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RHI Magnesita’s sales and profit rise in 2023suppl 29 February 2024
Austria: RHI Magnesita reported 7.7% year-on-year growth in its sales from €3.32bn to €3.57bn in 2023. Its gross profit rose by 12% from €763m to €857m, while its earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) rose by 1.6% from €372m to €378m.
How to sell InterCement in Brazil
Written by David Perilli, Global Cement
28 February 2024
InterCement confirmed this week that it is accepting bids for its sale. The local financial press had been covering InterCement’s progress towards this since the autumn when it was reported that it appointed BTG Pactual to manage the sale.
The Valor Econômico newspaper then revealed this week that Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional (CSN), Votorantim and China-based Huaxin Cement had all submitted bids. InterCement admitted that it had received offers but didn’t say from who, and pointed out that no deal had been signed yet. Valor said that Votorantim was part of a consortium including Polimix (parent company of Mizu Cimentos) and Buzzi. However, Votorantim issued a statement affirming its involvement but pointing out that it was acting alone and not part of a consortium. Finally, Valor reported that InterCement is looking to raise at least US$1.2bn from the sale of its business in Brazil. In Argentina, Loma Negra confirmed what its parent company, InterCement, was doing. La Nación newspaper also reckoned that the parent company might be looking for over US$700m for the subsidiary.
Rumours that InterCement was looking to sell assets have swirled around since the early 2010s when InterCement picked up the Brazil-based assets of Cimpor and Votorantim bought the international ones. The local market then collapsed giving InterCement a hard time, although when it started to rally in the late 2010s the talk turned to a potential initial public offering. More recently the focus has been on InterCement’s high level of debt and pending maturation dates. It publicly said it was working towards a new capital structure in May 2023 and various debt negotiations followed. By the end of the third quarter of 2023 it reported debts in debentures and senior notes of just under US$1.6bn. It signed a deal to sell its subsidiary in Egypt in January 2023 to an unspecified buyer and then divested its operations in Mozambique and South Africa to Huaxin Cement for just over US$230m in December 2023.
It is noteworthy that InterCement has gone public about its divestment intentions now, given previous coverage in the local press and the poor state of its finances in 2023. In November 2023, for example, Valor reported that CSN had hired Morgan Stanley to represent it in a dispute over the sale. At this time Huaxin Cement plus Titan, Buzzi, Polimix and Vicat were all said to be interested. CSN was also said to be waiting until the results of the presidential election in Argentina first before committing to any deal. Yet InterCement said nothing about what was going on at this time.
The other issue is whether InterCement wants to sell its assets in one big piece or in sections. This would be of particular interest to Votorantim, and CSN to a lesser extent, since they control 30% and 20% of the cement market respectively, according to Valor. Data based on cement production capacity data from the Global Cement Directory makes the gap between the two companies wider since Votorantim holds 46% compared to CSN’s 9%. The point here is that the local competition regulator, the Administrative Court of the Brazilian Administrative Council of Economic Defence (CADE), would be more likely to intervene if it determined that one company might be about to distort the market. Clearly this could happen if Votorantim struck a deal to buy InterCement but there might also be issues regionally with CSN or indeed some of the other local cement producers. Alternatively, Votorantim might be interested in buying Loma Negra instead. All InterCement has said on the matter is that it is “evaluating strategic alternatives, such as private placement, merger, or partnership with a strategic player, or even a potential divestment.”
Any potential sales of InterCement would be the biggest adjustment to the Brazilian cement sector since CSN bought Holcim Brazil for just over US$1bn in mid-2022. There appear to be plenty of potential vendors for both the businesses in Brazil and Argentina but whether InterCement sells its assets in one big lump or in separate pieces may be an issue almost as important as the price, given the competition concerns. Finally, could this be the first major China-based acquisition in the cement sector in South America? Huaxin Cement demonstrated willingness to buy plants from InterCement in Africa in 2023 and it has been linked in the current auction. Unlike previous talk of InterCement selling up, this time it seems serious given the divestments in Africa and the scale of the debt. An outcome seems likely in the coming months.
Kong Qinghui appointed as chair of Tangshan Jidong Cement
Written by Global Cement staff
28 February 2024
China: Tangshan Jidong Cement has appointed Kong Qinghui as its chair. Other appointments include Liu Yu as vice chairman and general manager, Yang Beifang as financial director, Liu Sumin as chief digital officer, and Li Jianfang as general counsel.
Kong Qinghui is a graduate in accounting and he holds a master’s degree in engineering from the Chongqing University of Technology. He started his professional career in 1995 working for Baby-Joy Group in Yantai, before becoming the vice general manager at the logistics headquarters of Tangshan Jidong Cement. Further marketing and management roles followed at various subsidiaries of Tangshan Jidong Cement before Qinghui was appointed as the cement producer’s vice general manager in 2017. From 2020 to mid-2023 he was the general manager assistant of the company and then he became its deputy general manager.
Xavier Guesnu appointed as CEO of Lafarge France
Written by Global Cement staff
28 February 2024
France: Holcim has appointed Xavier Guesnu as the CEO of Lafarge France. He succeeds François Petry, who is leaving the group.
Guesnu started his international career at Legrand before joining Bain & Company in 2005. He joined Lafarge in 2010 as the head of strategic business development and mergers and acquisitions. Operational management roles followed first in eastern Canada as managing director from 2013, then as the managing director of Holcim Poland from 2018. He holds an engineering degree from the École des Mines de Paris.
Cementos Molins makes appointments as part of digital strategy
Written by Global Cement staff
28 February 2024
Spain: Cementos Molins has appointed Javier Sueiras Gil as its Chief Information Officer (CIO) and Rocco Lisi has joined the company as its Digital Manager. The appointments have been made as part of the cement producer’s digital strategy and its efforts to improve operational efficiency. Its digitalisation plan includes over 50 initiatives in areas such as artificial intelligence applied to the industry and multi-channel approaches to improve customer relationships.
Javier Sueiras Gil has worked for Cementos Molins since the late 1990s. He first held the post of Operations Director before later becoming Vice President Information Technology and the company’s joint CIO and Chief Digital Officer in 2015. He is a graduate in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya and has taken further business qualifications subsequently at the
IESE Business School and Esade/Georgetown University.
Rocco Lisi started work for Cementos Molins as its Digital Manager in mid-2023. Prior to this he spent 20 years working for Accenture, eventually becoming its Digital Transformation Director. He is a graduate of the University of Naples Federico II with business qualifications from the Sales Business School and the Valley Digital Business School.