Displaying items by tag: Switzerland
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has added human resources (HR) and legal representation to its executive committee.
Feliciano González Muñoz, head of HR, has been appointed as a member of the executive committee. A Spanish national, he has worked for more than 11 years in senior HR roles with the company. González Muñoz has a PhD in Law from Universidad Complutense de Madrid and holds an MBA from Instituto de Empresa, Madrid.
Keith Carr, head of Legal and Compliance, has been appointed as a member of the executive committee. A UK national, he joined LafargeHolcim in 2017. Prior to this he was General Counsel for GE Power. Before that he was Group General Counsel & Member of the Executive Committee for Alstom. Carr gained his LLB law degree from Northumbria University and is a qualified solicitor in England and Wales.
Additionally, the group’s Corporate Growth and Performance function will be organised into three Centres of Excellence, which will directly report to the Region Heads. This is intended to lead to a more agile organisation, closer to the markets and providing strong global platforms for sharing best-demonstrated practice. Current Corporate Growth and Performance function head Urs Bleisch will lead the reorganisation but he will step down from his current position on the executive position to do so.
All changes will be effective from the start of January 2019.
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim is expecting its sales growth to slow in 2019 but earnings to grow as its ‘Strategy 2022’ management plan takes shape. Net sales are forecast to grow by up to 6% year-on-year in 2018 yet by only 5% in 2019. However, recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) are predicted to rise by up to 5% in 2018 and then by at least 5% in 2019.
“With the recent divestment of our Indonesian operations we reached a major milestone in focusing our portfolio which allowed us to accelerate deleveraging. At the same time we aggressively move forward in Aggregates and Ready-Mix Concrete. These results are strong proof points for our Strategy 2022 and we will continue delivering across all value drivers," said chief executive officer (CEO) Jan Jenisch.
The group has made the forecasts as part of its Capital Markets Day taking place at Bardon Hill near Birmingham, UK.
CRH earnings driven by American markets so far in 2018
20 November 2018Ireland: CRH’s sales rose by 3% year-on-year to Euro19.9bn in the first nine months of 2018. Its earnings before interest, taxation, deprecation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 2% on a like-for-like basis to Euro2.5bn. The building materials producer said that its earnings had been supported by growth in the Americas despite poor weather. It added that ‘momentum’ remained positive in Europe and demand had improved in Asia. However, its EBITDA dropped by 44% in Asia.
By region the group reported falling cement sales volumes in the UK and Ukraine. Sales volumes rose in most other European territories, with particular growth in Hungary, Germany, Poland, Serbia and Switzerland. In the US it said that its newly acquired Ash Grove Cement assets and ones in Florida had performed in line with expectations. However, sales in Canada fell due to poor weather. Sales in the Philippines rose by 3% due to rising cement sales volumes and prices following growing demand. However, here earnings were hit by higher fuel and power costs.
Vicat’s nine months results benefit from French market improvement
07 November 2018France: Vicat’s cement sales rose by 1.8% year-on-year to Euro948m in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro932m in the same period in 2017. At constant scope and exchange rates it rose by 10.2%. Overall sales grew by 1.4% to Euro1.95bn from Euro1.92bn. The group’s sales volumes of cement rose by 3.1% to 17.4Mt from 16.9Mt.
“The group achieved healthy increases over the period in all our territories, except Switzerland and Egypt,” said the group’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos. “In the third quarter, business trends held up well, despite a downturn in the economic and industry environment in Turkey, which was hit by the sharp depreciation in its currency. The acquisition of Ciplan in Brazil, a country with tremendous potential, reinforces Vicat’s strategy of sustainable growth, leveraging its high-quality assets and strong regional positions to generate cash flow.”
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s net sales rose by 2.7% year-on-year to Euro18.bn in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro17.7bn in the same period in 2017. Sales volumes of cement rose by 1% to 165Mt from 164Mt. Its recurring earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 0.1% to Euro3.83bn.
“Despite headwinds from steep cost inflation, we delivered stronger net sales and our earnings grew even faster. I am very satisfied with our growth in volumes, our solid pricing and the impact of our cost and efficiency programs,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Jan Jenisch.
By region the group reported net sales and cement sales volume increases in most regions with particular growth in Europe and North America. However, cement sales volumes fell in Asia Pacific and net sales fell in Latin America. Net sales also fell particularly, by 9.2% to Euro2.03bn, in Middle East Africa.
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s first half profit fell by 43% from Euro561.8m in 2017 to Euro320.3m in 2018. Sales rose by 2.7% to Euro11.45bn. Under new CEO Jan Jenisch, who took over in September 2017, the company has been slashing costs, announcing earlier in 2018 that it will close its head offices in Zurich and Paris and shed around 200 jobs as it aims to save Euro345.2m/yr by the end of first quarter of 2019.
Jenisch said he was pleased with the sales growth, particularly the acceleration during the second quarter, when sales increased by 5%, up from a 2.7% rate in the first three months of the year.
"Operational issues in some markets have been addressed and we expect to deliver increasing margins as we capture the upward trend in demand through the second half of 2018," said Janisch. "We had a couple of plants where I was not happy that the output was not in line with market demand. We have made sure we can maximise their output in the second half."
Sales were supported by strong growth in India, one of the company's largest markets, where its subsidiary Ambuja Cement posted a 27% increase in profit during the second quarter. However, losses in Africa weighed heavily on the firm, with the regional unit reporting a loss after being hit by higher finance charges and losses from its South African business.
Jenisch said that the Africa and Middle East region will remain tough, while adding that the company would press ahead with its disposal programme. It aims to raise about US$1.73m from selling cement plants."We are on track here. We have done our portfolio review and will hopefully announce something later this year," said Jenisch. "However, there is nothing I can talk about at this time."
Switzerland: Cement deliveries grew by 3% year-on-year to 1.22Mt in the second quarter of 2018 from 1.19Mt in the same period in 2017. Deliveries for the first half of the year grew slightly to 2.06Mt according to the CemSuisse.
Switzerland: LafargeHolcim has appointed Miljan Gutovic as the Head of Region Middle East Africa and a member of its executive committee of LafargeHolcim. He succeeds Saâd Sebbar, who has left the company.
Gutovic, aged 39 years, is an Australian national with over 13 years of experience in the building materials sector. He joined LafargeHolcim in 2018 as head of marketing and Innovation after working for Sika. At Sika he worked as an Area Manager for the Middle East as well as General Manager for Australia. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering and a PhD in Engineering from the University of Technology in Sydney.
Switzerland: 2016 data published by the Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) from its Getting the Numbers Right (GNR) report shows no change in CO2 emissions in recent years. Gross specific CO2 emissions from cementitious products rose slightly from 2014 and net specific emissions have remained the same. However, the data shows considerable improvement since a baseline in 1990 with both metrics falling by over 15%.
Other notable figures from the latest report include an 11% year-on-year drop in clinker volumes to 606Mt in 2016 from 680Mt in 2015 and a 12% fall in cementitious volumes to 818Mt from 916Mt. Kiln fuel use, specific electricity use and the percentage of clinker in cement all rose slightly. However, the percentage of alternative fuels used increased to 16.7% from 15.9%.
The GNR report presents information on energy efficiency and CO2 emissions from the worldwide cement industry. Participants use the CSI CO2 and Energy Accounting and Reporting Standard for the Cement Industry to provide information and 80% of the data provided is independently assured. The report uses information from 849 cement manufacturing plants around the world, both integrated and cement grinding units, representing 19% of global cement production.
Is the Holcim takeover of Lafarge complete?
30 May 2018LafargeHolcim’s announcement this week that it is to close its headquarters in Paris is the latest sign of the tension within the world’s largest cement producer. The decision is rational for a company making savings in the aftermath of the merger of two rivals – France’s Lafarge and Switzerland’s Holcim – back in 2015. Yet, it also carries symbolic weight. Lafarge was an iconic French company that had been in operation since 1833. Its hydrated lime was used to build the Suez Canal, one of the great infrastructure projects of the 19th century.
In the lead up to the merger in 2015 the union of Lafarge and Holcim was repeatedly described as one of equals. However, the diverging share price between the two companies killed that idea on the balance sheets in early 2015. Renegotiation on the share-swap ratio between the companies followed with an exchange ratio of nine Holcim shares for 10 Lafarge shares. In the end Holcim’s shareholders ended up owning 55.6% of LafargeHolcim. Lafarge’s Bruno Lafont lost out on the top job as chief executive officer (CEO) in the frenzy but the role did go to another former Lafarge executive. The new company also retained its former corporate offices in both France and Switzerland.
Since the merger LafargeHolcim has underperformed, reporting a loss of Euro1.46bn in 2017. Former senior executives from Lafarge have become embroiled in a legal investigation looking at the company’s conduct in Syria. LafargeHolcim’s first chief executive officer Eric Olsen resigned from the company in mid-2017 following fallout from a review into the Syria affair. Both Olsen and Lafont are currently under investigation by the French police into their actions with respect to a cement plant that the company kept operational during the on-going Syrian conflict. Olsen’s replacement, Jan Jenisch, is a German national who previously ran the Swiss building chemicals manufacturer Sika.
Regrettably the closure of LafargeHolcim’s corporate office in Paris will also see the loss of 97 jobs although some of the workers in Paris will be transferred to Clamart, in the south-western suburbs of the city. Another 107 jobs will also be cut in Zurich and Holderbank in Switzerland.
One more knock at the local nature of cement companies in the very international arena they operate in doesn’t mean that much beyond bruised national pride. British readers may mourn the loss of Blue Circle or Rugby Cement but the country still has a cement industry even if it mostly owned by foreign companies. France’s industry is doing better as it recovers following the lost decade since the financial crisis in 2008.
Jump to 2018 and LafargeHolcim is being run by a German with links to Switzerland, Holcim shareholders had the advantage during the merger, its former Lafarge executives and assets are facing legal scrutiny over its conduct in Syria and Lafarge’s old headquarters in Paris are being closed. LafargeHolcim in France still retains the group’s research and development centre at Lyon and a big chunk of the local industry. Yet Holcim has held an advantage ever since the final terms of the Lafarge-Holcim merger agreement were agreed so this slow slide to Switzerland is not really a surprise. From a distance it feels very much like the Holcim acquisition of Lafarge is finally complete.