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Displaying items by tag: Titan
US: Titan America's Pennsuco plant, which includes cement manufacturing, aggregates, quarrying, block manufacturing and ready-mix concrete operations, has been officially recognised as a Gold Level Zero Waste facility, making it the only facility of its kind in the US to achieve Zero Waste Status.
"The Zero Waste Certification is a remarkable accomplishment and consistent with Titan America's commitment to striving for best-in-class sustainability practices. Congratulations to our Environmental Department and thanks to everyone at Pennsuco for their help and support. We should all feel very proud of this," said Randy Dunlap, president of Titan America's Florida business.
To qualify for Zero Waste Certification, the Pennsuco Complex was required to demonstrate greater than 90% diversion from landfill use for a minimum of 12 consecutive months. This includes reducing, reusing, recycling or composting discarded materials or recovering the materials for productive use in nature of the economy at biological temperatures and pressures. It requires implementing sustainable strategies for resource and waste management. The process for certification process also included an extensive on-site audit, which was performed by Zero Waste Council members.
Zero Waste recertification occurs every three years. The Pennsuco site is now aiming for Platinum Certification. Titan's Pennsuco Plant has also been recognised for other sustainability initiatives, including Wildlife Habitat Certification and EnergyStar Certification. Titan's two cement plants at Pennsuco and Roanoke have been EnergyStar certified for 10 consecutive years.
Titan results gather momentum in first three quarters of 2016
04 November 2016Greece: Titan’s turnover has risen by 9.2% year-on-year to Euro1.12bn for the first nine months of 2016 from Euro1.03bn in the same period of 2015. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 24.2% to Euro205m from Euro165m. It attributed the result to growth in the US market and improvements in Egypt.
In the US the cement producer’s turnover rose by 17.7% to Euro584m and in Greece it grew by 4.9% to Euro188m despite negative currency effects. This was due partly to increased production and sales volumes and partly to the decline in production costs following the gradual conversion of its plants to solid fuels.
In addition, the group concluded its deal to buy a 50% stake in Cimento Apodi in Brazil in September 2016. Cimento Apodi owns a cement plant in Quixeré that has operated since 2015 and a grinding cement plant in Pecém near Fortaleza, that has been in operation since 2011. It has a production capacity of over 2Mt/yr.
Half-year roundup for European cement multinationals
10 August 2016LafargeHolcim was the last major European cement producer to release its second quarter financial results last week. The collective picture is confused. Cement sales volumes have risen but sales revenue have fallen.
Most of the producers have blamed negative currency effects for their falls in revenue during the first half of 2016. Holding a mixed geographical portfolio of building materials production assets has kept these companies afloat over the last decade but this has come with a price. The recent appreciation of the Euro versus currencies in various key markets, such as in Egypt, has hit balance sheets, since the majority of these firms are based in Europe and mostly use the Euro for their accounting. Meanwhile, sales volumes of cement have mostly risen for the companies we have examined making currency effects a major contributor.
Graph 1 - Changes in cement sales volumes for major non-Chinese cement producers in the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015 (%). Data labels are the volumes reported in 2016. Source: Company reports.
As can be seen in Graph 1, sales volumes have risen for most of the producers, with the exception of LafargeHolcim. Despite blaming shortages of gas in Nigeria for hitting its operating income, LafargeHolcim actually saw its biggest drop in sales volumes in Latin America by 13.2% year-on-year to 11.8Mt. The other surprise here was that its North American region reported a 2.7% fall to 8.8Mt with Canada the likely cause. Vicat deserves mention here for its giant boost in sales volumes due to recovery in France and good performance in Egypt and the US, amongst other territories.
Graph 2 - Changes in sales revenue for major non-Chinese cement producers in the first half of 2016 compared to the first half of 2015 (%). Data labels are the sales reported in 2016. Source: Company reports.
Overall sales revenue for these companies presents a gloomier scenario with the majority of them losing revenue in the first half of the year, with most of them blaming negative currency effects for this. Titan is included in this graph to show that it’s not all bad news. Its growth in revenue was supported by good performance in the US and Egypt. Likewise, good performance in Eastern Europe and the US helped Buzzi Unicem turn in a positive increase in its sales revenue. They remain, however, the exception.
Looking at sales revenue generated from cement offers one way to disentangle currency effects from performance. Unfortunately, only about half of the companies looked at here actually published this for the reporting period. Of these, LafargeHolcim reported a massive rise that was probably due to the accounting coping with the merger process that finalised in 2015. Of the rest - HeidelbergCement, Italcementi and Vicat – the sales revenue from each company’s cement businesses fell at a faster rate than overall sales. Like-for-like figures here would help clarify this situation.
Meanwhile, a mixed global patchwork of cement demand is focusing multinational attention on key countries with growing economies like Egypt and Nigeria. Both of these countries have undergone currency devaluation versus the Euro and are facing energy shortages for various reasons. The exposure of the multinational cement producers to such places may become clearer in the second half of the year.
Titan buys stake in Cimento Apodi
04 August 2016Brazil: Greece’s Titan Cement has agreed to acquire an equity stake in Companhia Industrial de Cimento Apodi, a Brazilian cement producer that operates in Ceará in Northeast Brazil. Through a joint venture agreement, Cimento Apodi will be jointly owned and controlled on a 50/50 basis by the Dias Branco Group and a TITAN-Sarkis subsidiary, in which Titan is the majority shareholder. Titan’s investment in the purchase will be determined when the deal closes but it is expected to be about US$100m.
The assets of Cimento Apodi include an integrated cement plant in Quixeré that has operated since 2015 and a cement grinding plant in Pecém port, near to Fortaleza, that has operated since 2011. Cimento Apodi has cement production capacity of over 2Mt/yr.
Greece: Titan’s turnover has risen by 7.6% year-on-year to Euro724m in the first half of 2016 from Euro673m in the same period in 2015. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 13.5% to Euro120m from Euro105m. However, its net profit fell by 62% to Euro9.2m from Euro24.2m for the half-year period. The construction materials company benefited from growth in the US and Egypt but currency exchange rates, particularly in Egypt, hit its profits.
In the US Titan reported that sales revenue increased by 18.8% to Euro373m despite a long second quarter maintenance period at its Pennsuco cement plant in Florida. Turnover in Greece and Western Europe fell by 9.1% to Euro133.4m. In South-eastern Europe it rose by 6.7% to Euro97m. In Egypt turnover rose by 11.7% in local currency terms but fell by 0.6% in Euros to Euro121m. the group noted that in this country group plant production levels have reverted to levels similar of the pre-fuel crisis years. Coal mills have been implemented on both production lines at the Beni Suef plant since the end of March 2016 to reduce costs. Similar work at the Alexandria plant is on-going and will be completed by the end of 2016.
The group expects growth in the US to drive growth and profit for Titan in 2016 as a whole with support from an improved market in Egypt.
Greece: Titan has reported a loss of Euro18.6m for the first quarter of 2016. The figure is a loss compared to the net profit of Euro6.6m it made in the same period in 2015. However, its sales turnover rose by 19% to Euro338m from Euro284m and its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 86% to Euro43.3m from Euro23.2m. The company blamed the loss on currency exchange variations particularly from the devaluation of the Egyptian pound against the Euro by 19%.
The group noted that its sales had increased in the quarter in all regions with the exception of Greece. By region it saw strong growth in the US with a 34% in turnover to Euro174m. In Greece construction was mostly limited to government projects limited by the continued economic problems and capital controls. In the group’s south-eastern Europe regions turnover rose by 27.6% to Euro35.8m. In Egypt demand for cement continued to grow helped by the use of solid fuels at its plants. Turnover in the quarter increased by 8.3% to Euro65.3m.
Titan lawsuit ends as North Carolina cancels air permit
14 April 2016US: A legal challenge to the cancelled Titan American Castle Hayne cement plant has ended following the termination of a challenged air pollution permit by the North Carolina Division of Air Quality. Titan rescinded the permit, following its announcement in March 2016 to cancel its cement plant project. It was originally issued in 2012.
"For years, Titan and the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) tried to keep citizen groups from getting a hearing on significant and avoidable air pollution from this proposed plant," said Geoff Gisler, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center who represented the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Cape Fear River Watch, PenderWatch & Conservancy, and Sierra Club. "We have achieved the goal of this lawsuit - protecting citizens of New Hanover and Pender counties from Titan’s pollution when DEQ failed to do so."
Titan will continue to operate a cement terminal at the site. On 12 April 2016, the North Carolina Court of Appeals granted citizen groups’ request to dismiss the appeal because the approval of the plant had been withdrawn, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center.
US: Titan America has cancelled the construction of a cement plant in Castle Hayne, North Carolina. It said it made the decision on economic reasons. Supply and demand balances in the specific regional markets did not support the cost of building a plant.
“Our decision to suspend construction on the cement plant in Castle Hayne is driven by basic project economics,” said Bill Zarkalis, Titan America’s CEO. “The pace of demand growth in the specific markets does not seem adequate to justify the addition of substantial new production capacity - more so because the costs to construct a new cement plant in the United States have risen substantially in the past few years. Finally, the overall risk profile of the project has worsened as new coastal capacity in North Carolina could be vulnerable to cement imports, considering the strong US Dollar, the global cement supply situation and low ocean freight costs.” He added that Titan is committed to long-term growth in the US and that the group is investing over US$250m between 2014 and 2016.
Titan America serves its North Carolina market from its Roanoke cement plant in Virginia, with an integrated logistics network of cement distribution terminals, warehouses and more than twenty ready-mix concrete plants. No jobs in any of Titan America’s existing operations are expected to be affected by the decision to cancel the Castle Hayne cement plant.
Titan sales rise by 20.7% to Euro1.4bn in 2015
11 March 2016Greece: Titan’s turnover grew by 20.7% year-on-year to Euro1.14bn in 2015 from Euro1.16bn in 2014. Its net profit rose by 9.1% to Euro33.8m from Euro30.9m. The cement producer attributed the result to growth in the US market.
Despite rising turnover in the fourth quarter of 2015 the group reported a net loss of Euro2.4m down from a net profit of Euro0.4m in the fourth quarter of 2014. This was due to its subsidiary Titan America suspending construction of a cement plant in Castle Hayne, North Carolina, resulting in a Euro12.4 impairment charge due to the suspended investment.
By region the group reported that its total turnover for Greece and Western Europe in 2015 fell by 5.6% to Euro269m, mainly due to the continued depression in the construction market in Greece. Turnover in the US grew by 45% to Euro680m, supported by a growing residential housing market particularly in the south east of the country. In Southeastern Europe turnover remained static at Euro209m. In Egypt cement demand grew by 5% but low prices in the second half of the year reduced profits. Turnover increased by 22.3% to Euro241m in this territory.
Group net debt rose by Euro81m in 2015 to Euro621m, due to high capital expenditure in 2015, the acquisition of a minority stake in Antea in Albania and the strengthening US Dollar.
Greece: Titan Cement has posted a 26% year-on-year rise in its net profit to Euro17.6m for the first half of 2015, helped by a strong performance in the US. Its sales increased by 25.8% to Euro389m, boosted by higher demand for building materials and a stronger Dollar in the US, according to Reuters.