Displaying items by tag: Results
Arabian Cement Company profits up by 59% in 2011
23 February 2012Saudi Arabia: The Arabian Cement Company has posted a net profit of US$109m for the year ending 31 December 2011, an increase of 59% compared to the US$68m that it made in 2010. Its gross profit reached US$130m in 2011, an increase of 58% compared to US$85m in 2010, and its operating profit was US$120m, a rise of 55% compared to US$77m. The company attributed the profit rise in 2011 to increases in production and sales.
Pakistan sees improvement in first half of fiscal year
22 February 2012Pakistan: Many Pakistani cement manufacturers have posted robust earnings during the first half of the 2012 financial year, which ended on 31 December 2011. Across the six major producers, representing 68% of the market, the overall profitability of the sector grew by a factor of 2.2 over the same period of 2010. Overall net sales of the sector grew by 32% to US$418m.
Separately most Pakistani cement producers posted profits for the six month period. DG Khan and Lucky Cement, which between them contribute around 25-28% of total cement sales, posted robust earnings per share growth. On the other hand, Fauji and Thatta Cement, despite better overall margins, posted losses. Fauji Cement posted losses due to lower utilisation of its new 2.1Mt/yr plant due to power outages and lower demand, while Thatta cement remained in the red due to extremely low sales, which were approximately 20% of those expected.
Lafarge’s income plummets in Q4
17 February 2012France: Lafarge has posted a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 due to higher prices of its raw materials and energy, negative currency swings and a write-off of Euro285m on assets, mainly in Greece.
Lafarge posted a Euro3m net loss for the quarter ending 31 December 2011 compared with a net profit of Euro62m for the same period in 2010. Sales rose 5% in the same period to Euro3.81bn from Euro3.63bn a year earlier.
Overall for the full year in 2011 Lafarge posted a net income of Euro593m, a drop of 28% compared to Euro827m in 2010. The income drop occurs in the same year when Lafarge sold its gypsum assets, generating a net gain of Euro266m. Sales rose 3% for the year to Euro15.3bn from Euro14.8bn in 2010. The company achieved its target to reduce net debt by Euro2bn, taking the figure down from Euro14bn in 2010 to Euro12bn in 2011.
Cement sales were driven by emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia. In these regions sales increased by 6% to Euro7.69bn in 2011 from Euro7.16bn in 2010. This represents more than two-third of cement sales for the company.
Yearly sales in Asia grew by 3% to Euro2.1bn in 2011, despite the depreciation of most of the Asian currencies against the Euro. Notably in the fourth quarter sales increased by 15% in Central and Eastern Europe, rising to Euro220m in 2011 from Euro192m in the same period in 2010. This was attributed to improved market situations in Russia and Poland and overall mild winter weather conditions.
Mature markets experienced contrasted trends, with volume growth in Canada, UK and France, stable volumes in the United States, and Greece and Spain still impacted by the difficult economic environment.
Lafarge expects that costs of raw materials will rise at a slower pace in 2012 than in 2011 and sees demand for cement rising between 1% and 4%. It also expects it will be able to raise its prices as demand for cement increases, mainly in emerging markets. Lafarge expects to further reduce its debt thanks to cost-cutting plans and further divestments of more than Euro1bn in 2012.
Akmenes reports improved in 2011
14 February 2012Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas, Lithuania's only cement manufacturer, posted a revenue of Euro63.2m for the whole of 2011, a rise of 37% compared to the Euro46.4m it took in 2010. Cement sales increased by 19% to nearly 0.98Mt.
Lithuania accounted for 55% of the company's sales, with sales rising by 14% year-on-year to 0.54Mt. Sales in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad rose by 25% to 0.18Mt, or 19% of total sales, while sales in Belarus fell by 25% to 71,000t. Its sales in EU countries surged by 67% to 185,000t.
Akmenes Cementas is in the process of implementing its biggest-ever production modernisation project, worth Euro101m, which involves shifting from wet to dry cement production.
Taiheiyo results highlight 'attractive' Japanese cement industry
09 February 2012Japan: Taiheiyo Cement Corp. has released interim results for the first nine months of its current fiscal year, which ended on 31 December 2011. The results showed a group revenue of US$7.0bn, slightly up on the first nine months of the previous fiscal year.
Its operating profit was reported as US$242m, more than double the US$111m seen in the previous fiscal year. Its pretax profit was US$134m and its net profit for the period was US$14.2m, a turnaround from a US$72.1m loss made in 2010.
Taiheiyo forecast that the whole of the 2012 fiscal year (ending 31 March 2012), would see a revenue of US$9.3bn, an operating profit of US$350m and a net profit US$146m.
Taiheiyo's results come after a decision by Morgan Stanley MUFJ Securities to increase its rating for the Japanese cement sector to 'attractive,' the highest ranking on its three-tier scale. Shares in major companies such as Taiheiyo and Sumitomo Osaka Cement jumped sharply with the new rating.
Analysts at the brokerage said that profits at cement firms will rise in line with their ongoing efforts to cut costs. It also said that higher prices, an increasingly balanced supply and demand relationship and rising demand related to earthquake reconstruction efforts will also support profits in the cement industry.
The analysts also said that investors have undervalued shares of Sumitomo Osaka Cement and Taiheiyo Cement despite expectations that their earnings will improve in the 2012 fiscal year.
Ciments Français 2011 sales and revenues down marginally
08 February 2012France: Ciments Français, part of the Italcementi Group, has announced its consolidated revenues and sales results for the year ending 31 December 2011. These show that, in a difficult economic environment, group sales decreased marginally in its cement sector. Cement and clinker sales were down by 1.4% year-on-year to 42.4Mt in 2011 but sales increased in France, North America, India and Morocco.
In western Europe the company sold 9.9Mt of cement and clinker, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year. In North America it sold 4.2Mt, a 5.1% improvement on 2010. In 'emerging' Europe, north Africa and the Middle East it sold 16.1Mt of cement and clinker, 5.4% less than in 2010. In Asia the company sold 11.1Mt, up by 0.3% compared to 2010.
In the fourth quarter of 2011 Ciments Français' sales were down by 1.7% year-on-year at 10.2Mt. The group sold 2.2Mt of cement and clinker in western Europe (+0.7% year-on-year), 1.1Mt in North America (+7.4%), 4.0Mt in emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (-3.0%) and 2.6Mt in Asia (-5.0%) during the final quarter. Sales in Thailand took a large hit due to the severe flooding there in late 2011.
The group's total consolidated revenues for 2011 across all of its business units came in at Euro3.89bn, which it attributed to reduced volumes and currency fluctuation effects in some countries, notably Egypt, North America and India. Revenues improved in France, Belgium and Thailand.
Its cement segment took in Euro2.59bn, a drop of nearly 8% compared to 2010. Sales were highest in western Europe (Euro1.27bn), followed by emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (Euro1.03bn), Asia (Euro499.5m) and North America (Euro405.1m).
Preliminary Dyckerhoff sales show improvement in 2011
08 February 2012Germany: The Dyckerhoff Group has announced preliminary key figures for 2011, which show a 13% improvement in sales compared to 2010. Sales hit Euro1.6bn in 2011, up from Euro1.41bn in 2010. Breaking down its sales performance geographically, the group took Euro829m in Germany and western Europe (+14% year-on-year), Euro598m in eastern Europe (+21%) and Euro175m in the United States (-9%).
The company reported that sales volumes increased in all countries, except cement in the USA and sand and gravel in the Netherlands. Cement prices exceeded those of 2010 in Poland, Ukraine and Russia, falling in each of the other countries in which the group operates. The proportion of sales generated outside of Germany fell by 1%.
Looking forward to its full 2011 results, Dyckerhoff's management board expects a slight improvement in performance for 2011 compared to 2010. For the 2012 fiscal year, the company expects its sales and results to remain stable compared to 2011.
Cemex reports 8% rise in sales for 2011
02 February 2012Mexico: Cemex has reported rises in its net sales for both the fourth quarter of 2011 and the full year. Geographically this increase for the fourth quarter was due to higher volume and prices in local-currency terms in the United States, northern Europe and Latin America regions. Sales were flat in Mexico, the Mediterranean region and Asia.
For the group as a whole consolidated net sales increased by 6% during the fourth quarter of 2011 to approximately US$3.7bn and increased by 8% for the full year to US$15.1bn versus the comparable periods in 2010. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 13% during the fourth quarter of 2011 to US$542m and increased by 1% for the full year to US$2.3bn versus 2010. The infrastructure and residential sectors were the main drivers of demand in most of its markets.
Fernando A Gonzalez, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration, said, "This is the fifth consecutive quarter of top-line growth in our results. We are particularly pleased with the quarterly performance of our operations in northern Europe; the South, Central America and Caribbean region; and the United States. Regarding our full-year results, we saw net sales and operating EBITDA growing for the first time in four years."
Net sales in the company's operations in Mexico decreased 9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 to US$818m, compared with US$902m in the fourth quarter of 2010. Operating EBITDA increased by 7% to US$307m versus the same period of 2010.
Cemex's operations in the United States reported net sales of US$682m in the fourth quarter of 2011, up by 19% from the same period in 2010. In northern Europe, net sales increased by 16% to US$1.1bn, compared with US$950m in the fourth quarter of 2010. In the Mediterranean region sales were US$385m, 14% lower versus those in the comparable period of 2010. South, Central America and the Caribbean reported net sales were US$447m during the fourth quarter of 2011, representing an increase of 22% over the same period of 2010.
In Asia net sales were flat reaching US$124m.
Profits up in Saudi Arabia
31 January 2012Saudi Arabia: Cement producers in Saudi Arabia have announced improved profits for 2011 and the fourth quarter of 2011. Companies have cited increased demand for cement and higher selling prices as reasons for their improved profits.
Yanbu Cement Company posted a net profit of US$40.9m for the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to US$26.6m for the same quarter of 2010, an increase of 54%. The company posted a profit of US$33.3m for the previous quarter. The company's net profit for the whole of 2011 was US$141.2m compared to US$114.8m in 2010, an increase of 23%. The 12 month gross profit was US$148.1m, up by nearly 20% compared to 2010. Yanbu's operational profit over the same period was US$139.8m, a year-on-year increase of 19.5%.
Meanwhile, Saudi Cement Company has announced that its net profit jumped by nearly 40% in the fourth quarter of 2011, rising to US$56.6m. The company said that the increase from a net profit of US$40.5m in the same period of 2010 was due to higher production and demand. It should also be noted that the company has added new production lines in the past year, which boosted the company's output and profit.
Eastern Province Cement Company (EPCC) also reported strong results, with a net profit for 2011 of US$97m, compared to US$91.5m for the same period of 2010. This is an increase of 6%. In the fourth quarter of 2011 the company's net profit was up to US$28.7m compared to US$22.1m for the same quarter of 2010, an increase of 28%. The net profit was up by 41% compared to the quarter ending 30 September 2011.
Major profit improvements across India
25 January 2012India: After UltraTech Cement announced a 93% improvement in its net profit for the quarter ending 31 December 2011, Hyderabad Industries has also reported an improvement. The company posted a near 60% surge in its net profit to US$2.03m for the same quarter. Its total income has increased by 15% year-on-year from US$33.8m to US$38.7m in the quarter under review.
Shree Cement has also reported results for the quarter, which show a massive 115% surge in its net profit to US$11.8m compared to US$5.5m for the same quarter of 2010. Shree's total income increased by 61% year-on-year from US$156m to US$252m in the quarter under review.
Meanwhile, data from the Indian Cement Manufacturers' Association (CMA) has shown that cement sales grew by 5.3% percent to 159.7Mt during the period 1 April 2011 to 31 December 2011, up from 151.6Mt in the same period of 2010. The same CMA data showed that in December 2011, cement sales grew by 14% to 19.8Mt from 17.4Mt in December 2010.