Displaying items by tag: Taiheiyo

US: Taiheiyo Cement subsidiary CalPortland has concluded a deal with Martin Marietta Materials for the acquisition of the latter's Tehachapi cement plant in California for US$250m. The deal also covers two business centres.

Taiheiyo Cement said "We expect the US cement business to continue to have strong demand from the private sector in view of projected economic growth and chronic housing shortages going forward. Additionally, we expect the infrastructure demands to accelerate as a result of the passing of the more than US$1tn infrastructure investment bill by the US Congress. Further, California is likely to have even greater growth because it will host the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The planned acquisition of Martin Marietta Materials' assets is intended to ensure that we capture this increased demand. It is an essential element in maximising our future corporate value."

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement’s net profit in the fiscal year that ended on 31 March 2020 was US$363m, down by 9.9% year-on-year from US$403m in the fiscal year 2019. Sales fell by 3.5% year-on-year to US$8.21bn from US$8.51bn. Taiheiyo Cement said that it experienced a, “decrease in aggregate sales volumes due to the end of demand related to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and reconstruction demand from the Great East Japan Earthquake” in the quarter ended 31 March 2020.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement says it agrees with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). It is promoting research and development business strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The cement producer is also intending to publish a long-term plan to reduce its CO₂ emissions by 2050.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement’s revenue grew by 6% year-on-year to US$6.26bn in the nine months to 31 December 2018 from US$5.90bn in the same period in 2017. Its net profit rose by 5% to US$308m from US$294m. The cement producer said that domestic sales had been supported by railway infrastructure projects as well as domestic housing.

Indonesia: The sale of LafargeHolcim's Indonesian unit has sparked the interest of several potential buyers in the region. Names in the ring include Japan's Taiheiyo Cement, Malaysia’s YTL Corp and Indonesia’s PT Semen Indonesia, according to Bloomberg reports that cite unnamed sources. PT Indocement Tunggal Prakarsa is also reported to be interested. Bloomberg reports that LafargeHolcim could seek as much as US$2bn for the unit, which has 15.5Mt/yr of capacity across seven plants.

Philippines: Japan’s Taiheiyo Cement plans to expand its San Fernando plant in Cebu. The cement producer has allocated US$65m for a new unit and equipment for the site, according to the Manila Bulletin newspaper. Cement production will be increased to 16,350t/day from 7350t/day at present. In addition, another US$68m has been assigned to upgrade the plant’s dust collectors to filters. The plant could also import cement from Japan and South Korea. The upgrade has been organised to meet the government’s ‘Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure development program.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement’s sales rose by to 9.1% year-on-year to US$7.98bn in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2018 from US$7.30bn in the same period of the previous year. Its domestic sales volumes increased by 2.4% to 14.7Mt and its export sales fell by 2.7% to 2.3Mt.

Japan: Taiheiyo Cement has released its financial results for the nine months to 31 December 2017. They show a 10.3% rise in revenue for the nine month period to US$5.96bn from US$5.40bn in the first nine months of 2016. Its operating profit was up by 10.1% from US$403m to US$444m over the same period but its net profit fell by 43% to US$297m from US$520.9m. For the full year to 31 March 2018, Taiheiyo Cement advises that it anticipates a revenue of US$7.9bn, an operating profit of US$611m and a net profit of US$347m.

UK: Nine cement and concrete companies have launched the Global Cement & Concrete Association (GCCA), a new association that intends to develop the sector’s role in sustainable construction. The association also wants to build innovation throughout the construction value chain, in collaboration with both industry associations and architects and engineers.

The GCCA will be led by international cement companies and headquartered in London, complementing and supporting the work done by existing associations at national and regional level. Membership of the GCCA is available for cement manufacturers from all over the world that share the organisation’s values, and partnerships will be developed with organisations that share its vision. GCCA’s founding members are Cemex, CNBM, CRH, Dangote, Eurocement, HeidelbergCement, LafargeHolcim, Taiheiyo and Votorantim. They represent 1046Mt of cement production capacity, according to the Global Cement Top 100 Report.

Two of Japan's largest cement producers have reported reduced domestic cement sales in the country this week. First, Taiheiyo Cement revised its forecast for its 2017 financial year, ending on 31 March 2017, bringing its estimated net sales down by 2.3%. Then, Ube Group reported that its cement sales had fallen by 7.2% year-on-year to US$1.05bn in the first half of its financial year. Both producers blamed poor weak demand locally, but Ube also cited a poor export market.

Graph 1: Domestic and export cement sales in Japan, 2006 - 2015. Source: Japanese Cement Association.

This last point is interesting because it differs from the latest data released by the Japanese Cement Association (JCA). As can be seen in Graph 1 JCA figures show that exports of cement have been rising since 2013. So far this trend looks likely to continue in 2016. Ube's different experience may arise from its market mix and its distribution of cement plants and transport infrastructure. Both of its cement plants are based in the south of the country. Commentators have attributed the boost in exports to the devaluation of the Yen in 2015 as well as strong brand perception overseas. Unfortunately, this overall rise in exports has been matched by a fall in domestic sales at the same time and this is causing a headache for the major producers. Production too has started to drop since 2014 (Graph 2).

Graph 2: Cement production in Japan, 2006 - 2015. Source: Japanese Cement Association.

Japan's cement market is dominated by four producers - Taiheiyo Group, Mitsubishi Materials, Ube Industries and Sumitomo Osaka Cement - which hold nearly three quarters of the nation's production capacity between them. According to Global Cement Directory 2016 data, Taiheiyo Cement and its subsidiaries is the market leader with over 30% market share with the other three holding 10 - 20% each.

Graph 3: Cement production capacity share in Japan (Mt). Source: Global Cement Directory 2016.

Taiheiyo's downgraded forecast follows poor first quarter results, in which its net sales for its cement business fell by 16% to US$1.19bn. This follows a slight rise in net sales for its cement business in its 2016 financial year due to a boost in sales from its overseas subsidiaries, particularly in the US, that surpass a fall in domestic sales. Sales volumes were 14.7Mt domestically and 4Mt in exports in 2016. Mitsubishi Materials has posted a similar picture with cement sales and profits rising in 2016 before suffering in the first quarter of 2017. Mitsubishi Materials blamed the poor market on a delay in construction work mainly due to labour shortages and sluggish growth in demand from the public sector. Ditto Sumitomo Osaka Cement.

As highlighted by such decision as Tokyo Cement's move to resume exporting clinker to Sri Lanka in early 2015, Japan's cement industry is working hard to compensate for falling demand at home. Increasing exports in Asia Pacific among other massive exporters such as China, Vietnam and South Korea is impressive, although the prominent foothold by Japanese companies in the recovering US market may offer some advantage here. On-going weak demand in China though cuts out one major market for Chinese exporters. However, being a major exporter in a region of major cement producers must be a concern. Although commentators such as Ad Ligthart dismiss the chances of China flooding the world with cheap cement, if they are wrong and Japan continues its reliance on exports it may find itself in deep water. The other risk is if the US authorities decide to get tougher on foreign exports it may knock out one more market for Japanese exports. Too much reliance on exports is always dangerous. In this context, it’s no surprise that Japanese cement producers are blaming the government for insufficient infrastructure spending.