Displaying items by tag: Italy
Italy: Cementir Holding has confirmed that its 2014 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) will exceed Euro180m after posting annual growth of 26.4% in the first half of 2014.
Cementir reported EBITDA of Euro78.4m in the first half of 2014, up from Euro62m in the same period of 2013. Revenues inched up to Euro473m from Euro472m, with sales in Turkey, Scandinavia and the Far East offsetting weaker sales in Italy and Egypt. Net profit rose to Euro20.5m from Euro7.4m in the first half of 2013.
The exchange rates on the foreign markets affected sales in Euros. The currency depreciations to the euro, on the other hand, helped Cementir to cut its operating costs by Euro29.3m from the end of June 2013 to Euro386m at the end of June 2014. Cementir's net financial debt went up by Euro30m from December 2013 to Euro355m at 30 June 2014, as a result of plant maintenance, dividend distribution and changes in working capital.
For 2014, Cementir expects the growth trends in Scandinavia, Turkey and the Far East to continue, while it is difficult to predict the performance in Egypt due to the political and social unrest.
Italcementi completes a Euro500m capital increase
09 July 2014Italy: Italcementi has fully completed a capital increase worth Euro500m. Investors subscribed 103.6 million new shares within an issue approved by the board of directors on 6 March 2014. During the offer period, investors exercised rights for the subscription of 99.42% of the new shares for Euro497m. Under a subscription agreement, Italmobiliare spent Euro225m on the transaction.
Italy: FLSmidth Ventomatic SpA a supplier of complete plants and single machines for high-accuracy and high-capacity storage, packaging and dispatching of products for the cement and building material industry, has strengthened its position in the minerals and chemical industries through the consolidation of its partnerships Imeco(R) and Italmeccanica, both with long-standing experience in the packaging of powdery and granulated products.
Thanks to these two strong business partnerships, Ventomatic says that it is now in the position to 'design, manufacture and supply' bagging solutions that are specifically designed for the dosing and weighing of cement, dry mortars and other building materials and industrial minerals into valve bags, open mouth bags and fill, form and seal bags.
Italy/Egypt: Italcementi celebrated its 150th anniversary and 10 years of 'successful operations in Egypt' in March 2014. Director general of Italcementi, Giovanni Ferrario, said that the group's mission focused on 'product innovation, quality and opportunities for the future.' The new branding system, i.Nova, was presented at the event, a system that he said was, "The result of 15 years of research that rejuvenates the group's marketing strategy."
The company says that the i.Nova approach focuses on the client in a strategy that is no longer based on supplying a single product, but on the ability to offer solutions that can meet several different needs at the same time 'fast and efficiently.' ''Our industrial strategy centres around research, innovation and sustainability, values that are necessary for competitiveness,'' said Ferrario.
Cementir Holding reports sluggish revenue in 2013
12 March 2014Italy: Cementir Holding has reported a revenue of Euro989m in 2013, a 1% increase year-on-year from the Euro976m reported in 2013. Sales of grey and white cement fell slightly by 1% to 9.74Mt in 2013. Despite this, net profit rose by 144% to Euro40.1m and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 22.9% to Euro170m.
"Despite the modest increase in revenues, profitability improved significantly. Cementir Holding ended 2013 with EBITDA above the target set at the start of the year, despite the sharp downturn in the Turkish and Egyptian currencies," said Francesco Caltagirone Jr, Chairman and CEO of Cementir Holding.
By region the Italy-based cement producer reported revenue rises in Scandinavia, Turkey and in the Far East. Revenues fell by 15% in Egypt and by 13.6% in Italy.
In its outlook Cementir Holding expects to see continued revenue growth in Scandinavia, Turkey and the Far East in 2014 and an improvement in profitability in Italy amidst continued market weakness. It does not expect the situation to improve in Egypt during 2014.
Buzzi Unicem sells cement plant to Wietersdorfer unit for Euro22m
19 February 2014Italy: Buzzi Unicem has agreed to sell its 0.3Mt/yr cement plant in Cadola, Italy, to a subsidiary of Wietersdorfer for Euro22m. Under the terms of the agreement, Austria's Wietersdorfer will be also entitled to buy, within five years and without additional payment, Buzzi Unicem's Travesio 0.4Mt/yr cement plant.
Italian cement producer Buzzi Unicem has also agreed to buy 25% in two Wietersdorfer facilities. In particular, the company will acquire shares in W&P Cementi and Salonit Anhovo Gradbeni Materiali for Euro22m. W&P Cementi currently has a grinding plant in Pordenone, Italy with a production capacity of 0.3Mt/yr. Salonit owns an integrated cement plantin Slovenia with a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr.
With these transactions, Buzzi Unicem expects to strengthen its production and sales structure by improving its procurement logistics, it said adding that the deals will result in technological integration between the two companies aiming to develop new products. The transactions are expected to close on 30 June 2014.
Italcementi revenue fall slows in third quarter of 2013
13 November 2013Italy: Italcementi's revenue has dropped by 3.2% year-on-year to Euro1.06bn for the third quarter of 2013 from Euro1.10bn in the same period in 2012. However, earnings before income and taxes (EBIT) fell by 36% year-on-year to Euro108m for the third quarter of 2013 from Euro168m in 2012. The Italy-based multinational cement producer attributed the low revenue decline as a sign of slowing decline in Europe.
"Despite the stagnation in demand on the European markets, over the last four quarters, with the exception of March 2013, which was severely affected by the impact of bad weather on construction operations, the Italcementi Group has reported a positive trend in results for its industrial operations," said Giovanni Ferrario, Group Chief Operating Officer. He added that the group efficiency plan had helped the result despite the strong impact of the rise in energy prices in Egypt.
Sales of cement and clinker fell by 2.4% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2013 to 10.8Mt. By region sales fell in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in the third quarter of 2013. Cement and clinker sales rose in North America and Asia. This trend was mirrored for the first nine months of 2013 also.
Buzzi Unicem sales down by 3.2% in first nine months of 2013
13 November 2013Italy: Buzzi Unicem has reported that its net sales have fallen by 3% year-on-year to Euro2.08bn for the first nine months in 2013. Cement sales volumes fared better with a 1.2% drop to 20.6Mt. For the third quarter of 2013 the Italy-based cement producer reported drops in sales volumes in Mexico, Italy and Eastern Europe.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10% to Euro336m. Buzzi Unicem expects recurring operating results to fall by 5 – 10% for the whole of 2013 compared to 2012.
Italcementi markets products by performances under i.nova brand
25 September 2013Italy: Italcementi's Carlo Pesenti (CEO) and Giovanni Ferrario (COO) launched i.nova, Italcementi's new product offer system, on 19 September 2013. The entire product portfolio developed by the group, focused on the concept of differentiating products by performance, is now available on the market.
The group says that the customer is the hub of the i.nova system, which differs from the traditional commodity-based approach to cement supply. Its system is designed to simplify the purchasing process by organising products by structural codes.
Through i.nova it will be easier for customers to distinguish and select, for instance, the acoustic products that are grouped under the i.sound family, or the thermal products grouped under the i.clime family or again, the special products for water, grouped under the i.idro family. In addition, a distinct colour and graphic marking have been given to each performance 'family' so as to make visual recognition of the product quicker and easier in all the countries where the group operates.
"i.nova revolutionises Italcementi's marketing strategy and approach to sales, reconfirming the group's highly innovative positioning," explained Carlo Pesenti. "Despite operating in what is referred to as a traditional sector, the company places research, innovation and sustainability at the forefront of its industrial strategy, convinced that such values represent a fundamental lever for consolidating its competitive advantage in the building industry. In fact, i.nova is the evolution of the last 15 years of research, during which many unique innovative products have been developed, such as the photocatalytic cement and the transparent cement used for the Italian Pavilion in Shanghai."
CIFA celebrates 85 years of business
16 September 2013Italy: Construction equipment and machinery manufacturer CIFA celebrated its 85th year of business on 12 September 2013. In attendance at a ceremony held at the company headquarters in Senago were the company's senior management, the CEO of CIFA Davide Cipolla and the President of Zoomlion Zhan Chunxin.
Highlights of the celebration included the inauguration of a company museum and showroom and the publication of a history of the company entitled 'CIFA: The winning anomaly.' The company also inaugurated the TEC (Testing European Centre), a centre where experimental activities and tests are carried out on machine bodywork and components. Other on-going activities for the anniversary included an in-house design centre that was launched earlier in 2013 as part of the anniversary and a facelift of the company headquarters due for completion in the autumn of 2013.