Displaying items by tag: Results
Madras Cements grows sales by 18% to US$162m in third quarter
20 February 2013India: Madras Cements has reported increased net sales of 18% in the third quarter of its 2012-2013 financial year. The Indian cement producer made US$137m in the quarter ending 31 December 2011 which rose to US$162m in the same quarter in 2012.
'Sustained focus on containing costs' and improving efficiency were responsible for the positive results according to the CEO of Madras Cements, A.V. Dharmakrishnan. The growth in sales revenue came despite a sixteen day strike by dealers in Kerala which constitutes nearly 25% of the company's market.
Net profit for the quarter ending 31 December 2012 rose year-on-year by 9% to US$15.6m from US$14.2m. Revenue for the company's cement segment rose by 18% to US$159m from US$135m.
Also of note in the producer's results was that transportation and handling costs rose by 37% year-on-year in the quarter to US$33.3m due to higher railway freight charges and a diesel price hike.
India Cements revenue down by 54% to US$4.84m in third quarter
20 February 2013India: South India's largest cement producer by volume, India Cements, has reported that its revenue fell by 54% to US$4.84m in the quarter ending on 31 December 2012. The producer reported US$10.4m in the same period in 2011.
However, the company's revenues rose by 14.82% to US$200m in the quarter. The company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) remained steady at US$36.1m. .
"Considering the problems we had in the quarter the performance is good. Almost all costs went up sharply. For example, freight and handling costs are up 25% year-on-year," said vice chairman and managing director N Srinivasan. "For us, the EBIDTA is steady at around 18% sequentially when there was substantial drop in margins for competitions."
Srinivasan added that India Cements' expansion into many locations also helped to increase capacity utilisation in the quarter, which was about 70%. The company is looking at strong growth in some of the markets like Gujarat. It is also contemplating adding one more production line in its Mahi plant in Rajasthan, which currently has a capacity of 1.3Mt/yr. The proposed expansion may entail an investment of up to US$130m.
Poor results on the Arabian Peninsula
19 February 2013Saudi Arabia: Hail Cement has announced a net loss of US$7.1m, the third consecutive year with a net loss, although it reduced its loss from US$10.9m in 2011. Hail reported a 29.5% drop in revenue to US$391,635 and negative operating cash-flow.
UAE: Ras Al Khaimah Cement made a net loss of US$2.0m during the whole of 2012 despite a 15.1% increase in its revenue to US$60.5m. 2012 was the third year in five that the company made a loss. In 2011 the company made a net loss of US$5.4m.
Boral records US$26m loss in first half of 2012-2013
13 February 2013Australia: Building materials supplier Boral has reported a loss of US$25.1m for the first half of its 2012-2013 fiscal year, due to a sustained weakness in the Australian and US housing markets. It recorded a profit of US$157m in the same period in 2011-2012.
For the half-year ending on 31 December 2012, Boral reported a sales revenue of US$2.86bn, 14% above the previous year. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (before significant items) increased by 3% to US$116m. Both figures benefitted from acquisitions that the company made. Profits were hit by US$79.6m impairment charges tied to the suspension of clinker production at Waurn Ponds, Victoria and first half restructuring and redundancy costs.
"In Australia, Construction Materials delivered a solid 25% improvement in EBIT, but Cement reported a 15% decline and Building Products reported a very disappointing US$18.6m first half loss, following an US$11.4m loss in the second half of last year," said Boral's CEO and Managing Director Bob Kane. He added that in the company's cement division, the high Australian dollar and increasing production costs have continued to impact. Boral has taken action to replace Boral's manufactured clinker in Victoria with lower cost imports.
Denmark: Danish cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth has reported that its profit fell by 9% to Euro175m in 2012 from Euro193m in 2011. However, its revenue rose by 21% to Euro3.33bn from Euro2.75bn. Earnings before non-recurring items, depreciation, amortisation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9% to Euro370m from Euro339m.
FLSmidth commented that in 2012 in the cement industry, capacity utilisation outside China remained relatively subdued at around 75%. Overall, the global cement market was affected by macroeconomic uncertainty and slow growth, but there were several local areas, where the economy grew and where cement demand outpaced supply.
In its cement division FLSmidth reported a fall in revenue of 3% to Euro584m in 2012 from Euro565m in 2011. It commented that the global market for contracted new kiln capacity (excluding China) amounted to an estimated 40Mt/yr in in 2012, compared to 46Mt/yr in 2011. This is the lowest level since 2002 and FLSmidth stated that it expects the market for new cement kiln capacity to have hit 'bottom' in 2012.
"We expect 2013 to be a trough year in terms of EBITA margin – particularly in Cement and Mineral Processing, where execution times are typically up to two to three years. The explanation is simply that we will now be executing orders taken at trough margins during the years of global financial crisis. Fortunately, we have seen market conditions improve since then, and we therefore expect margins to increase again in 2014," commented CEO Jørgen Huno Rasmussen in his outlook for 2013.
Buzzi revenue stagnates despite lower sales
13 February 2013Italy: Buzzi Unicem has announced that its revenue for 2012 rose by 0.9% to Euro2.81bn. The positive impact of currency exchange rates helped compensate for falling cement volumes. The firm said in a statement that it expected a recurring earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of about Euro450m in 2012, in line with its previous estimates.
The company will shortly start a squeeze-out procedure on its German unit Dyckerhoff, of which it owns already 96.6%. The procedure will be completed in 2013 and lead to delisting of the German firm.
ACC’s net profit down by 46%
13 February 2013ACC's sales rose by around 2% year-on-year to US$505.6m as demand improved towards the end of the quarter. The company's earnings before interest, tax, deprecitaion and amortisation (EBITDA) were down to US$59.6m compared to US$83.1m in 2011.
Cost pressures are likely to remain high for ACC due to higher railway freight rates and interest costs. Going ahead, margins may improve on the back of price hike announced recently by cement companies.
Raysut Cement's gains by 64% to US$63.7m in 2012
13 February 2013Oman: Raysut Cement Company, the Sultanate's biggest cement producer, has announced a 64.1% growth in net profit to US$63.7m for 2012, compared to US$38.8m for 2011. The company said its revenue also moved up to US$241m from US$216m, while cost of sales was edged up to US$163m from US$161m.
"A net profit of US$20m for the fourth quarter was higher than our estimate of US$15.3m, as Raysut booked an investment gain of US$3.53m. Excluding this investment gain, the recurring net profit was only 8% above our estimate," said EFG Hermes in a research note. The note added that Raysut expects stable to moderate increases in cement prices and solid year-on-year volume growth to be sustained, backed by infrastructure developments in Oman.
Jaiprakash quarterly net profit slumps by 64% to US$20.6m
12 February 2013India: Jaiprakash Associates has reported a more than 64% decline in standalone net profit at US$20.6m for its third quarter, which ended on 31 December 2012, as its interest burden increased by over 20%. For comparison, the Noida-based company had a net profit of US$57.4m in the third quarter of the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
Its net sales, however, were up by 15.3% to US$629.5m during the quarter compared to US$545.9m in the October-December period of the 2012 fiscal year. Revenues from the cement segment were up by nearly 7% to US$273.2m.
The company's total expenditure of US$521.8m amounted to nearly 83% of its net sales during the quarter. Its interest outgoings increased by 20.7% to US$98.7m. Its other income, mainly interest on deposits, also declined by nearly 36% to US$15.8m, impacting the company's financial results for the quarter.
Cemex shows signs of recovery in 2012 but sales fall
08 February 2013Mexico: Mexican building materials company Cemex has declared 2012 to have been a year of 'recovery' with the announcement of rising earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and rising operating earnings. EBITDA rose by 10% to US$2.62bn from US$2.37bn. Net operating earnings before other expenses rose by 35% to US$1.31bn from US$0.97bn. However, net sales fell by 2% to US$15bn in 2012 from US$15.2bn in 2011.
"During the year we achieved the highest EBITDA generation and operating EBITDA margin since 2009 and the fourth quarter was the sixth consecutive quarter with a year-over-year EBITDA increase. We are particularly pleased with the quarterly performance of our operations in the United States and the South, Central America and Caribbean and Asia regions," said Fernando A González, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration. Cemex said that infrastructure and residential sectors were the main drivers of demand in most of its markets.
For the fourth quarter of 2012 Cemex's performance was more muted. Net sales remained static year-on-year at US$3.71bn. EBITDA rose by 13% to US$611m from US$540m. Net operating earnings before other expenses rose by 26% to US$285m from US$227m.
Cemex produced 65.8Mt of cement in 2012, a 1% decrease from 66.8Mt in 2011. This drop was more pronounced in the fourth quarter. Cemex produced 15.8Mt in the fourth quarter of 2012, a 3% decrease from 16.3Mt in 2011.
By region, net sales in Mexico decreased by 3% to US$3.38bn in 2012 from US$3.47bn in 2011. In the fourth quarter sales increased by 2% year-on-year. In the US sales increased by 17% to US$3.06bn from US$2.62bn. In Northern Europe sales fell by 13% to US$4.1bn from US$4.73bn, led by a 15% decline in Poland. In Cemex's Mediterranean region sales fell by 15% to US$1.46bn form US$1.72bn, led by a 40% decline in Spain. Operations in South, Central America and the Caribbean reported an increase in sales of 20% to US$2.09bn from US$1.75bn. In Asia sales rose by 7% to US$542m from US$505m, with the Philippines performing well with 12% growth.