Displaying items by tag: Results
Raysut profit rises 6.7% in first half of 2014
03 September 2014Oman: Raysut Cement Group has seen pre-tax profits for the first half of 2014 rise by 6.7% to US$46m compared with the same period of 2013, according to local media. Demand from the UAE and fierce competition among Omani manufacturers were the main features of the first half, according to Raysut Cement Company's chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Alawi Al Ibrahim. "Given this background, the company has met with the challenges effectively by holding on to its sales and enlarging the profit for the group as a whole by optimising sales in varied markets," Al Ibrahim added.
YTL profit up on cement sector in 2014 fiscal year
29 August 2014Malaysia: The net profit of YTL Corp, which operates in the cement, property and other sectors, increased by 2.6% to US$107m in the fourth quarter of its 2014 fiscal year, which ended on 30 June 2014. Revenue, however, fell by 9.6% to US$1.44bn.
For the full year to 30 June 2014, YTL's net profit rose by 20.8% to US$490m from US$400m. Revenue slipped over the year to US$6bn from US$6.33m in the 2013 fiscal year.
"Our cement, property development and investment and hotel divisions all registered good growth," said group managing director Tan Sri Francis Yeoh Sock Ping in a statement. Yeoh said the jump in net profit was mainly due to improvements in the group's cement business, along with its property and hospitality businesses.
China: Anhui Conch's revenue rose by 22% year-on-year to US$4.68bn in the first half of 2014 from US$3.84bn in the same period in 2013. The group's net profit rose by 90% to US$945m. It attributed the growth in revenue and profit to increased sales volumes and prices.
During the reporting period, the group acquired four cement projects including Shaoyang Yunfeng New Energy Technology, Hunan Yunfeng Cement, Shuicheng Conch Panjiang Cement and Kunming Hongxi Cement. It started work on building three clinker production lines including Baoshan Conch Cement and ten cement grinding units, including Liangping Conch Cement, increasing its clinker and cement production capacities by 10.9Mt/yr and 17.7Mt/yr respectively. Outside of China, the installation of equipment at PT Conch South Kalimantan Cement in Indonesia was noted and a project in Myanmar was acknowledged as having made progress.
Four residual heat electricity generation units located at Guangxi Lingyun Tonghong Cement, Baoshan Conch and other companies were put into operation with an additional installed capacity of 36MW. The group continued to implement low-NOx staged combustion technology modification for clinker production lines and SNCR flue gas denitration technology modification. As at the end of the reporting period, the Group had completed technical upgrade of NOx reduction to 101 production lines, which are all reported to be running smoothly.
As at the end of the reporting period, the production capacity of clinker and cement of the group reached 200Mt/yr and 245Mt/yr respectively.
CRH reports strong results in the first half of 2014
19 August 2014Ireland: CRH, the international building materials group, has reported its results for the first six months of 2014, which ended on 30 June 2014. Sales revenues increased by 4%, including 7% growth in Europe and 1% growth in the Americas. Like-for-like sales were up by 5%. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 27% higher than in the first half of 2013. Euro130m was invested during the first half of 2014, while net debt fell from Euro4.2bn in the first half of 2013 to Euro3.7bn in 2014.
Zambia: Lafarge Zambia's CEO, Emmanuel Rigaux, said that its profit went up by 66% during the first six months of 2014, largely driven by favourable volumes, the launch of cost-control measures, improved industrial performance and positive foreign exchange gains.
"Our priority to improve our level of customer service through innovative new products, a re-focused sales and customer service team and state-of-the-art logistical solutions, have started to show results," said Rigaux. "Together with improvements in operational and industrial performance at our Ndola and Chilanga plants, we have managed to attain encouraging first half results despite a challenging environment in Zambia and key export markets."
Cement production grew by 13% to 600,000t, despite domestic and export markets facing challenges with stiffening competition, cost inflation and a number of changes in the regulatory environment. Lafarge Zambia expects continued efforts on the customer and cost-control sides to enable the firm to grow profitably and meet the needs of domestic and export customers, with a strong focus on infrastructure and mining projects in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Rigaux said that Lafarge Zambia's current capacity expansion projects in Ndola and Chilanga would also enable the company to remain the preferred supplier of construction solutions in Zambia and the DRC. He added that cement demand is expected to remain strong for the rest of 2014, saying that innovative products, services and solutions would be introduced as required to satisfy the growing demand in the construction sector.
James Hardie’s first quarter 2015 net profit fell by 80%
15 August 2014Australia: James Hardie Industries, an Australian fibre cement producer, has posted an 80% fall in its net profit to US$28.9m during the first quarter of its 2015 fiscal year, which ended on 30 June 2014. During the same period of its 2014 fiscal year, net profit was US$142m.
The company revised down its full year earnings expectations due to an uncertain US economic recovery. James Hardie generates 66% of its revenue in Europe and the USA. James Hardie's CEO, Louis Gries, said that the US market 'is recovering more modestly than we assumed at the start of the year.'
Oman: Raysut Cement has warned that the large volume of cement from the UAE to Oman is creating 'undue competition' in the local market. It has reacted to this by maintaining sales locally, increasing its profit and increasing its own exports in Yemen and Africa. The company made the announcement as part of its half-year results for 2014.
The group reported revenues of US$129m for the first half of 2014, no change in comparison to the same period in 2013. Profit before tax rose by 6.7% year-on-year to US$45m.
The group sold 1.3Mt of cement and 17,400t of clinker in the first half a 2014, a decrease of 3% year-on-year compared to total sales of cement and clinker. In the first half of 2013 the group sold 1.32Mt of cement and 27,900t of clinker. The group attributed the decline to 'severe' competition from UAE suppliers in the north of Oman. It compensated for this with increased sales in the south of the country and larger export volumes.
The Oman-based cement producer also announced new projects it is working on, including setting up a distribution terminal in Duqm, additional silo capacity at the Salalah plant and an off-shore wheel loader system to facilitate bulk cement handling.
Bamburi’s profit down by 28% in first half of 2014
08 August 2014Kenya: The profit of Lafarge-controlled Bamburi Cement slumped by 28% to US$26.2m in the first half of 2014, as the company outlined plans to profit from Kenya's ambitious infrastructure spending plans. It said that its profit took a hit due to the higher cost of both power and imported clinker. However, its revenue increased to US$197m from US$180m in the first half of 2013.
Bamburi is the biggest cement maker in east Africa's largest economy, where a construction boom driven by infrastructure projects and real estate has helped boost demand for cement. "We are optimistic that the business environment will progressively improve in the second half of the year," said the firm.
In June 2014 the Kenyan government raised US$2bn through a debut Eurobond and said most of the proceeds would be used to finance infrastructure projects. Bamburi said it expects Kenya's planned infrastructure projects, including roads, railways and a new Indian Ocean port in Lamu, to improve sales.
Saudi firms collective profits down in first half of 2014
07 August 2014Saudi Arabia: The first-half net profits of Saudi Arabia's listed cement companies dropped by 6% collectively to US$910m compared with US$970m in the corresponding period of 2013, according to the Al-Riyadh daily newspaper. The companies' combined sales in the second quarter of 2014 came to US$980m.
Greece: Titan Cement Group has announced that its net profit was Euro2.9m in the first half of 2014, an improvement on the net loss of Euro21.8m that it made in the same period of 2013. Turnover totalled Euro571m, up by 4% from 2013, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) were unchanged at Euro89m. Titan said that foreign exchange fluctuations had a negative impact on its results in the first half of 2014 and noted that in a stable foreign exchange environment, turnover and EBITDA would have risen by 7% and 4% respectively. All markets in which Titan Cement has established activities grew in the first half of 2014.
In the second quarter of 2014, turnover grew by 2% to Euro319m, the ninth successive quarter of turnover improvement. Titan Cement's EBITDA was Euro58.5m, down by 9.9% year-on-year, while second quarter profits were Euro13.9m, a year-on-year increase of 164%.