Displaying items by tag: France

France: Lafarge intends to cut its costs by Euro1.3bn from 2012 to 2015. The French-company announced that it is speeding up cost-cutting measures, boosting sales revenue and cutting net debt over the next four years in a bid to improve its profitability.

At least Euro400m of cost savings are scheduled for 2012 and at least Euro350m are planned for 2013. The plan seeks to raise Euro450m from innovation and efficiency gains and boost earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITA) by Euro1.75bn. As a result of the higher EBITDA, Lafarge will cut its net debt below Euro10bn 'as soon as possible' in 2013.

The company seeks to boost return on capital employed to above 8% by 2015.
"All our actions will contribute to higher cash generation, improved returns, and cash flow from operations to net debt of 28% to 30% no later than 2015," Lafarge said in a statement.

Lafarge has struggled over the past few years from its heavy debt load and the global economic downturn. Its debt peaked at Euro17bn in 2008, following a series of acquisitions culminating in the Euro8.8bn takeover of Egyptian rival Orascom Cement. The company had already managed to reduce its debt to Euro12.36bn at the end of the first quarter of 2012.

Lafarge Chief Executive Bruno Lafont reiterated the company will raise Euro1bn in asset sales in 2012 and doesn't plan any major acquisition over the coming years. He added that the company's ultimate goal is to raise dividends and resume investing once its financial structure is stabilised.

France: Gérard Lamarche has been appointed as a director at Lafarge at its Ordinary General Meeting in Paris on 15 May 2012.

Lamarche graduated from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve with a Bachelor's degree in Economic Sciences and a specialisation in Business Administration and Management. He also completed the Advanced Management Program for Suez Group Executives at the INSEAD Business School.

He began his professional career in 1983 with Deloitte Haskins & Sells in Belgium, and became a mergers and acquisitions consultant in the Netherlands in 1987. In 1988, he joined the Venture Capital Department of Société Générale de Belgique as an investment manager. He became the special projects advisor to the president and secretary of the Suez board of directors in 1995 where he later became the group's senior vice president in charge of planning, control and accounts management. He was appointed senior executive vice president – finance of the Suez Group in March 2004, becoming executive vice president - finance of GDF SUEZ, and member of the management and executive committees of the GDF SUEZ Group in July 2008.

Lamarche is a director of Groupe Bruxelles Lambert (Belgium) and has been a managing director since January 2012. Lamarche is also a Director of Total and Legrand.

France: Lafarge has announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2012, which show a 'solid' rise in sales and operating results. Sales increased for the quarter, up by 5% to Euro3.35bn for the first quarter, driven by improved pricing across all product lines and higher cement volumes in emerging markets.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and current operating income rose in the quarter, driven by higher activity in Middle East and Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America. It rose by 8% to Euro516m year-on-year. Lafarge also reported that it achieved Euro70m of cost savings and is on track to reach at least Euro400m for the whole of 2012.

"While the first quarter results traditionally represent a 'small' quarter and we remain cautious for the year, the group was encouraged by the higher revenues and EBITDA growth," said Bruno Lafont, Chairman and CEO of Lafarge. "We successfully launched our new cost reduction programme and it is positive that price actions are taking hold to address cost inflation.

"The group is focused on debt reduction, strict cost discipline, the maximisation of its cash flows and the achievement of at least Euro1bn of strategic divestments this year," continued Lafont. "The management reorganisation accelerates the group's actions towards efficiency and organic growth."

In North America Lafarge recorded an EBITDA loss of Euro46m, an 38% improvement on the Euro75m loss in the first quarter of 2011. In western Europe, its EBITDA was Euro94m, down by nearly a third on the same quarter of 2011 when the EBITDA was Euro151m. Central and eastern Europe recorded a loss in terms of EBITDA of Euro14m (compared to a Euro9m loss in 2011), Latin America recorded an EBITDA of Euro59m (Euro53m in 2011) and Asia had an EBITDA of Euro108m for the quarter (Euro85m in 2011). Lafarge's most profitable region was the Middle East and Africa, which saw a first quarter EBITDA of Euro315m.

Lafarge said that it continues to see cement demand moving higher and maintained its market growth estimate of 1-4% in 2012 compared to 2011. Emerging markets continue to be the main driver of demand for Lafarge, which said that it benefits from its well balanced geographic spread of high quality assets. The group also said that it expected higher pricing for 2012 and that cost inflation will increase at a lower rate than in 2011.

France: The French High Court has decided to block Lafarge's project to close its plant in Frangey, northern France, until 25 November 2012. The Frangey facility employs 74 workers and had previously been slated for closure in 2012.

The planned closure is part of a much larger restructuring plan at the building materials' giant, which was also annulled by the High Court. However, the court said that the fundamental economic case behind closing the Frangey plant was valid. The group had explained that its decision to shut down the plant was due to overcapacity and high production costs.

The management of Lafarge will now propose a new restructuring plan to the staff representatives starting from November 2012.

France: The board of directors of Ciments Français, part of the Italcementi Group, has examined and approved the audited annual and consolidated accounts as of 31 December 2011, which show a net consolidated profit of Euro274m, a 13.7% drop year-on-year.

Cement sales volumes for the entire year were down by 1.4% at 42.4Mt. Ciments Français Cement sales improved in France, North America, Morocco and India but decreased in Egypt due to the political crisis there. An overall fall in demand, strong inflation on fuel prices and negative translation effects resulted in deterioration in the company's operating results. These impacts were only partly mitigated by efficiency measures implemented throughout the year.

As of 31 December 2011, Group consolidated revenues were Euro3.89bn, down by 3.8% year-on-year. Its recurring earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) amounted to Euro702m, down by over 20% year-on-year. Earnings before interest and tax dropped by 38% to Euro309m following recognition of Euro359m in depreciations and Euro53.4m in impairment losses, mainly in crisis-hit Spain and Greece.

Group investments in industrial and intangible assets amounted to Euro301m as of 31 December 2011, down by 25.6% compared to 31 December 2010. They mainly related to the strengthening of production in France, Belgium and Egypt and an increase of production capacity in India and Morocco.

A tight management of cash flows, the disposal of assets in Turkey and the sale of subsidiary Axim contributed to strengthen Ciments Français' net financial position. At the end of December 2011, its net financial debt was reduced by Euro390m to Euro1.02bn compared to Euro1.41bn as of 31 December 2010.

Regarding 2012 Ciments Français reported that the markets in which it operates should be more stable. Sales volumes are expected to stabilise at a level similar to that of 2011, increasing in North America and Morocco while declining in southern Europe. Egypt remains a source of uncertainty. Prices are likely to trend more positively and partially offset the rise in energy costs and the impact of inflation on fixed costs. Additionally, the efficiency programs launched in 2011 should increase operating results in 2012.

The group will initiate a new cycle of investments in 2012 related to its industrial facilities, mainly in Gulbarga, India and Bulgaria. In Morocco, the group expects a new expansion phase after the commissioning of the Ait Baha plant.

France: Ciments Français, part of the Italcementi Group, has announced its consolidated revenues and sales results for the year ending 31 December 2011. These show that, in a difficult economic environment, group sales decreased marginally in its cement sector. Cement and clinker sales were down by 1.4% year-on-year to 42.4Mt in 2011 but sales increased in France, North America, India and Morocco.

In western Europe the company sold 9.9Mt of cement and clinker, an increase of 1.3% year-on-year. In North America it sold 4.2Mt, a 5.1% improvement on 2010. In 'emerging' Europe, north Africa and the Middle East it sold 16.1Mt of cement and clinker, 5.4% less than in 2010. In Asia the company sold 11.1Mt, up by 0.3% compared to 2010.

In the fourth quarter of 2011 Ciments Français' sales were down by 1.7% year-on-year at 10.2Mt. The group sold 2.2Mt of cement and clinker in western Europe (+0.7% year-on-year), 1.1Mt in North America (+7.4%), 4.0Mt in emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (-3.0%) and 2.6Mt in Asia (-5.0%) during the final quarter. Sales in Thailand took a large hit due to the severe flooding there in late 2011.

The group's total consolidated revenues for 2011 across all of its business units came in at Euro3.89bn, which it attributed to reduced volumes and currency fluctuation effects in some countries, notably Egypt, North America and India. Revenues improved in France, Belgium and Thailand.

Its cement segment took in Euro2.59bn, a drop of nearly 8% compared to 2010. Sales were highest in western Europe (Euro1.27bn), followed by emerging Europe, north Africa and the Middle East (Euro1.03bn), Asia (Euro499.5m) and North America (Euro405.1m).

France: Lafarge has begun a consultation procedure regarding the proposed reorganisation of its corporate functions and shared resources in France. This follows from its 21 November 2011 announcement that it was planning a restructuring along geographical lines rather than its product types. Lafarge has now said that the proposed changes would result in 460 job losses, 90 of which would be in France. It said that voluntary redundancy plans would help it to avoid compulsory job losses.

Lafarge has said that the reorganisation will be structured around an Executive Committee consisting of a 'Performance' function, chiefly responsible for the technical centers and engineering, IT systems and the leadership of commercial and industrial performance; an 'Innovation' function, chiefly responsible for research and development, marketing and transformation; three Executive Vice Presidents, whose mission will be supervising 42 operating entities and support functions.

The group says that the shift in its centre of gravity towards countries would lead to a decentralisation ofcorporate functions. As a result, the outline of the new organisation that is being announced today entails a reduction in staff numbers. Lafarge says that the new group organisation will enable it to be more focused on the needs of its markets and its customers and will enable it to accelerate the development of the group through organic growth and innovation.

Pascal Casanova has become the general director of Lafarge France, a unit of the French cement giant Lafarge. Casanova was born in 1968 and joined Lafarge in 1999 after having been employed by a number of different construction firms. He served as Lafarge's research and development director since 2008.

Russia: Ciments Français has gone to court to keep a Euro50m advance payment from OAO Sibtsem Holding for Turkish cement assets that the latter company did not acquire.

Ciments Français filed a suit with the Russian supreme arbitration court on 20 December 2011 to recognise the ruling of the Istanbul arbitration court as of 7 December 2010. Under this ruling the French company does not have to return the advance payment to Siberian Cement for the acquisition of Turkish Set Group, which has four cement plants with a capacity 5Mt/yr. On 26 December 2011 the court accepted the suit for consideration.

In March 2008 Sibtsement announced that it would acquire Set Group from Ciments Français, having paid Euro377m and about 5% of its shares, estimated at Euro200m. The first instalment stood at Euro50m. However, the world financial crisis prevented the companies from closing the deal. In the autumn of 2008 the parties began discussing payment for the deal by instalments but they failed to reach an agreement.

In the summer of 2010 the arbitration court of the Kemerovo region in Russia confirmed that Ciments Français had to return the advance payment as the agreement was null and void. In early 2011 the Kemerovo court refused to confirm the Istanbul court ruling.

France: Lafarge has announced a new organisation project, which aims to make the group more agile and responsive, focused on its markets and its clients and designed to accelerate the group's development and profitability.

The building materials giant, which has major interests in cement, concrete and aggregates, will replace its product line-based
organisational structure with a country-based organisation. This will include the removal of a layer of management and the resulting reorganisation of the Executive Committee.

The project involves three main measures: to implement a country-based organisation, with country CEOs' responsibilities extended to cover all cement, aggregates and concrete activities; removal of one hierarchical layer, with the aim of cutting out the regional level; the resulting transformation of the structure and responsibilities of the Executive Committee, including the creation of 'Performance' and 'Innovation' functions.

The project was described by Lafarge as 'the natural next step' following its geographical expansion and its recent refocusing on 
cement, aggregates and concrete. This has become more pertinent following the disposal of most of its gypsum activities. Its aim is to increase Lafarge's differentiation through the development of higher value-added products and solutions for construction.

Bruno Lafont, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lafarge, said, "This new organisation project will reinforce our efficiency. It will drive us to greater focus on our markets and customers' needs and to 
accelerate the group's development through organic growth and innovation. This transformation is a milestone for the group. It should strengthen Lafarge's position as a key player in sustainable construction." The project will be implemented from January 2012 onwards.