29 October 2015
China: Anhui Conch Cement's operating profit fell by 31% year-on-year to US$1.1bn in the first nine months of 2015 as weak demand and price competition took a toll. Its revenue dropped by 13% to US$5.96bn.
Chinese demand for cement has languished following a rush of infrastructure building. Domestic cement production shrank by about 5% year-on-year to roughly 1.7Bnt during the first nine months of 2015, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Ambuja Cements’ third quarter 2016 net profit falls by 36% 29 October 2015
India: Ambuja Cements reported a 36% decline in its standalone net profit at US$23.6m for the third quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015, due to an additional depreciation charge, among other factors. Its total standalone income fell by 4% to US$324m during the quarter.
Holcim more than doubles profits in the third quarter of 2015 29 October 2015
Philippines: Holcim Philippines' profits more than doubled in the third quarter of 2015 due to strong sales from sustained construction activity into the rainy season. Its net income grew to US$32.5m from US$15.3m in the same period of 2014. Its net sales rose by 23.2% year-on-year to US$212m.
Holcim Philippines' profits for the first nine months of 2015 grew by 12.7% to US$96.7m. This brings the company's sales for the first nine months of 2015 to US$595m, some 9.44% higher than in same period of 2014. Cement demand was healthy nationwide and strongest in Visayas and Mindanao, with no let-up in the building activity by both the private and public sectors.
Holcim Philippines Country CEO Eduardo A Sahagun said that the company's third quarter results were made possible by the improved performance of the plants, which can now operate longer before maintenance activities. "Demand usually dips during the rainy season but this time, we experienced even stronger demand in the third quarter. Under these conditions, it is critical to sustain operations to support the market and we did so due to the steady investments for better plant performance," said Sahagun. Sahagun said that logistics operations also improved with more flexibility to supply the National Capital Region through its newly-acquired Holcim Manila Terminal.
Vietnam: Vietnam is estimated to have produced 54.8Mt of cement in the first ten months of 2015, up by 10.4% year-on-year, including 6.1Mt in October 2015, up by 10.8% year-on-year, according to the government-run General Statistics Office. Vietnam currently has 76 cement production lines with a combined output of 81.6Mt/yr.
LafargeHolcim to launch downsizing plan in Spain 29 October 2015
Spain: LafargeHolcim plans to launch a downsizing plan for a total 15% of its workforce in Spain. The launch of the downsizing plan was attributed to the difficulties that the company faces in Spain due to the low cement demand in the country and the overlapping of workforces following the merger of Lafarge and Holcim. LafargeHolcim currently has a workforce of 1000 employees in Spain and its annual revenues in the country amount to Euro300m.