Displaying items by tag: Votorantim Cimentos

Türkiye: Votorantim Cimentos Türkiye has appointed İlker Kutlu Yilmaz as its Head of Logistics. He previously worked as the Group Logistics Manager for Cementir Holding in Türkiye. Prior to this he also worked as a Logistics Manager for VICAT from 2012 to 2018. Other notable roles he has held include working in logistics for Feka Construction, Industry & Trade and Omsan Logistics.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has launched its new visual identity. Its new logo consists of a lime green and dark blue V, next to its name, with the Votorantim written in capital letters and the Cimentos in lowercase. The producer says that the V honours its legacy, while figuratively representing a movement toward the future. The colour and font combination embodies the company's solidity and flexibility.

Corporate communications and branding head Geraldo Magella said “Votorantim Cimentos is on a journey of evolution and transformation. We redefined our strategy, revised our culture, grew, expanded. This long-term vision opens new paths and new areas of activity through the development of products and services to meet the needs of society. We want to create changes while remembering our history - hence the need to translate all this into a new brand, which communicates everything we do, from ground level to the highest point in a city."

Canada: The Quebec Ministry of the Environment has ordered St Mary’s Cement’s integrated plant at Port-Daniel-Gascons to reduce its dust and other emissions to government-mandated levels. The notification follows an incident that occurred over the summer of 2020 and has reoccurred since on occasion. The order requires, amongst other measures, that the subsidiary of Brazil-based Votorantim allow an independent expert recognised by the department to carry out an assessment of air filtration equipment at the plant and propose ways to improve the situation.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded consolidated sales of US$1.17bn in the first half of 2022, up by 22% year-on-year from US$961m in the first half of 2021. Its cost of sales rose by 36% to US$1.05bn from US$777m. As a result, the group made a loss during the half of US$29.6m, compared to a US$85m profit in the first half of 2021. Group cement volumes grew by 1.1% year-on-year to 17.6Mt from 17.4Mt.

CFO Bianca Nasser said “Despite the slowdown in the world economy, Votorantim Cimentos continues to operate within solid financial metrics and with high liquidity, maintaining its investment grade status with a stable outlook attributed by the credit rating agencies Moody’s and Fitch. The company’s leverage remained at stable levels and in line with our financial policy. In May, we carried out a transaction in the international market that repurchased the most expensive debt in our portfolio, taking advantage of attractive market rates. And we used funds from debt issuances in the local market with more attractive rates to finance our operation.”

Canada: The Canadian government’s Environment and Climate Change department has granted an extension to St Mary’s Cement to an order regarding alleged sticky dust emissions from its McInnis cement plant. The Journal de Québec newspaper has reported that the producer now has until 8 August 2022 to submit its observations on the situation. Environment and Climate Change Canada has identified 12 different equipment failures as contributors to the alleged illegal emissions. On 20 July 2022, it had received a total of 80 reports from the public about the situation.

Canada: Workers at St Mary’s Cement’s Port-Daniel-Gascons cement plant have voted in favour of taking strike action in a dispute over matters including wages and pensions. Local press has reported that workers and the company, a subsidiary of Brazil-based Votorantim Cimentos, will sit in negotiations on 13 and 14 June 2022. Employees previously rejected a ‘final and comprehensive’ offer from the company earlier in May 2022.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ net revenue grew by 22% year-on-year to US$954m in the first quarter of 2022 from US$781m in the same period in 2021. Its cement sales volumes rose by 5% to 8Mt from 7.6Mt. However, its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 57% to US$81.4m from US$189m. The group attributed its increased sales to ‘favourable price dynamics’ in Brazil, North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. However, its earnings suffered from inflation, mounting commodity and energy prices and a strong comparison base in the same period in 2021.

"The war in Europe, sanctions imposed on Russia, new lockdowns in China and bottlenecks in logistics chains continue to impact the global economy. In addition, rising interest rates and cost inflation have affected companies and markets as a whole. Faced with this challenging environment, we remained aligned with our strategy and attentive to costs, our operational excellence and our business plan in all regions," said Marcelo Castelli, Global chief executive officer of Votorantim Cimentos.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos recorded a 37% year-on-year rise in its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to US$1.10bn in 2021. Its sales rose by 33% to US$4.71bn, while its profit more than tripled to US$2.1bn. The group’s sales grew in all of its regions. Its cement volumes totalled 37.2Mt, up by 15% from 2020 levels. Its capital expenditure (CAPEX) investments grew by 30% year-on-year to US$317m. It commissioned a new production line at its Pecém grinding plant in Brazil and continued to work on an upgrade to Cementos Artigas’ Sayago grinding plant in Uruguay, scheduled for completion in 2022. It also completed its acquisition of Spain-based Cementos Balboa.

Cement operations, logistics and adjacent businesses director Osvaldo Ayres Filho, who was serving as group CFO during 2021, said “We had a record financial performance in 2021, despite the challenging environment due to the ongoing effects of the pandemic and global inflationary pressure.” He added that the producer also made ‘significant strategic moves.’

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos has appointed Bianca Nasser as its chief financial officer (CFO) and investor relations director. She succeeds Osvaldo Ayres Filho, who will remain in the company as the Director of Cement, Logistics and Adjacent Business Operations.

Nasser worked for Petrobras from 2002 to 2019, eventually becoming the Executive Manager of Corporate Finance and Treasury. She subsequently became the CFO and investor relations officer at BNDES. She is a graduate in economics from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and holds a master’s degree in administration and finance from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.

Canada: Concrete Economics managing director and long-time figure in the North American cement industry Colin Sutherland has died. Colleagues from throughout his 30 year-career spanning Canada, France and the US have been posting memories of Sutherland. Olsen Management Consulting president and Sutherland’s former Lafarge and Votorantim Cimentos colleague Richard Olsen said “We've lost a dear friend and long-time colleague. Colin was highly respected and valued in the cement industry and had developed a depth of knowledge and insight that was unique.” He continued “Colin's infectious laughter, ever-positive attitude and charm endeared him to many. He'll be sorely missed.”

Before joining Concrete Economics in May 2021, Sutherland was president and co-founder of SC Market Analytics and a board member of US Concrete. Previous positions also included vice president, commercial strategy, for Votorantim Cimentos North America; vice president, business development, integration and strategy for Holcim US and vice president, cementitious materials for Lafarge Cement. Between 1995 and 2001, Sutherland served as director of corporate development for Blue Circle North America, where he subsequently became group integration director following its merger with Lafarge Cement.