13 August 2015
India: The India Cements has posted a net profit of US$6.15m for the quarter that ended on 30 June 2015 when compared with a net loss of US$455,297 in the same period of 2014. This is the second successive quarter that it has reported a net profit. The India Cements attributed the good performance to better prices for cement bags and lower expenses as a consequence of cost-control measures.
The India Cements' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) grew to US$30.6m from US$25.5m in the same quarter of 2014. Net sales for the quarter fell to US$165m from US$189m in the same period of 2014 as cement sales fell to 2.08Mt from 2.39Mt in the 2014 quarter.
"It was a strong quarter and price stabilisation is slowly taking place. Overall, we have turned a corner. Our next task is to the stabilise performance and improve the bottom line through a combination of cost control measures and increases in volume," said N Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director of the company.
Srinivasan said that cement demand in the south of India continued to be under pressure with negative growth. With the huge excess capacity in the region, utilisation levels remained at less than 60%, compared with the 70% levels seen for India as a whole. Srinivasan said that he hoped that Seemandhra and Telangana would spur demand to help improve utilisation levels.
Ohorongo Cement donates 720 bags of Cement to Oshana 13 August 2015
Namibia: The Oshana regional council has received 720 bags of cement from Ohorongo Cement, according to All Africa. The cement will be used for projects in the region.
The cement was delivered to the regional strategic warehouse at Uuwangula, some 10km outside Oshakati. Ompundja regional councillor Adolf Uunona, who spoke on behalf of Oshana governor Clemens Kashupuulwa, said that the cement would be distributed to 13 projects constructing water tank stands, halls and small bridges. Uunona praised Ohorongo Cement for investing more than US$1.12m by sending employees to Germany for training, facilitating education and job creation by supporting vocational training centres like the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology and offering internships and job attachments.
"The government needs to be commended for having succeeded in maintaining a positive business climate that has been conductive for growing Ohorongo Cement. I have been reliably informed that the company contributes more than 1% towards the country's gross domestic product (GDP)," said Uunona. The councillor also thanked Ohorongo Cement for giving back to society, especially to the rural areas where the majority of Namibians live.
General manager of Ohorongo Cement, Rudolf Coetzee, said that as part of the silver jubilee independence celebrations, the company committed to donate 720 bags of cement to each of the 14 regions of Namibia. "Even though Ohorongo Cement is still an infant within a brand new industry, it diligently strives to continuously contribute towards public-private-partnerships and support government initiatives like Vision 2030, Growth at Home and NDP4," said Coetzee.
Cementos Chihuahua seeks to increase sales in US 13 August 2015
Mexico/US: Grupo Cementos Chihuahua (GCC) has announced plans to increase its sales in the US and reach a double digit rate by 2018. The company has estimated 6% income growth in the Mexican market and 8% growth in the US by the end of 2015. GCC has predicted that the cement sector in Mexico will slow down in the upcoming years. At present, 70% of the company's revenue comes from US, while 30% is obtained in the domestic market. GCC also aims to increase its production capacity in the US from 4.6Mt/yr to 5Mt/yr in the mid-term.