Displaying items by tag: Cemex
Colombia: Cemex Latam Holdings' consolidated net sales fell by 11% year-on-year US$394m during the second quarter of 2015. The decline was attributed to currency fluctuations and lower sales. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), also adjusted for the currency fluctuations, increased by 2% year-on-year during the second quarter of 2015.
Operating EBITDA in Colombia decreased by 23% year-on-year to US$68m in the second quarter of 2015, with a 24% decline in net sales to US$198m. Adjusting for currency fluctuations, EBITDA in Colombia grew by 2% year-on-year. Consolidated cement volumes decreased by 3%, while ready-mix and aggregates volumes increased by 6% and 3%, respectively. In Panama, operating EBITDA fell by 3% to US$33m during the quarter and net sales grew by 9% to US$79m. Cement, ready-mix and aggregates volumes increased by 4%, 10% and 21%, respectively, year-on-year. In Costa Rica, operating EBITDA grew by 5% year-on-year to US$20m and net sales increased by 15% to US$46m. Volumes for the three main products grew at double-digit rates during both the second quarter and the first half of 2015. In the rest of Cemex Latam Holdings' region, net sales during the quarter reached US$76m and operating EBITDA fell by 7% year-on-year to US$20m.
In the first six months of 2015, Cemex Latam Holdings'cement volumes declined by 11%, while ready-mix and aggregates volumes increased by 4% and 2%, respectively. Compared with the first quarter of 2015, cement, ready-mix and aggregates volumes increased by 11%, 8% and 6%, respectively.
"We are pleased with the continued positive volume performance of our operations in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, where we are improving our volume guidance for the year. Additionally, our cement volumes in Colombia increased by 11% during the quarter compared with the first quarter of 2015," said Carlos Jacks, CEO of Cemex Latam Holdings.
"This year our priority is to continue working persistently towards improving our profitability, which has been affected by the depreciation of the Colombian Peso. Additionally, we continue to evolve as a company into a more customer-centric organisation, offering differentiated construction solutions to our specific customer segments."
Cemex plans to invest US$6m to boost production
14 July 2015Dominican Republic: According to Esmerk Latin American News, Cemex Dominicana plans to invest US$5.96m to expand the packaging and palletising capacity at its plant in San Pedro de Macoris. The investment includes a new cement packaging line that will increase its capacity by an additional 1.5m bags per month, reaching a capacity of 2.4Mt/yr. Cemex also intends to expand its cement milling capacity over the next few months and build a new facility for cement loading.
Cemex to save Euro7.38m thanks to Holcim acquisition
13 July 2015Czech Republic: According to CIA Daily News, Cemex's acquisition of Holcim in the Czech Republic is expected to save Cemex Euro7.38m. Cemex plans to invest Euro3.69m into the integration of management systems. One of the largest investments currently planned is the modernisation of the Prachovice cement plant.
Switzerland: According to Splash24/7, Italian ship-owners Giovanni and Vincenzo Romeo have ordered a new 6700t cement carrier with delivery scheduled for 2017. The ship-building contract was signed with Ningbo Xinle shipyard in China and is worth US$10 - 15m.
Originally from Naples, Italy, the Romeo family moved almost all of its shipping activities to Switzerland in 2010, where its Nova Marine Carriers shipping company is now based. Romeo Group historically has very close business relations with steel producers Duferco and cement producer Italcementi, but also regularly does business with other cement producers such as Lafarge, Holcim, Cemex and HeidelbergCement. Romeo's Nova Marine operates a fleet of some 40 bulk carriers, which includes five cement carriers and three self-unloaders.
Cemex to expand social responsibility schemes
03 July 2015South America/Asia: Mexican cement company Cemex has confirmed plans to expand its social responsibility programme to Guatemala, Bangladesh and the Philippines by 2016. The firm intends to installed self-employment production centres (CPA) in these countries to help low-income families renovate their houses.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with authorities and non-governmental organisations, provides construction training and teaches how to manufacture concrete blocks. Half of the production obtained at these centres is used in the construction or renovation of the participants' houses and the other half is bought by local governments to develop infrastructure projects. The income achieved by the initiative is then reinvested by Cemex in the centres.
Cemex already operates 80 CPAs in Mexico and expects to open 20 additional centres in 2015. It has also developed the initiative in Colombia since 2010.
Colombia: Cemex Latam Holdings, the Latin American arm of Mexico's Cemex, has reported unfavourable results in the first quarter of 2015 in Colombia and said that its stocks have been affected, despite the fact that the region turned towards infrastructure improvement projects. As the company's share value in Pesos has dropped by 30% and it has recorded another 35% decline due to depreciation, Cemex Latam Holdings' value in US Dollars is 70% lower.
Company president Carlos Jacks has attributed the poor results in January - March 2015 to the 25% depreciation against the US Dollar, as well as the fact that its 31% growth in 2014 was far higher than the industry average. Another factor was the decision that Colombia should return or generate the same cash flow or the same amount of US Dollars before the depreciation and so it raised its prices, thinking that there would not be a reversal of the exchange rate.
Cemex Latam Holdings will work to recover the price in June 2015 and Jacks feels more confident about the second half of the year. Better sales volumes are expected if its efforts are successful. The company hopes that its local division will return to levels prior to the depreciation of the exchange rate in terms of its cash flow in US Dollars as a result. The business anticipates some momentum in housing programmes over 2016, as well as participation in the first wave of 4G motorway projects and possibly the second wave towards the close of 2015. It projects that around US$5bn/yr will be spent on cement, or US$500m each, while the projects will require some 3.50Mt of cement. The entire market consumes 13Mt/yr of cement. Cemex Latam Holdings will invest around US$180m in 2015 and the funds will mainly be used to expand the production capacity at its plant in Maceo, Colombia or premises in Monterrey, Mexico.
Israel/Palestine: Norwegian insurance giant KLP Kapitalforvaltning has divested two international building material companies, HeidelbergCement and Cemex, from its investment portfolio because of their operations in the West Bank.
According to news agency Haaretz, KLP divested its shares effectively on 1 June 2015, citing international law as set in the Hague and Geneva conventions. Haaretz added that the move is part of KLP's half-yearly review of companies in its portfolio. HeidelbergCement and Cemex acquired companies with Israeli subsidiaries operating quarries in Area C, West Bank, which is under complete Israeli civilian and military control as defined by the Oslo accords. KLP also excluded five more companies because of their income from coal-based operations, one for corruption, one for severe environmental damage and one for the production of tobacco.
"The extraction of non-renewable resources in occupied territory may weaken the future income potential of the local population, including the Palestinian residents. Moreover, when this is undertaken in a way that is difficult to justify within the requirements of the law of belligerent occupation, KLP considers that this activity represents an unacceptable risk of violating fundamental ethical norms," said KLP in a statement.
Mexico: Cemex has presented the results of its sustainable development report from 2014, stressing that it has responded to growing challenges in urban development, while highlighting the need for investments in long-lasting infrastructure, energy-efficient buildings and accessible housing.
Cemex's achievements include 600 infrastructure projects, amounting to more than 8Mm2 of concrete for motorways, runways and streets in 14 countries, while it contributed towards the construction of 3150 affordable homes, covering more than 180,000m2 in 12 nations. Since 1998, Cemex social programmes, including Patrimonio Hoy, ConstruApoyo and Centros Productivos de Autoempleo, have benefited more than 7m people, including 550,000 families. In 2014, Cemex substituted about 28% of its fuels for alternative fuels. Cemex also avoided the emission of more than 8Mt of CO2 and lowered worker accident rates by 33%, as well as contract worker accidents by 23%, during 2014.
Philippines: Cemex has announced that it is undertaking a new US$300m investment in the Philippines. The new investment will include the construction of a new 1.5Mt/yr integrated cement production line at its Solid Plant in Luzon. This will double the capacity of the Solid plant and will represent a 25% increase in its cement capacity in the Philippines.
"We see a positive outlook in the business environment and we are committed to be a reliable cement supplier given the growing need for high quality building materials required for public infrastructure, commercial projects and housing," said Fernando A Gonzalez CEO of Cemex.
Earlier this month, Cemex Philippines officially inaugurated the completed capacity expansion in its APO plant in Cebu, as well as a network of logistics centres in Visayas and Mindanao. The US$80m investment increased Cemex's cement production capacity in its APO plant by 40% and helped improve distribution capabilities with additional terminals in Iloilo and Davao.
"We are preparing our facilities for the increasing demand in the Philippines, reiterating our commitment to supporting the development of the country," said Joaquin Estrada, president of Cemex Asia. "We endeavour to be a partner of the Philippine government and the business community in ensuring growth and progress."
In addition, Cemex Philippines has set up a US$18.6m waste heat recovery (WHR) unit that will capture the excess heat in one of its cement production facilities to produce usable electricity. Cemex Philippines already uses alternative fuels like rice husks and refuse-derived fuel (RDF) as part of its fuel mix to minimise energy costs.
Cemex reports higher prices and volumes in 2015
05 May 2015Mexico: Cemex has announced that in the first quarter of 2015, which ended on 31 March 2015, it achieved higher prices in local currency terms in most operations, as well as higher volumes in Mexico, the US and Asia.
Cemex's consolidated net sales reached US$3.4bn during the first quarter of 2015, an increase of 7% year-on-year on a like-for-like basis for ongoing operations and adjusting for currency fluctuations. Operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 6% year-on-year to US$569m. On a like-for-like basis, operating EBITDA increased by 14% in the same period. On a like-for-like basis, operating earnings before other expenses, net, in the first quarter increased by 33% to US$335m.
Cemex has reported a narrower controlling interest net loss of US$149m during the first quarter of 2015 from a loss of US$293m in the same period of 2014. Its controlling interest net income was a loss of US$149m, an improvement over a loss of US$293m in the same period of 2014.
"We are pleased with our first-quarter results," said Fernando A Gonzalez, CEO of Cemex. "Our net sales increased by 7% year-on-year, while operating EBITDA improved by 14% on a like-for-like basis. EBITDA generation was the highest since 2008, despite adverse currency fluctuations. We are encouraged by the performance of our operations in Mexico, where first-quarter cement volumes grew by 13%, reaching the highest level in six years. This quarter, on top of the sustained increase in our volumes to the industrial, commercial and formal residential sectors, we also saw growth in the infrastructure and informal residential sectors. Cement demand from the infrastructure sector grew by 6%, marking an inflection point driven by increased public-works spending, while demand from the informal residential sector grew by 11% as a result of higher consumer confidence due to improvements in employment, disposable income and remittances."
Net sales in Mexico increased by 4% in the first quarter of 2015 to US$766m, compared with US$737m in the first quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA increased by 4% to US$262m.
Cemex's operations in the US reported net sales of US$868m in the first quarter of 2015, up by 10% from the same period in 2014. Operating EBITDA increased to US$64m in the quarter compared to US$28m in the same quarter of 2014.
In Northern Europe, Cemex's net sales for the first quarter decreased by 23% to US$701m, compared with US$912m in the first quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA was US$36m compared to US$13m in 2014. On a like-for-like basis for the ongoing operations and adjusting for currency fluctuations, net sales remained flat and operating EBITDA increased 80% year-on-year.
First quarter net sales in the Mediterranean region were US$375m, 9% lower than the US$412m in the first quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA decreased by 11% to US$73m for the quarter. On a like-for-like basis, for the ongoing operations and adjusting for currency fluctuations, net sales increased by 2% and operating EBITDA decreased by 3%.
Cemex's operations in South, Central America and the Caribbean reported net sales of US$468m during the first quarter of 2015, representing a 13% decrease over the same period of 2014. Operating EBITDA decreased by 21% to US$148m in the first quarter of 2015, from US$187m in the first quarter of 2014.
Operations in Asia reported a 13% increase in net sales for the first quarter of 2015 to US$164m and operating EBITDA rose by 43% year-on-year to US$37m.