Displaying items by tag: Italy
Italy: FLSmidth Ventomatic SpA a supplier of complete plants and single machines for high-accuracy and high-capacity storage, packaging and dispatching of products for the cement and building material industry, has strengthened its position in the minerals and chemical industries through the consolidation of its partnerships Imeco(R) and Italmeccanica, both with long-standing experience in the packaging of powdery and granulated products.
Thanks to these two strong business partnerships, Ventomatic says that it is now in the position to 'design, manufacture and supply' bagging solutions that are specifically designed for the dosing and weighing of cement, dry mortars and other building materials and industrial minerals into valve bags, open mouth bags and fill, form and seal bags.
Italy/Egypt: Italcementi celebrated its 150th anniversary and 10 years of 'successful operations in Egypt' in March 2014. Director general of Italcementi, Giovanni Ferrario, said that the group's mission focused on 'product innovation, quality and opportunities for the future.' The new branding system, i.Nova, was presented at the event, a system that he said was, "The result of 15 years of research that rejuvenates the group's marketing strategy."
The company says that the i.Nova approach focuses on the client in a strategy that is no longer based on supplying a single product, but on the ability to offer solutions that can meet several different needs at the same time 'fast and efficiently.' ''Our industrial strategy centres around research, innovation and sustainability, values that are necessary for competitiveness,'' said Ferrario.
Cementir Holding reports sluggish revenue in 2013
12 March 2014Italy: Cementir Holding has reported a revenue of Euro989m in 2013, a 1% increase year-on-year from the Euro976m reported in 2013. Sales of grey and white cement fell slightly by 1% to 9.74Mt in 2013. Despite this, net profit rose by 144% to Euro40.1m and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 22.9% to Euro170m.
"Despite the modest increase in revenues, profitability improved significantly. Cementir Holding ended 2013 with EBITDA above the target set at the start of the year, despite the sharp downturn in the Turkish and Egyptian currencies," said Francesco Caltagirone Jr, Chairman and CEO of Cementir Holding.
By region the Italy-based cement producer reported revenue rises in Scandinavia, Turkey and in the Far East. Revenues fell by 15% in Egypt and by 13.6% in Italy.
In its outlook Cementir Holding expects to see continued revenue growth in Scandinavia, Turkey and the Far East in 2014 and an improvement in profitability in Italy amidst continued market weakness. It does not expect the situation to improve in Egypt during 2014.
Buzzi Unicem sells cement plant to Wietersdorfer unit for Euro22m
19 February 2014Italy: Buzzi Unicem has agreed to sell its 0.3Mt/yr cement plant in Cadola, Italy, to a subsidiary of Wietersdorfer for Euro22m. Under the terms of the agreement, Austria's Wietersdorfer will be also entitled to buy, within five years and without additional payment, Buzzi Unicem's Travesio 0.4Mt/yr cement plant.
Italian cement producer Buzzi Unicem has also agreed to buy 25% in two Wietersdorfer facilities. In particular, the company will acquire shares in W&P Cementi and Salonit Anhovo Gradbeni Materiali for Euro22m. W&P Cementi currently has a grinding plant in Pordenone, Italy with a production capacity of 0.3Mt/yr. Salonit owns an integrated cement plantin Slovenia with a production capacity of 1.3Mt/yr.
With these transactions, Buzzi Unicem expects to strengthen its production and sales structure by improving its procurement logistics, it said adding that the deals will result in technological integration between the two companies aiming to develop new products. The transactions are expected to close on 30 June 2014.
Italcementi revenue fall slows in third quarter of 2013
13 November 2013Italy: Italcementi's revenue has dropped by 3.2% year-on-year to Euro1.06bn for the third quarter of 2013 from Euro1.10bn in the same period in 2012. However, earnings before income and taxes (EBIT) fell by 36% year-on-year to Euro108m for the third quarter of 2013 from Euro168m in 2012. The Italy-based multinational cement producer attributed the low revenue decline as a sign of slowing decline in Europe.
"Despite the stagnation in demand on the European markets, over the last four quarters, with the exception of March 2013, which was severely affected by the impact of bad weather on construction operations, the Italcementi Group has reported a positive trend in results for its industrial operations," said Giovanni Ferrario, Group Chief Operating Officer. He added that the group efficiency plan had helped the result despite the strong impact of the rise in energy prices in Egypt.
Sales of cement and clinker fell by 2.4% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2013 to 10.8Mt. By region sales fell in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East in the third quarter of 2013. Cement and clinker sales rose in North America and Asia. This trend was mirrored for the first nine months of 2013 also.
Buzzi Unicem sales down by 3.2% in first nine months of 2013
13 November 2013Italy: Buzzi Unicem has reported that its net sales have fallen by 3% year-on-year to Euro2.08bn for the first nine months in 2013. Cement sales volumes fared better with a 1.2% drop to 20.6Mt. For the third quarter of 2013 the Italy-based cement producer reported drops in sales volumes in Mexico, Italy and Eastern Europe.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10% to Euro336m. Buzzi Unicem expects recurring operating results to fall by 5 – 10% for the whole of 2013 compared to 2012.
Italcementi markets products by performances under i.nova brand
25 September 2013Italy: Italcementi's Carlo Pesenti (CEO) and Giovanni Ferrario (COO) launched i.nova, Italcementi's new product offer system, on 19 September 2013. The entire product portfolio developed by the group, focused on the concept of differentiating products by performance, is now available on the market.
The group says that the customer is the hub of the i.nova system, which differs from the traditional commodity-based approach to cement supply. Its system is designed to simplify the purchasing process by organising products by structural codes.
Through i.nova it will be easier for customers to distinguish and select, for instance, the acoustic products that are grouped under the i.sound family, or the thermal products grouped under the i.clime family or again, the special products for water, grouped under the i.idro family. In addition, a distinct colour and graphic marking have been given to each performance 'family' so as to make visual recognition of the product quicker and easier in all the countries where the group operates.
"i.nova revolutionises Italcementi's marketing strategy and approach to sales, reconfirming the group's highly innovative positioning," explained Carlo Pesenti. "Despite operating in what is referred to as a traditional sector, the company places research, innovation and sustainability at the forefront of its industrial strategy, convinced that such values represent a fundamental lever for consolidating its competitive advantage in the building industry. In fact, i.nova is the evolution of the last 15 years of research, during which many unique innovative products have been developed, such as the photocatalytic cement and the transparent cement used for the Italian Pavilion in Shanghai."
CIFA celebrates 85 years of business
16 September 2013Italy: Construction equipment and machinery manufacturer CIFA celebrated its 85th year of business on 12 September 2013. In attendance at a ceremony held at the company headquarters in Senago were the company's senior management, the CEO of CIFA Davide Cipolla and the President of Zoomlion Zhan Chunxin.
Highlights of the celebration included the inauguration of a company museum and showroom and the publication of a history of the company entitled 'CIFA: The winning anomaly.' The company also inaugurated the TEC (Testing European Centre), a centre where experimental activities and tests are carried out on machine bodywork and components. Other on-going activities for the anniversary included an in-house design centre that was launched earlier in 2013 as part of the anniversary and a facelift of the company headquarters due for completion in the autumn of 2013.
Italy: Buzzi Unicem made a net loss of Euro26.6m in the first half of 2013, 44% higher than the Euro18.5m loss seen in the first half of 2012. It recorded a 25% fall in first-half core earnings for 2013, which it said were hit by lower sales volumes.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the six months fell to Euro150.7m from a restated Euro200.5m in the first half of 2012. Buzzi's net sales fell by 5.7% to Euro1.27bn. Buzzi's cement sales for the first half of 2013 were 12.3Mt, representing a 5.8% decrease compared to the first half of 2012 when it sold 13.1Mt.
The company said that the results for the first half of 2013 were below its own expectations and were caused by the extremely difficult economic situation in Italy, flat activity in Central Europe, the lack of clear signs of recovery in Eastern Europe and an unforeseen slowdown in Mexico.
Buzzi also said that it believed that there were grounds for a sizeable improvement of results in the second half of 2013, thanks especially to a volume recovery in Central Europe, acceleration of sales and prices in the United States and the attainment of an operating profitability closer to that of the previous year in Eastern Europe.
Based on the above considerations, for the full financial year 2013, Buzzi expects to report a recurring EBITDA that is 5 - 10% lower than that of 2012.
Italy: Italcementi has reported that its revenue fell by 6.2% to Euro2.16bn for the first half of 2013 from Euro2.30bn in the same period in 2012. The Italian-based cement producer commented that, despite the decrease in sales volumes, its revenue reduction was smaller (3.6%) in the second quarter of 2013.
"Our programme to contain fixed costs together with close control of variable costs enabled us to lower our breakeven point, slightly ahead of our targets, despite continuing difficulties in market conditions, especially in Italy," said Italcementi group chief operating officer Giovanni Ferrario.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 10.6% to Euro299m from Euro334m. The group posted a loss for the period of Euro43.3m compared with a profit of Euro1.3m in the first half of 2012, when gains of Euro8.6m were reported on the sale of its subsidiaries Afyon and Fuping. Net debt for the period was broadly unchanged for the period at Euro2bn.
Overall cement sales fell by 7.1% to 21.8Mt. By region, cement sales fell by 12.4% to 7.2Mt in Central Western Europe and by 11.7% to 6.9Mt in Emerging Europe, North Africa and Middle East. Cement sales rose by 1% to 2Mt in North America and by 5.3% in Asia. In the cement business, for the second quarter the group reported a significant reduction in the decline in Europe and Morocco, positive performance in North America and stability in sales in Asia. Sales volumes in Egypt were affected by difficulties in fuel procurement. A particular poor performance in Italy was singled out.
In its outlook, Italcementi speculated that its results in the second half of 2013 should be in line with the second half of 2012 due to market improvements in selected countries and the impact of cost cutting exercises, particularly in Italy and Spain. However, it warned that full-year profitability would be hit by the poor first quarter of 2013.