Displaying items by tag: Italcementi

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.

Switzerland/Italy: Sika AG, the Swiss specialty chemicals company, is to acquire the global concrete admixture and cement grinding aid businesses of the Italcementi Group (directly or indirectly controlled by Italcementi or Ciments Français). The businesses are on the market under the brand Axim. Axim has approximately 150 employees in Italy, France, the US, Canada, Morocco and Spain. In 2010 it generated sales of around Euro61m.

"This agreement will allow the group to capitalise the value of this business," said Giovanni Ferrario, COO of Italcementi Group. "Moreover, this will further extend the relationship between Italcementi and Sika, enhancing the reputation of both companies as innovators in the field of concrete and cement."

This acquisition allows Sika to significantly strengthen its market position in the relevant countries. As Sika's CEO, Ernst Baertschi, said, "This acquisition is a major step for Sika in the process of expanding market shares in the admixture business worldwide."

Italy: Italcementi has reported a 51.7% fall in third quarter net profits to Euro25m despite the sale of its assets in Turkey earlier in 2011.

The profit over the nine months to 30 September 2011 was up at Euro123.2m from Euro18.5m in 2010, with the group saying that cement sales were up in Belgium, France, North America and in the emerging markets of India, Morocco and Thailand. Total group sales remained almost unchanged at Euro3.6bn for the same period. Italcementi's cement sector reported Euro2.3bn for the first nine months of 2011, a drop of 8.4% from Euro2.5bn in the same period in 2010. Cement sales volumes remained steady at 38.9Mt. The group reported a contraction in Egypt due to the civil unrest there and said there was, "stagnation in some industrialised economies."

"The positive results seen on emerging markets where, with the exception of Egypt, sales volumes rose by around 3%, confirms their strategic importance," said Italcementi's chief executive Carlo Pesenti in a statement. "More than 60% of our production capacity is located in these regions and this will increase in the near future with the new development projects recently set up in India," Pesenti continued.

The group said the profit fall was due to 'the unfavourable dynamic of operating costs and exchange rate effects' Italcementi sold equity investments in Turkey for Euro133.4m earlier in 2011 and said it would continue with cost cutting.

"While the Egyptian market will still be affected by political instability and increased local competition, the rest of the group should generate improved operating results, also thanks to positive price trends in Italy," it said. "In the fourth quarter, the group should record a decline in operating results that will be less than those of the previous quarters," it said, adding that it expected a 'significant improvement' in net profit for 2011 overall.

France/Italy/Turkey: French cement maker Ciments Français has said that it will sell its 51% stake in Turkish Afyon Çimento Sanayi TAS. The French company, part of the Italcementi group, has mandated Mediobanca to be its financial adviser in assessing and carrying out the potential sale of its stake.

In February 2011 Ciments Français started divesting assets in Turkey with the sale of Set Group Holding to diversified Turkish group Limak Holding. After the latest strategic move in Turkey, Mediobanca does not rule out that Italcementi may leave markets on which it has minor presence, such as China, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.