10 December 2014
UltraTech ‘pulling back’ from LafargeHolcim bids 10 December 2014
India/Brazil: UltraTech Cement is re-evaluating its decision to bid for the Brazilian assets of Holcim SA, according to local media. The Aditya Birla group company had submitted non-binding bids for the cement assets in October 2014. Any binding bids are due in January 2015.
The Brazilian assets on sale include three integrated cement plants and two grinding stations that share a total capacity of 3.6Mt/yr. There is also one ready-mix plant. Now, rather than investing in those assets, the UltraTech plans to focus and expand its domestic cement production, according to local media, but an UltraTech spokeswoman said that company does not comment on market speculation.
The decision to re-think the Brazilian investment may stem from weak demand conditions in the market. The Brazilian economy has seen sub 2% growth in the last 11 quarters. For the three months ending 30 September 2014, the Brazilian economy actually contracted by 0.24%.
APCMA: Sales up, exports down 10 December 2014
Pakistan: Cement sales grew by 8.9% to 8.2Mt during the first four months of the current Pakistani fiscal year, according to data from the All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers Association (APCMA). In July to October 2014, exports of cement decreased by 4.4% to 2.8Mt.
Cement factories in the north of Pakistan despatched 6.9Mt to the domestic market during the four month period, 10.4% more than the same period of last fiscal. Exports from the north dropped by 12.3% to 1.7Mt. Cement factories in the south sold 1.3Mt, 1.4% more than in the same period of 2013. Exports from this region, however, rose by 12.5% to 1.0Mt.
Brazil: Colombia's Cementos Argos has decided not to 'do battle' for cement-sector assets in Brazil that currently belong to the European giants Lafarge and Holcim. The Colombian multinational has informed the Superintendencia Financiera that it does not see such a purchase as being likely to generate the value its investments would expect.
Thus, Argos puts an end to three months of expectation regarding a possible debut in Brazil for the company. The assets in Brazil's Sudeste region are up for grabs so that the merger can meet with anti-monopoly requirements and amount to some US$1bn. Argos had been in consultation with local financial giant Itau concerning a possible bid. The Colombian cement group's foreign eye will most likely focus now on Mexico, another nation mentioned fondly by company president Jorge Mario Velasquez.