Displaying items by tag: Brazil

Brazil: Brazil's Camargo Corrêa has launched a bid for the 68.1% stake in Portugal's Cimpor that it does not already own. Camargo Corrêa Cimentos, the Brazil-based cement unit of which is that nation's fifth-largest cement producer, currently controls 32.9% of Cimpor.

It is thought that Camargo Corrêa may be taking advantage of depressed valuations in the troubled Portuguese economy to win control of the company. Cimpor is itself the fourth-largest cement producer in Brazil. In 2010, Camargo Corrêa teamed up with industrial conglomerate Grupo Votorantim to thwart Brazilian steelmaker CSN's bid for full control of Cimpor. Votorantim holds 21% of Cimpor.

This new move may open up the spectre of a lengthly and interesting anti-trust approval if the deal is accepted by Cimpor, especially given that Camargo Corrêa, Votorantim and four other producers were accused of price-fixing in the Brazilian cement market in November 2011.

At the end of 2011 Portuguese media reported that both Camargo Corrêa and Votorantim were preparing to buy Cimpor minority shareholders out. It has now been reported that Votorantim is looking to make use of its option to buy bank Caixa Geral de Depositos SA's 9.6% in Cimpor and thus reach a stake in Cimpor similar in size to that owned by Camargo Corrêa.

Brazil: Denmark's FLSmidth has announced that it has been awarded a contract worth US$83m by Margem Companhia de Mineração (a subsidiary of Supremo Cimentos) for delivery of equipment and services at its new cement production line in Brazil. The plant will be located in Adrianópolis, in Paraná, approximately 130km north of Curitiba. The order will contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until 2014.

The scope of supply includes all major process equipment including an EV crusher, a stacker/reclaimer, ATOX mills for both raw and fuel grinding, an ILC 5-stage preheater, a ROTAX-2 kiln, an FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler and an OK Mill for cement grinding. Furthermore, air pollution control systems, a packing plant, as well as automation and control equipment are included. FLSmidth MAAG Gear and FLSmidth Pfister will also contribute to the project.

The project will feature the latest technology to ensure the production process is both environmentally-friendly and energy-efficient. "The continuously growing demand for infrastructure in Latin America makes it an interesting market for FLSmidth," said Group CEO Jørgen Huno Rasmussen. "Our capability of delivering full scope systems, as underlined by this order, reinforces FLSmidth's strong position and our ability to tap into the important Latin American market."

Brazil: Cement manufacturer Holcim, which already operates cement plants in Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, is considering a new plant or joint-venture with a company already established in the Brazilian cement market. The group has untouched limestone reserves in the south, mid-west and the north east regions to offer any potential collaborator.

Holcim President Otmar Hübscher said that the company has been looking at possible locations and wants to focus Holcim to meet the growing cement demand in Brazil, where it is currently operating at its 5.3Mt/yr capacity. The company has already announced an US$800m expansion of its plant in Barroso, Minas Gerais. It is presently waiting for environmental clearance for the project, which will see that plant increase its capacity from 1.2Mt/yr to 3.5Mt/yr by 2014.

Brazil: Votorantim Industrial, Brazil's largest diversified industrial conglomerate, intends to use proceeds from the sale of its stake in steelmaker Usiminas to expand its cement and mining output.

Chief executive, Raul Calfat, announced that the US$1.34bn raised by Techint's purchase of Votorantim's 13.5% voting stake in Usiminas had boosted the group's cash holdings to US$6.5bn. This high level of cash will allow the investment holding company to avoid borrowing at a time when financial markets remain shut for all but the most credit-worthy companies, said Calfat. It also gives the company room for funding heavy investment plans with its own cash.

Calfat said that the group's cement unit, Brazil's largest producer of the building material, would get one-third of the Usiminas stake sale proceeds. He said that the money would go towards the construction of four factories by 2013.

Brazil: Denmark's major cement plant manufacturer, FLSmidth, has signed a contract for two cement projects worth a total of US$132m with Cimpor Cimentos do Brasil Ltda in Brazil. The contract comprises equipment for the Caxitu project, a new greenfield cement plant in Paraiba State near the town of Joâo Pessoa and for a new kiln line project at the Cezarina cement plant located in Goias State, 130km from Goiania.

The scope of supply for the Caxitu project includes a circular limestone storage dome, a longitudinal storage and reclaimer system for raw materials and a similar system for additives, a longitudinal storage facility for petcoke, an Atox raw mill, a Tirax coal mill, an in-line calciner preheater system and a Rotax kiln and SF cooler. The scope of supply for the Cezarina project comprises a complete pyro-processing line including an Atox raw mill, a CF silo, an in-line calciner preheater system, a Rotax kiln and an FLSmidth Cross-Bar cooler. FLSmidth will also supply air pollution control systems for the two projects, featuring the latest pyro technology for burning and utilising alternative fuels.

"Brazil is continuously investing heavily in development projects, both to support upcoming events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games and to provide housing and build infrastructure," said Group CEO Jørgen Huno Rasmussen. "This order enables FLSmidth to maintain its leading role in supporting Brazil's rapidly expanding cement industry and maintain close ties with our long term customer Cimpor."

The order will contribute beneficially to FLSmidth's earnings until commissioning in 2013.

Brazil: Construction group Camargo Corrêa has denied that it is in talks to buy a remaining stake in Portuguese cement maker Cimpor.

Camargo Corrêa and industrial conglomerate Votorantim have been reported as being in talks to buy the additional stake. According to one source, Camargo Corrêa plans to take over Cimpor's operations in Brazil while Votorantim would consolidate assets of the Lisbon-based company outside of Brazil.

"There isn't any change in the position of this company regarding Cimpor," Camargo Corrêa said in a statement. Camargo Corrêa and Votorantim currently hold 54.1% of Cimpor.

The value of the remaining stake is about Euro1.5bn based on Cimpor's closing share price on 19 October 2011. Votorantim and Camargo Corrêa acquired 53% of Cimpor early in 2010 after beating an offer from steelmaker Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional.

Brazil: Domestic demand for cement in Brazil is leading to an increase of imports. Imports of cement and clinker reached 2.2Mt from January to September 2011, an increase of 74% from the same period in 2010. The total value of imported cement cost USD135m from January to September 2011, compared with USD80m from the same period in 2010.

From 2007 to 2010 Brazilian per capita consumption rose from 224kg to 310kg while production rose from 40Mt/yr to 59Mt/yr. The country has 70 plants to meet this growing demand. Exports have fallen from 515,000t/yr in 2008 to 36,000t/yr in 2010.

Votorantim Cimentos leads the market with 40 plants and a production of 21Mt/yr. It currently plans to build eight plants by 2014 with investments of USD1.4bn, a sum that includes concrete units as well. CSN Cimentos is an emerging player in the market and it is planning to meet a production level of 8.4Mt/yr by 2013. Camargo Correa Cimentos runs 5.2Mt/yr and Joao Santos 5.9Mt/yr.

Brazil: An antitrust investigation into alleged price-fixing by Holcim and others in Brazil has ended today. The company could face a fine of up to USD413m if the probe decides that Holcim's behaviour was uncompetitive.

Several cement makers are among the companies named by the Brazilian government's anti-cartel investigation arm (SDE) in an inquiry that began in 2005. According to the Brazilian government, the companies were given until 1 October 2011 to make their final submissions before the SDE gives its opinion to the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE), which will makes a final ruling. The companies involved face fines of up to 30% of their Brazilian revenue if CADE decides they have been running a cartel.

"There is an investigation into the cement industry including Holcim, which started in 2005," said Holcim spokesman Peter Gysel. "This is an ongoing proceeding and we cannot comment further."

Cartel fines are normally limited to 30% of revenue from Brazil, but a recent case showed that repeat offences can draw penalties of up to 50%. In 2010 Brazil's antitrust regulator fined White Martins Gases Industraies USD1.3bn for forming a cartel with four other industrial gas companies. The amount was later reduced to USD0.95bn. Praxair expects to win two appeals to the case.

Holcim previously has been fined by the anti-cartel authorities in Brazil following an investigation that dates back to its activities in 2002. "In 2002, there was an investigation in the aggregates business where the company received a non-material fine," Holcim spokesman Gysel said.

Ian Osburn, analyst for ING Bank, said that if the investigation found against Holcim, the company could face fines of up to 50% of its 2009 revenue in Brazil, which he estimates was around USD820m. Penalties of half of that amount, or USD410m, would reduce the company's 2012 earnings before interest, tax and amortisation by around 15% Osburn said. "In the worse case scenario, the fine would be about 15% of Holcim's 2012 group operating profit. That's significant," he said.

Brazil: KHD Humboldt Wedag International has announced that its subsidiary Humboldt Wedag Inc has received a major order from Brazilian cement firm Cimentos Liz SA.

KHD Humboldt Wedag will supply the Brazilian company with equipment as well as engineering and consulting services on site. It will also provide services for the commissioning of Liz's new facility, which will have a capacity of 5000t/day. The value of the total order is expected to be in the region of USD120m.

Argentina: Cement maker Loma Negra, controlled by Brazil's Grupo Camargo Correa, will invest USD404m in Argentina between 2012 and 2014, President Cristina Fernandez has announced.

Camargo Correa officials met with the Argentine president Fernandez and presented an investment plan that includes a new cement plant. "They told me about investments... for USD404m with a cement plant that will allow them to produce 900,000t more," Fernandez, who is seeking re-election in October 2011, said in a speech.

The investments, aimed at increasing output, also include a coal stockpile yard, said Ricardo Lima, vice president of operations at Camargo Correa. Loma Negra has nine cement plants and six concrete plants.