight the relative lack of viable cement industry suitors in this region. If LafargeHolcim does ever decide to sell in this region, it might find the assets hard to shift.
LafargeHolcim’s cement sales up by 15.3% in Romania
26 November 2015Romania: LafargeHolcim's cement sales in Romania rose by 15.3% year-on-year in the first nine months of 2015, supported by building activity in the Bucharest area, although market prices fell by 0.8%.
"Demand in Eastern Europe remained strong in the non-oil exporting markets. Most countries reported increased volumes with strong increases across all three segments in Romania thanks to strong building activity in the Bucharest area," said a statement from LafargeHolcim.
LafargeHolcim has decided to sell the assets of one of the parent companies in Romania, Germany and Hungary. In Romania, the assets up for sale are those of Lafarge.
Switzerland: In the first nine months of 2015, LafargeHolcim reported a fall in net sales, adjusted operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and cement sales volumes.
LafargeHolcim's net sales fell by 0.6% year-on-year on to Euro20.4bn at constant exchange rates and its adjusted operating (EBITDA) fell by 3.2% on a like-for-like basis to Euro4.02bn in the first nine months of 2015. In the third quarter of 2015, Latin America and Asia Pacific (excluding China and India) continued to see positive trends, while the Middle East and Africa experienced more difficult conditions. Overall net sales in the quarter fell by1.1% on a like-for-life basis to Euro7.22bn. Adjusted operating EBITDA was down by 8.9% on a like-for-like basis to Euro1.51.
Sales volumes in all product lines declined slightly in the first nine months of 2015 due to lower than expected demand in a number of markets impacted by an economic downturn, notably in Brazil and China, as well as a lack of infrastructure projects in India. In the third quarter of 2015, volume trends stabilised and countries such as Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines and the UK continued to perform well. In the US, where the market recovery is well under way, LafargeHolcim is increasing capacity through revamping and reopening plants. On a pro forma basis, consolidated cement volumes fell by 1.3% to 189Mt in the first nine months of 2015 as increased shipments in North America and Latin America were offset by declines in Europe and in China. Solid increases were, however, reported in many markets, including in Egypt, Mexico, Philippines, Canada and the US. In the third quarter of 2015, cement sales volumes grew by 0.2% year-on-year to 65.3Mt.
"In this quarter we kick-started the integration process to have the right organisational structure, action plans and people in place to ensure the success of the merger," said Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim. "On 1 December 2015 we will present the new company's first three-year plan, including a clear roadmap on how we plan to achieve our new targets, one of which is a cumulative 2016 - 2018 free cash flow generation of at least Euro9.23bn. This plan will come into effect on 1 January 2016 and will become the benchmark against which we will measure LafargeHolcim's performance, including management incentive plans."
"The first nine months of 2015 and in particular the third quarter were impacted by the difficult economic context in some of our large markets and considerable negative foreign exchange fluctuations. In addition, the closing of the merger triggered both one-off costs and organisational changes, the benefits of which will start coming through in 2016. At the same time, we have also seen solid market trends that, combined with our commercial efforts, led to good performance in several countries such as Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines, the UK and the US. We have started laying solid foundations for the new company on which we will build the future success of LafargeHolcim. I am confident in our ability to deliver on the announced synergies and thanks to disciplined capital allocation and superior execution we will outperform our sector. We will maximise cash flow and create sustainable value with the focus on returning excess cash to shareholders while continuing to provide our customers with world-leading innovative products and solutions."
LafargeHolcim expects that the contrasted evolution of the global economy will continue. A number of markets including China, Brazil, France, India and Switzerland will remain challenging, others such as Argentina, Mexico, the Philippines, the UK and the US will likely see continuing positive trends. The group has estimated that cement volumes will be higher for 2015 in all regions except Europe.
According to Dow Jones, LafargeHolcim plans to raise Euro3.23bn in 2016 from selling off cement assets around the world. The company has started discussions with interested parties, including private-equity firms and industry rivals about some of the assets, with the proceeds set to be returned to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks, according to Olsen. "We have a position of number one, two or three in 70% of our markets," said Olsen. "Where we don't have that position, we are looking at divesting or swapping assets."
Cementos Argos expects US$2.61bn revenue in 2015
25 November 2015Colombia: Cementos Argos has reported that it will reach US$2.61bn in revenue in 2015. Revenue was US$1.86bn in the first nine months of 2015, a 35% year-on-year increase. Colombia represented 88% of Cementos Argos' revenue in the nine months.
Votorantim posts a US$22m net loss in the third quarter of 2015
24 November 2015Brazil: Votorantim Industrial, Brazil's largest industrial conglomerate, has posted a net loss for the third quarter of 2015 due to the impact of a deep economic recession and rising US Dollar debt-servicing costs after a currency plunge, according to Reuters.
Votorantim posted a net loss of US$22m, down sharply from a profit of US$155m a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation fell by a third to US$429m from a year ago, when Votorantim booked one-time earnings from an energy auction. The Brazilian Real fell to an all-time low in the third quarter of 2015, driving up Votorantim's gross debt by US$1.88bn to US$8.06bn at the end of September 2015.
Chief Executive Officer João Miranda highlighted investments outside of Brazil as the country suffers its sharpest economic contraction in 25 years. "In the face of Brazil's economic recession, our diversified business and international presence become even more important in delivering consistent results," said Miranda. Votorantim's capital spending rose by 55% to US$246m in the quarter, half of which was intended to expand capacity, particularly at cement plants outside of Brazil.
Australia: James Hardie's adjusted net operating profit for the second quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015, was flat at US$65.3m and up by 12% for the first half of the year to US$129m. The quarterly result was affected by a higher adjusted income tax expense and higher gross interest expense offsetting the favourable operating performance. Half year sales were up by 2% to US$879m.
CEO Louis Gries said that all business units had performed well, driven in particular by its USA plants and lower input and freight costs. He said that primary demand growth in its USA business had again tracked below its targeted level. The company will focus on lifting its USA primary demand growth rate back up over the next several quarters.
The company expects its USA and Europe fibre cement segment earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin to be towards the higher end of its stated targeted range of 20 - 25% for its full 2016 fiscal year.
In other news, James Hardie has re-opened its Queensland, Australia fibre cement manufacturing facility following a US$64m expansion. It said that the expansion of Carole Park, near Brisbane, will boost Australian capacity by 40% to meet strong domestic demand. "At a time of decreasing investment in manufacturing in Australia, James Hardie's US$64m investment in this new facility reflects our confidence in our Australian business, the future of manufacturing in this country and the underlying economy of Australia," said Gries.