Global Cement News

Bosnia & Herzegovina: Austria’s Asamer Baustoff plans to force a buyout of Fabrika Cementa Lukavac to acquire the remaining 0.46% share of the cement producer it does not already own. The building materials company intends to use its right to transfer voting shares from minority shareholders to itself, according to SeeNews. The move follows a previous move to increase its share in the cement producer in June 2018.

Turkey: Greece’s Titan Group has reached an agreement to increase its share in its joint venture, Adocim Çimento Beton Sanayi ve Ticaret. At present the cement producer is a 50-50 joint-venture operated with Cem Sak Group since 2008. The arrangement will see it buy an additional 25% share in Adocim and dispose of its 50% share of a grinding plant. The transaction is conditional upon approvals by regulatory authorities and is expected to be concluded by the end of November 2018.

Adocim owns an integrated cement plant with a production capacity of 1.5Mt/yr, a grinding unit with a production capacity of 0.6Mt/yr and three ready-mix concrete units.

Ireland: CRH has said that is looking to build up a ‘cash pile’ of Euro7bn. It says it will use the funds for anything from acquisitions to share buybacks. Finance director Senan Murphy said the company was showing the market that it is ‘not just a one-trick pony that just does acquisitions.’ The money will be the cash left over after spending on capital expenditure, interest, tax and other payments.

"There are a number of options where that money can be deployed, and we will deploy it wherever it creates the most value for shareholders," said Murphy. "We can reinvest it in our business, we can invest it in acquisitions, we can continue on with buybacks or we can increase the level of dividends."

The company posted a 1% rise in revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) year-on-year in the first half of 2018. It expects EBITDA in the second half to be ahead of that seen in the second half of 2017.

India: UltraTech Cement has received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the acquisition of the cement business of Century Textiles and Industries. The company has given its approval for the share swap deal between the companies.

The transaction will provide UltraTech an opportunity to further strengthen its presence in the east and central markets, extending its footprint in the Western and Southern markets of India.

Israel: Danny Tal, the commissioner for trade levies at the Israeli Ministry of Economy and Industry, will recommend duties on cement imports from Greece and Turkey. Nine different manufacturers will be affected by anti-dumping duties of 7-20%.

Tal drew up the duties following a complaint by cement maker Har-Tuv, which said continued cheap imports would lead to its closure. The complaint was also supported by Nesher Cement, Israel’s only clinker producer.

Tal concluded that the Greek and Turkish companies had violated fair trade rules, with the Greek companies generally ‘dumping’ at lower prices than the Turkish ones.

"We welcome the decision to protect the local industry from illegal imports and to maintain the industry and fair competition over time, and we hope that the recommendation will be adopted and implemented by all relevant levels as soon as possible," said Har-Tuv.