Displaying items by tag: Loma Negra

Argentina: Loma Negra, Argentina’s leading cement producer, saw its net revenue decline by 2% to US$165m in the second quarter of 2019, with its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rising by 7.1% to US$44m. This was driven by the domestic cement, lime and masonry sector.

Sergio Faifman, CEO of Loma Negra, said, “We are pleased to announce another set of solid results, our business continues to deliver adjusted EBITDA margin expansion based on our constant focus in profitability and cost enhancement initiatives. In this sense, during this quarter we adjusted our production-footprint by reconverting the Barker facility to a grinding and distribution centre, this initiative will let us be a more efficient and agile company. Considering the Argentine context, our business continues to deliver both adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and Net income growth.”

Argentina: Loma Negra says that a minor fire broke out at an auxiliary building for the second production line at the L'Amalí integrated cement plant on 1 August 2019. No casualties or injuries were reported in the incident. The subsidiary of Brazil’s InterCement said that the causes of the accident are yet to be determined but that no significant impacts are expected. The plant is currently being upgraded with a new production line that is scheduled for completion in early 2020.

Argentina: Sergio Faifman, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Loma Negra has said that his company does not export cement because it is ‘not competitive’ with other countries. He cited logistical issues with transporting clinker and cement to ports, in an interview with the Ámbito Financiero newspaper. He also mentioned that the costs per tonne of cement in Brazil and Egypt were 30% and 50% respectively cheaper than in Argentina. In a ranging interview Faifman also discussed the cement producer’s labour problems at its Baker plant , its on-going upgrade at its L'Amali plant and negative effects from the local currency devaluation in 2018.

Argentina: Loma Negra has signed an agreement with the Asociación Obrera Minera Argentina (AOMA) union and the government to keep the Barker cement plant open. The deal follows three months of negotiations, according to La Nacion newspaper. The cement producer wanted to reduce the number of shifts at the grinding plant. It previously said it had started to close the plant in early-June 2019. The plant will continue to operate with 160 staff working a reduced workload amongst other concessions.

Argentina: Loma Negra is challenging a proposed US-based court case on behalf of US-based shareholders. The legal challenge alleges that the cement producer misled investors by misrepresenting its exposure to a corruption scandal and downplayed the potential impact of the economic crisis in 2018, according to the Ámbito Financiero newspaper. Loma Negra says that it was never involved in any bidding process related to the corruption case relating to its Brazilian owner Camargo Correa. The US lawsuit is also taking legal action against the banks involved with Loma Negra’s initial public offering (IPO) in late 2017.

Argentina: Loma Negra says it has started to close its Barker cement plant because it has been unable to reach an agreement with the union over staff redundancies. The company alleges that the union would not accept its plans to convert the unit into a grinding and bagging plant, according to El Cronista newspaper. The plant will now move to a single shift of operation with 24 employees whilst plans for its final closure are implemented.

Argentina: Loma Negra is planning to make 100 staff redundant at its Barker cement plant in Buenos Aires. It employs 230 direct employees and 90 others at the site, according to Infobae. The cement producer says it is reducing staffing levels in order to adjust the plant’s production capacity to the local market. It has also threatened to close the plant entirely if it is unable to reach an agreement over the redundancies with the union.

Argentina: Loma Negra and tyre manufacturer Bridgestone have started a partnership to re-use water in the Llavallol suburb of Buenos Aires. Bridgestone will provide Loma Negra with 200,000l/days of filtered water for use at its operations, according to the Mercado newspaper. In return Loma Negra will use less water from the local aquifer.

Argentina: Loma Negra has secured two loans to upgrade its L'Amalí cement plant. The loans are worth US$40.9m and US$12.5m respectively, according to the Bae Negocios newspaper. The cement producer will use the funds to import equipment to the plant as part of a project to build a new US$350m production line at the unit.

Argentina: Loma Negra’s net revenue grew by 7.9% year-on-year to US$632m in 2018 from US$585m in 2017. However, its cement, masonry and lime sales volumes fell by 4.3% to 6.68Mt from 6.99Mt, mainly due to a decline in demand in Argentina. Despite this its concrete sales volumes increased by 30% to 1.07Mm³ from 0.82Mm³. The cement producer’s net profit decreased by 47% to US$46m from US$86.7m.

“We closed the year with another solid quarter, despite the challenging macro-economic environment in Argentina. Specifically, our core Argentine cement business, delivered both adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) growth and margin expansion, even with weaker volume demand in the country. We are also pleased to see that our concrete operations continued to deliver strong results, reaching record quarterly and annual volumes,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Sergio Faifman. He added that cement demand in Argentina fell by 2.6% in 2018 due to a weak second half of the year. This trend is expected to continue in the first half of 2019 before recovering.