Displaying items by tag: CRH
Turkey: Ireland's CRH and its Turkish partner Eren Holding AS have hired JP Morgan Chase & Co (JPM) to help sell their cement joint venture in Turkey. CRH and Eren Holding each own a 50% stake.
Companies including Haci Omer Sabançi Holding AS (SAHOL), Limak Holding AS and Oyak Cement Group are interested in the plant. The three potential bidders are among those shortlisted and the sale process for the venture, which is known as Denizli Çimento Sanayii TAS, could be finalised by October 2014.
Denizli produces about 3% of Turkey's and 31% of western Turkey's total clinker output, according to its website. It is aiming to increase its sales to Euro86.8m in 2014 from Euro76.1m 2013.
Maha Cement plans Sri Lanka market entry
22 July 2014India: Maha Cement has announced that it plans to enter the Sri Lanka cement market with its joint venture company, My Home Industries Limited (MHIL), which is part-owned by Ireland's CRH. MHIL has 8.40Mt/yr of cement production capacity and plans to increase its capacity to 10Mt/yr by 2015. It plans to set up a cement plant in the east coast of Tamil Nadu, India, for import to nearby Sri Lanka.
CRH expands business in Europe
08 May 2014Ireland: Ireland's CRH expects earnings to rise in 2014 after revenues grew sharply in its struggling European business in the first four months of the year.
The company said that sales rose by 10% in Europe to the end of April 2014, driven by better weather conditions and improving underlying market conditions. In the US, cold weather hit early season activity, however, stronger housing activity and a strengthening economic background saw revenues rise by 2%.
"In Europe, the good start to the year in much more favourable weather conditions is encouraging. While we continue to expect second-half performance to be ahead of 2013, we believe that the strong year-to-date rate of organic growth is likely to moderate," said CRH.
The company said that it expects earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in the seasonally less significant first half of 2014 to rise to Euro500m from Euro400m in 2013. Earnings in the second-half of 2014 should be somewhat ahead of 2013. CRH also said that it had seen limited impact on trading to date from the political unrest in Ukraine, one of its main European markets, where cement sales volumes were up by 30%. However, the outlook remains uncertain.
After announcing a review of its portfolio in 2013, CRH said in February 2014 that it would sell 45 businesses representing 10% of net assets and would continue to keep a watch on other operations accounting for 20% of its assets. On 7 May 2014 CRH announced that it was assessing another selection of businesses that account for a further 10% of its net assets, where the returns potential was not yet clear. The review will be completed in the third quarter of 2014.
Mykolaivcement reports US$5.47m loss in 2013
30 April 2014Ukraine: Mykolaivcement has reported a loss of US$5.47m in 2013. Its revenue fell by 10% to US$46.6m from US$5.28m in 2012. In 2012 Mykolaivcement reported a loss of US$5.79m according to the Ukranian News agency.
The cement producer based in Mykolaiv, Lviv region also makes paving slabs and facade tiles, concrete, pavestone and other construction materials. In April 2013 Cement Roadstone Holdings held talks with Lafarge on the acquisition of the company. Lafarge Ukraine Holding owns 99.26% of shares in the factory.
Podilskiy Cement reports Euro7.4m loss in 2013
02 April 2014Ukraine: Podilskiy Cement has preliminary reported a loss of US$7.4m in 2013. The CRH subsidiary reported a US$6.5m loss in 2012 despite increasing its revenue. The wet process cement plant has six production lines with a total cement production capacity of 3.7Mt/yr.
CRH may sell controversial Israeli company
24 March 2014Israel: CRH may end its involvement with a hugely controversial Israeli company whose cement has been used to manufacture barriers for a widely condemned security wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian West Bank.
CRH owns a 25% stake in Israel's only cement producer, Mashav and for years has drawn fire from shareholders and international pressure groups for retaining its holding in the company, which it bought in 2001. Mashav is the holding company for a firm called Nesher Cement, the cement of which has been used to construct the wall dividing the West Bank from Israel. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign is among the groups that has put pressure on CRH to divest its stake in Mashav and has previously staged protests at CRH annual general meetings.
CRH has previously pointed out that, while it owns a 25% stake in Mashav, the group isn't directly involved in the production of concrete products in Israel. The company has also insisted that Mashav can't discriminate against who it sells concrete to and that the Israeli firm's concrete has also been sold to the Palestinian Authority.
But the new chief executive of CRH, Albert Manifold, has been spearheading a sweeping review of CRH's businesses that could see a number of them, including its stake in Mashav, being put up for sale. In February 2014 Manifold said that CRH has so far identified 45 businesses that will be put on the block. CRH finance director Maeve Carton said that the units have been singled out for not meeting 'Those criteria we have of being able to deliver improved margins and growth into the future.'
In a detailed annual report, CRH said that 34 of the 45 businesses that it's planning to sell are in Europe and another 11 in the US. CRH also said that it wrote off a total of Euro105m from the value of a 50% stake in Turkey's Denizli Cement and its 25% stake in Mashav. That has fuelled speculation that CRH may also seek to offload its holding in Mashav. A spokesman for the company declined to comment. CRH has not identified any specific businesses that it plans to sell as part of its review.
CRH announces non-executive board appointment
25 February 2014Ireland: The Board of Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) has announced that Henk Rottinghuis has been appointed as a non-executive director of the company.
Rottinghuis, aged 58, is a Dutch citizen with a background in distribution, wholesale and logistics. He was until 2010 Chief Executive Officer at Pon Holdings BV, a large, privately held international company that is focused on the supply and distribution of passenger cars, trucks and equipment for the construction and marine sectors.
Rottinghuis is currently the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Stork Technical Services which provides asset management services to the oil and gas, power and chemical industries. He is also a member of the supervisory boards of the Royal Bank of Scotland NV and the retail groups Blokker Holding BV and Detailresult Groep.
CRH slips into the red in first half of 2013
20 August 2013Ireland: Irish cement conglomerate Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH), has released its results for the first half of 2013, which show that it made a loss of Euro7.1m before tax for the six month period. This compares to a Euro102m pre-tax profit in the first half of 2012. Its operating profit came in at Euro41m, down from a restated Euro162m operating profit in the first half of 2012.
Commenting on the results, CRH's Chief Executive Myles Lee said, "Although recent economic indicators suggest that the Eurozone may be emerging from recession, overall construction activity remains weak and we expect challenging trading conditions in Europe for the remainder of 2013. In the United States, economic growth is estimated to have strengthened over recent quarters and we expect second half EBITDA to be ahead of last year."
"Overall for CRH, we expect EBITDA for the second half of the year to be in line with 2012 (Euro1.04bn)," continued Lee. "The group continues to focus on cost management, operational excellence, value-adding acquisitions and strong cash generation and is well-positioned to progress as markets recover."
CRH's sales revenue was down by 3% (by 6% on a like-for-like basis). This was made up of 7% year-on-year fall in the four months to April 2013, moderating to a 3% decline in May and June 2013.
CRH's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment charges (EBITDA) amounted to Euro400m. Its first half acquisitions/investments came to Euro470m and it made Euro202m from asset disposals.
CRH's My Home Industries to buy Sree Jayajothi Cements
12 August 2013India/Ireland: Following earlier speculation, Ireland's Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) has announced that its 50:50 Joint Venture in India, My Home Industries Ltd has reached an agreement to acquire the shares of Sree Jayajothi Cements, a 3.2Mt/yr cement producer in south India for a value of Euro175m.
Dow Jones reports that the investment will be financed from My Home Industries' existing debt capacity and by equity inputs from the joint shareholders (Euro70m). CRH's equity interest will amount to Euro35m.
Ireland: Irish cement conglomerate Cement Roadstone Holdings (CRH) has announced that Albert Manifold will become group chief executive on 1 January 2014 following the retirement of current chief executive Myles Lee after 32 years with the group.
Manifold, a board member and CRH's CEO since January 2009, has held a variety of senior positions within the company, including managing director of the Europe Materials Division and group development director. Prior to joining CRH in 1998, he was CEO with a private equity group.
Commenting on the appointment, CRH's chairman, Nicky Hartery, said, "I am delighted to announce Albert's appointment as the next chief executive of CRH. This follows a comprehensive selection process led by the Board's Succession Committee."
"Albert will succeed Myles in the New Year, facilitating an orderly transition at chief executive level," continued Hartery. "Albert brings to his new role a deep knowledge of the industry and proven international executive experience."