11 November 2015
La Unión Cement in court over 'sexist' adverts 11 November 2015
Spain: La Unión Cement has been accused of producing sexist advertising, including using bikini-clad women and close ups of cleavages, to sell its product, according to local media.
A court in Valencia is due to rule on the alleged sexist advertising after a lawsuit was filed against the building supplies company in October 2015 by the Madrid-based Institute of Women, part of the government's Ministry of Equality. It is the first time the Violence Against Women department of the public prosecutor's office has been part of a case of sexist advertising and it will rule alongside the department of trade on the case.
The lawsuit concerns various promotional videos for the cement company, which show scantily clad women for no apparent reason, according to the Institute of Women. "Our job is usually based on raising awareness of gender equality, but sometimes there are instances, such as this, when we are moved to take legal action," said the Institute´s Head of Communication, María Jesús Ortiz Gómez.
The prosecution has demanded that the cement company cease all allegedly sexist advertising and has also asked the court to ban any further usage of the images in question. The defence has argued that the images belong to an old campaign that is no longer running. La Unión has previously been keen to point out how much it prizes equality. "La Unión reaffirms its corporate vision in favour of the training of women and their inclusion in the company," it said in a press released dated August 2015. The company claims that it 'exceeds today´s standards of equality and gender parity.'
Uzbekistan/Turkey: The Turkish Dal Engineering Group plans to commission a new 1.5Mt/yr cement plant in Surkhandarya by late 2017. A Turkish company and Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) have signed a memorandum on cooperation for the construction of the cement plant.
The US$225m cement plant will potentially be financed by a US$90m loan from the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, commercial banks loans totalling US$110m and the equity of AMMC, worth US$24.4m.
Uzbekistan currently has six cement plants with a total installed capacity of more than 7Mt/yr. The largest of them are Kyzylkumcement (3.08Mt/yr), Akhangarancement (1.74Mt/yr) and JSC Kuvasaycement (920,000t/yr). Cement production in Uzbekistan in 2014 increased by 5.1% to 7.35Mt.
Buzzi Unicem’s revenue grew by 5.2% in the first nine months of 2015 11 November 2015
Italy: Buzzi Unicem's profit in the first nine months of 2015 grew to Euro120m from Euro51.4m in the same period of 2014. Its revenues increased by 5.2% year-on-year to Euro1.99m and its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 16.4% to Euro352m.
Buzzi said it sees good momentum of demand in the US, but suffered from 'remarkably lower results' in Ukraine and Russia, penalised by the depreciation of the local currencies. Deliveries were subdued in Central Europe, while in Italy cement consumption is still down.
For the whole of 2015, Buzzi confirmed that it expects its recurring EBITDA to improve to approximately Euro450m.
Bestway Cement’s profit grew by 38% in the first nine months of 2015 11 November 2015
Pakistan: Bestway Cement's turnover on a consolidated basis jumped by 38% year-on-year to US$89.1m in the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended in September 2015. This was largely due to the acquisition of Pakcem Limited, the increase in domestic demand and stable retention prices during the quarter. Its profit before tax grew by 28% to US$30.3m, while its profit after tax grew by 34% to US$21.8m.
On a consolidated basis, Bestway's domestic sales volume increased by 48% 1.2Mt, while exports fell by 4% to 189,208t. Overall, cement dispatches increased by 38% to 1.4Mt. Despite fierce competition, Bestway was able to maintain its market share in the north of Pakistan and retained its position as the largest exporter of cement to Afghanistan and India.
During the quarter, Bestway further reduced its reliance on the national grid by taking energy-saving initiatives and launched a 12MW waste heat recovery power plant at its Pakcem Kallar Kahar operations. The implementation of this project, which is expected to cost US$15m, will support in alleviating the country's power crisis to a certain extent and also reduce the cost of production whilst generating clean, affordable energy.
Anouar Invest to launch cement plant in Laâyoune 11 November 2015
Morocco: Holding company Anouar Invest plans to build a 500,000t/yr cement plant in Laâyoune as part of the new southern provinces development projects in infrastructure and housing. With an investment package of US$30m, Ciement Sud (CIMSUD) will start operations by July 2017. The plant will be located in the area in Foum El Oued, Laâyoune. The group has also started construction of a cement plant in Settat with a budget of US$300m. It will produce 2.2Mt/yr of cement and will be in operation late 2018.
China: Shanshui Cement has decided to apply for provisional liquidation after determining that it will default on onshore debt payments due on 12 November 2015, a sign that Chinese authorities have become willing to allow weak firms to fail, according to Reuters.
The privately-owned company had been struggling to raise funds as its operations have been hit by overcapacity in the sector. "It's a sign that bailouts are not for everybody and that the slowing economy is taking its toll on the non-investment grade sector," said Warut Promboon, Chief Rating Officer at Dagong Global Credit Rating.
Shanshui Cement said that the petition would constitute a default for US$500m in bonds due in 2020 and trigger an accelerated repayment clause. Its shares have been suspended from trading since April 2015.