global market
Four bidders shortlisted for purchase of Halla Cement 19 September 2017
South Korea: Four companies have been shortlisted to buy a full stake in Halla Cement. Asia Cement, Sungshin Cement, Aju Corporation and LK Investment Partners are all contenders for the sale, according to sources quoted by the Maeil Business Newspaper. Six investors submitted preliminary bids for the cement producer and Halla Cement’s largest shareholder Baring Private Equity Asia and its sales advisor Citigroup Global Market Securities Korea chose the final selection.
The shortlisted companies will have up to six weeks to conduct due diligence procedures before submitting final bids in early November 2017. The seller intends to pick a final bidder by mid-November 2017.
Baring Private Equity Asia and Glenwood Private Equity bought Lafarge Halla Cement from LafargeHolcim in mid-2016 for Euro427m.
US: Thermo Fisher Scientific have released a new online elemental analyser that can be used in real time quality control for process optimisation in cement production. The Thermo Scientific CB Omni Fusion analyser allows users to choose either an electrically-driven neutron generator or an isotope, Californium (252Cf), as the analyser’s excitation source. This enables them to continuously measure the elemental composition of the entire raw material stream carried on a conveyor belt.
“Cement manufacturers are under increased pressure to maximise resources and reduce costs,” said Kevin Gordon, global marketing manager for prompt gamma neutron activation analysis for Thermo Fisher Scientific. “We’ve developed the CB Omni Fusion with flexibility in mind. Quality control managers and operators can gather immediate results from raw material analysis to save time, money and energy, and they can customize the instrument to work best for them.”
The product also features a new software interface suite, Omni View, which allows users to configure the analyser to their process requirements. Additional features of the Thermo Scientific CB Omni Fusion analyser include: auto-diagnostic software to track system health and operational conditions; modular design to facilitate installation on existing conveyor trusses; and one to four large volume detectors and variable tunnel heights to accommodate process conditions.
The Thermo Scientific CB Omni Fusion analyser follows other analytics products from Thermo Fisher Scientific including the CB Omni and CB Omni Flex. It can also be used for elemental analysis in the sinter ore, scrap steel and mineral production processes.
Beumer celebrates 80 years of business 11 December 2015
Germany: Beumer Group celebrated its 80th anniversary on 9 December 2015. The conveying, loading, palletising, packaging, sortation and distribution manufacturer was originally founded by Bernhard Beumer on 9 December 1935 with four employees. In 2014 Beumer Group reported a turnover of Euro680m and today it has around 4100 employees.
"The success is primarily due to the familial spirit. We have consistently held to our motto 'We are looking for the long-term success, and not for the short-term profit'," said Christoph Beumer, Chairman and CEO of Beumer Group. Beumer is the third generation of his family to manage the business and he has held the post since 2000. Beumer attributes the long-term success of the company to manageable growth, a large range of products and a global market presence. Beumer machines and systems are in use all around the world.
Conveying technology formed the foundation of Beumer Group's business when Bernhard Beumer started the company in 1935. His eldest son, also named Bernhard Beumer, took over the company in 1981 and promoted the development of bucket elevators leading to the company belt bucket elevators. By the mid-1980s, the supplier had installed about 100 systems altogether, in 2007 and 2008 there were about 450 installed per year. Besides the product development in the field of conveying technology, Bernhard Beumer Jr. also continued the initial development of loading systems and steered Beumer's international growth with the foundation of companies in Brazil, the USA and Asia.
In the 1960s, Beumer laid the foundation for curved belt conveying systems. The first theoretical designs on the market were from the company's Department for Research and Development. Today this group is one of the technological leaders for these systems, either as troughed belt conveyors with open design or as Pipe Conveyors. In the field of loading technology, Bernhard Beumer Jr. developed new products, such as the three-dimensional loading machine for loading cement bags onto trucks. In the 1970s, the engineers further developed this machine until it became completely automated. The stationary palletiser is a result of this development.
Beumer took over the Danish sortation technology specialist Crisplant in 2009, followed later by companies in India, the US and Belgium. It acquired Enexco Technologies in India, a manufacturer of grinding systems and packaging machines for the cement industry, in 2011.
"I view the company as a little jewel case," said Beumer when speaking of the company history. "When my grandfather founded it, it was no more than a little wooden box. He added some velvet lining to it and then handed it over to the second generation, my father, who added some more and embellished it further."
LafargeHolcim outlines roadmap for 2015 29 July 2015
Europe: LafargeHolcim has announced its roadmap for the second half of 2015 as it has released the 2015 half-year results for Lafarge and Holcim (click on links to see separate stories).
"We continue to operate in a demanding global market environment and this has affected our first-half performance," said Eric Olsen, CEO of LafargeHolcim. "However, as a new company we have hit the ground running. A team of 200 senior leaders of LafargeHolcim met as early as last week to align on priorities, targets and initiatives to drive the integration process. It is a great team we have on board. We have launched a set of synergy acceleration activities covering areas such as capital expenditure (capex), procurement, cement industrial performance, network optimisation as well as commercial transformation. We expect to see the first tangible results in all areas by the end of 2015."
LafargeHolcim expects to deliver at least Euro93.9m in synergies, impacting earnings until the end of 2015 as part of its programme to achieve Euro1.4bn run rate synergies by the third year of operations. LafargeHolcim has also launched a review of its asset base and the planned capital expenditures for the remainder of 2015. It targets an overall reduction in capex of at least Euro18.8m until the end of 2015, compared to what both companies had planned to spend on a standalone basis. This results in capex of below Euro1.31bn for the second half of 2015. In parallel, the company has also launched a portfolio review for further optimisation.
Further, LafargeHolcim has defined capital allocation discipline as a key focus area with a view to reduce capex and maximise cash generation and returns for shareholders. As a first step, LafargeHolcim has decided on a progressive dividend policy, starting at least at Euro1.22/share for the financial year 2015, subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting in 2016. This will apply to all shares, including the new shares to be awarded to shareholders as a scrip dividend of one share per 20 shares held that was announced in March 2015. This scrip dividend is now expected to be issued on 8 September 2015.
LafargeHolcim expects net proceeds of around Euro5.63bn by the end of 2015 from divestments that will be used to reduce debt, supporting a solid financial structure. This would lead to a net debt below Euro14.1bn by the end of 2015, prior to the fair value adjustment on the Lafarge debt and a potential squeeze-out of Lafarge.
ARVOS Group becomes a standalone corporation from Alstom with Triton as new shareholder 02 September 2014
Germany: ARVOS Group, the former Alstom Auxiliary Components business, has become a standalone corporation with Triton as its new shareholder. ARVOS Group is a global manufacturer of regenerative heat exchangers for thermal power generation facilities, process critical applications in the chemical and petrochemical industry and grinding mills. Over the course of the transition, the company's headquarters will be relocated from Mannheim, Germany to Heidelberg, Germany.
"As a standalone company, we are able to focus more effectively on strengthening our global market and technology leadership position in order to enhance thermal power plants through sustainable energy efficiency and the chemical industry through innovation," said ARVOS Group CEO, Thorsten Holl.
Pakistan cement sales fall at start of new fiscal year 22 August 2014
Pakistan: After posting cement dispatches of 3Mt/month between March and June 2014, Pakistan's cement dispatches were down to just 2.23Mt in July 2014. This compared unfavourably to dispatches of 2.6Mt in July 2013. Domestic dispatches of 1.75Mt were down by 6.5% year-on-year compared to July 2013. Cement exports dropped by a third from 0.75Mt in July 2013 to 0.5Mt in July 2014.
The poorer export performance was mainly attributed to a reduction in quantities sold to Afghanistan where against exports of 0.44Mt in July 2013 were reduced to just 0.18Mt in July 2014. According to industry experts, this trend is likely to continue in the coming months as NATO forces prepare to leave Afghanistan. The massive decline, over 58%, also indicates declining competitiveness of Paksistani cement in the global market where other regional players like Iran are making inroads.
Mexico: The board of Cemex may soon decide on a new CEO to replace the late Lorenzo Zambrano, who died of heart failure in Madrid on 12 May 2014. A funeral Mass was held on 14 May 2014.
Directors are likely to hold a meeting in the next few days, according to CFO Fernando Gonzalez. "The board meeting should occur this week," said Gonzalez. "What I can't tell you is the result." A swift decision by directors on a new CEO may reassure investors about the course of Cemex after Zambrano's three-decade tenure. He led the company to the top of the regional industry with US$29bn of acquisitions and became one of Mexico's best-known CEOs, while leaving no publicly anointed successor. Gonzalez, Cemex's CFO, is the odds-on favourite to succeed Zambrano according to analysts.
Gonzalez said that he didn't know whether the board would consider hiring a leader from outside of the company and that major shifts in the business are unlikely. "Cemex's strategy should be maintained," he said. "The strategy is to participate in the global market of the building materials industry." Gonzalez, who isn't a director, said that only the board knows the details of Cemex's succession planning. Even if the board meets this week, there's no guarantee it will make a final decision on new leadership.
Denmark: Danish cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth has reported that its profit fell by 9% to Euro175m in 2012 from Euro193m in 2011. However, its revenue rose by 21% to Euro3.33bn from Euro2.75bn. Earnings before non-recurring items, depreciation, amortisation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 9% to Euro370m from Euro339m.
FLSmidth commented that in 2012 in the cement industry, capacity utilisation outside China remained relatively subdued at around 75%. Overall, the global cement market was affected by macroeconomic uncertainty and slow growth, but there were several local areas, where the economy grew and where cement demand outpaced supply.
In its cement division FLSmidth reported a fall in revenue of 3% to Euro584m in 2012 from Euro565m in 2011. It commented that the global market for contracted new kiln capacity (excluding China) amounted to an estimated 40Mt/yr in in 2012, compared to 46Mt/yr in 2011. This is the lowest level since 2002 and FLSmidth stated that it expects the market for new cement kiln capacity to have hit 'bottom' in 2012.
"We expect 2013 to be a trough year in terms of EBITA margin – particularly in Cement and Mineral Processing, where execution times are typically up to two to three years. The explanation is simply that we will now be executing orders taken at trough margins during the years of global financial crisis. Fortunately, we have seen market conditions improve since then, and we therefore expect margins to increase again in 2014," commented CEO Jørgen Huno Rasmussen in his outlook for 2013.
Cementos Lima mulling merger with Cemento Andino 11 April 2012
Peru: Cementos Lima, the largest cement producer in Peru, has announced that it is considering a merger with Cemento Andino, which produces cement in the central mountain region of the country.
Cementos Lima said in a note sent to the Peruvian securities regulatory agency that it has hired Citigroup Global Markets Inc. to carry out an independent valuation of both companies. It said the valuation could be used should the board of directors decide to propose a merger between the two companies.
India: Holcim expects the Indian construction market to more than double by 2020. According to one of the company's presentations made earlier in 2012, the Indian construction market will replace Japan as the third largest, after China and the US, by 2020, by which time, emerging markets will outweigh mature markets.
At US$360bn, India accounted for 5% of the US$7.2tn global construction market in 2010. However, by 2020, India is likely to capture a 7% market share, at US$840bn, of the US$12tn global market.
Holcim, which entered India post-2000, has its presence in the country through two established brands: ACC and Ambuja Cements. Collectively, these companies have the largest market share in India. The company currently has an Indian capacity of close to 57Mt/yr and is ahead of domestic giant Aditya Birla Group's UltraTech Cement, at 52Mt/yr.
Both have plans to augment capacities. UltraTech has plans to take its overall capacity to 75Mt by 2015. Holcim's Ambuja Cements will pump in around US$365m by 2013 to add more capacity.
According to India's 12th five year Plan (2012-17) document, the two segments most important to construction activity are infrastructure and housing. Since infrastructure spending is expected to go up to 9% of gross domestic product (GDP) or US$1tn for the Plan period (2012-17), this should translate into double-digit growth for the demand segment.
The Indian cement sector is the world's second largest, after China. During the current Plan (2007-12), cement players invested around US$10bn to add fresh capacities of 150Mt. According to the 12th Plan documents on the industry, the sector would need to increase capacity to 470Mt by 2017.