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Germany: HeidelbergCement has posted a 29% rise in core earnings in the first quarter of 2015 as it has benefited from a construction industry recovery in North America and the UK as well as low energy prices and the weak Euro. Operating income before depreciation (OIBD) was Euro299m and sales rose by 4% on a like-for-like basis to Euro2.84bn.
"Business development in the first quarter has strengthened our conviction in our outlook for 2015," said chief executive Bernd Scheifele. HeidelbergCement has reiterated its aim for significant improvements in 2015 sales, operating income and adjusted net profit thanks to strong demand in its core markets, the weaker oil price and Euro and efficiency measures.
HeidelbergCement also anticipates a significant decrease in financing costs due to the decline of net debt to Euro6.1bn from Euro7.8bn, following the sale of its building products business.
Vote cement! UK election special
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
06 May 2015
With the UK going to the polls on 7 May 2015 in a general election what does this all mean for the local cement industry? Some of the main issues for a buoyant cement industry are market demand, energy costs and government interference through issues like taxation or restrictions on international trading.
Probably the first big problem facing the UK cement industry would be construction market uncertainty following any prolonged post-electoral negotiations. At the time of writing the polls predict that neither of the main political parties will be able to form a legislative majority without the formation of some sort of coalition with a number of minority parties. This also has relevance for eventual policy, so more on this later. Additional political deadlock might also arise from the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), potentially the largest minority party, and their demands for further political devolution from the rest of the UK.
Following this, the main two political parties, the Conservatives and Labour, are fairly similar from their manifesto statements advocating deficit reduction, no major new taxes and a continuation of carbon emission targets. If either party gets in, general government should continue as before with major infrastructure projects carrying on as planned and an emphasis on the economy or public spending respectively.
Differences start to emerge with the Conservative Party, a centre-right group with a liberal economic agenda, promising a national referendum on continued membership of the European Union (EU) that could lead to Britain leaving the EU in a so-called Brexit. This could cause complications for businesses with strong European links such as the cement industry. However a 'Brexit' might not be all bad news for heavy energy users as they could potentially renegotiate their carbon emission targets.
Meanwhile, the Labour Party, a centre-left group, immediately takes a negative point since its current leader held a senior economic post in the Labour government in the build-up to the crash in 2008. Since that time three integrated cement plants in the UK have closed. Back to the current election, threats to reform the consumer energy markets might have knock-on effects for business consumers. However, traditionally the Labour Party encourages higher spending that might lead to more large-scale infrastructure projects like the much-maligned High Speed Two railway line from London to the north. These kinds of projects would need lots of cement.
If any of the other minority parties get to carry an influence in a coalition they may be able to influence certain policies as the price for their support. For example, a UKIP right-wing coalition would demand a EU referendum. A Green left-wing coalition would push for decarbonisation energy policies and/or anti-fracking measures. Both of these outcomes could have effects on cement production. The other issue that minority regional players in a coalition might have is concerning changes to cement plants in their part of the world. For example, threats to shut a cement plant in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland might then gain a higher profile to any administration that includes the SNP, the Democratic Unionist Party in Northern Ireland or Plaid Cymru in Wales.
In summary, it is easy to identify what the UK cement industry wants but far harder to determine what will happen after the election. Assuming there is a government that is! The country holds a mature cement industry with limited infrastructure opportunities. Barring real political change such as a Green surge it will be business as usual on 8 May 2015. Cement kilns will keep turning.
Vietnam: Vietnam produced 19.9Mt of cement in the first four months of 2015, up by 5.3% from the same period of 2014, including 5.9Mt in April 2015, according to the government-run General Statistics Office. The Ministry of Construction has predicted that Vietnam's sales of cement and clinker will rise by 1.5 - 4% to 72 - 74Mt in 2015, of which domestic sales will rise by 4.5 - 6.5% to 53 - 54Mt, while exports will be at 19 - 20Mt.
Podilskiy Cement posts Euro121m loss for 2014 06 May 2015
Ukraine: Podilskiy Cement has reported a loss of Euro121m for 2014, having upped its net revenue by 12.1% year-on-year to Euro53.8m. In 2013, it reported a loss of Euro4.95m. Podilskiy Cement has six cement kilns with a total capacity of 3.7Mt/yr. It is controlled by Ireland's CRH.
Oman: Raysut Cement's operating profit fell by 26.7% in the first quarter of 2015 on a 100% increase in the price of natural gas supplied by the government and rising transportation costs. Group operating profit fell to US$15.6m from US$21.4m in the same period of 2014.
'This is mainly due to the increase in natural gas price by the government to US$3/MMBtu from US$1.5/MMBtu effective from 1 January 2015 and increases in other costs," said Raysut Cement said in its directors' report.
The report said that the quarter that ended on 31 March 2015 was very challenging compared with any of the previous quarters in the recent past. "Gas is a significant component of cost and the price was doubled. Transportation costs are on the rise due to restrictions on tonnage and the cascading effects of all have significant bearing on the cost of the product." In addition, the company said that the disturbances in Yemen, one of Raysut Cement's main export markets, have had a bearing on sales volumes.
During the quarter, group revenue fell by 1.6% to US$63.5m from US$64.5m in the same period of 2014. "Given the situation, the company has done extremely well in the first quarter to reach a level of revenue which is close to that of the previous year. By positioning the products in appropriate markets the average price realisation improved, neutralising the effect of cost increase to an extent. On the other hand, severe competition from UAE suppliers is continuing."
Raysut Cement sold 976,019t of cement and 3958t of clinker during the first quarter of 2015 compared to 100,6024t of cement and 7384t of clinker in the corresponding period of 2014. This represents a decrease by 2.98% in cement and 46.4% increase in clinker.