Displaying items by tag: Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta reports 59% higher net sales in 2014
04 March 2015US: Martin Marietta has reported consolidated net sales of US$780m in 2014, compared to US$491m in 2013, a year-on-year increase of 59%. Its cement business net sales were US$100m, earnings from operations were US$22.5m and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were US$37.7m.
"2014 was a transformational year for Martin Marietta and we are proud of the results we delivered, including a 77% year-on-year increase in fourth quarter 2014 net earnings," said Ward Nye, chairman, president and CEO of Martin Marietta. "Employment growth in the US, a stimulus for construction activity, is at its highest rate since 2006. Texas leads the nation in job growth, with widespread gains across many industry sectors, including trade, professional business services, leisure and hospitality, education and health services."
US: Martin Marietta Materials' US$2.7bn purchase of Texas Industries has been approved by the US Justice Department under a settlement that requires asset sales. Martin Marietta will sell rail yards in Texas and a quarry in Oklahoma to maintain competition in the market for gravel, sand and crushed stone.
"Without the divestiture obtained by the antitrust division, customers would have likely faced higher prices as a result of this acquisition," said Bill Baer of the US Justice Department.
US: Martin Martietta Materials has announced that it expects to enter an agreement with the US Department of Justice that will resolve all antitrust concerns over its planned US$2.7bn acquisition of Texas Industries.
Martin Marietta said that it believes the agreement will be finalised by 27 June 2014. It anticipates that the agreement will require it to divest its North Troy quarry in Mill Creek, Oklahoma and two rail yards in Dallas and Frisco, Texas. Martin Marietta has also announced that it plans to restructure Texas Industries' debt, offering US$700m in notes due in 2017 and 2024.
Martin Marietta and Texas Industries are both scheduled to hold special shareholder meetings on 30 June 2014 to vote on proposals. With the addition of Texas Industries, Martin Marietta will operate a network of more than 400 quarries, distribution yards and plants in 36 states, Canada, the Bahamas and the Caribbean.
Moving and shaking in the USA
29 January 2014Two stories from the US have drawn our attention this week, even with a US$1.3bn cartel fine in Brazil, more new business in Africa, the possible closure of CBR's white cement plant in Belgium and strange metrological goings-on in India also in the headlines.
Firstly, it was announced that Colombia's major cement producer Cementos Argos has agreed to acquire Vulcan Materials' building material assets in Florida. Argos, active in the US since June 2011 when it acquired its Harleyville and Roberta plants from Lafarge, will more than double its capacity in the country from 2.7Mt/yr to 6.2Mt/yr and go from a small player to a significant force in the western US.
Argos may have moved at just the right time. Despite suffering disproportionately in what is often termed the 'Great Recession' in the US, Florida's cement market is fundamentally solid, with significant residential construction and a good commercial construction baseline. If the PCA's expectations that the US will consume 80Mt/yr of cement in 2014 and a release of that much talked-about 'pent-up demand' are realised, Argos could be in a position to make good sales.
Indeed, Argos' move takes on even more significance in the light of the second US story from this week, which sees Texas Industries (TXI) taken over by Martin Marietta. The acquisition, which comes on the back of a failed bid by Martin Marietta for Vulcan Materials in 2012, also makes perfect sense for the company. Indeed, Martin Marietta's chief executive, C Howard Nye, said, "We like the Texas market a lot."
And well they should. Developments around the Eagle Ford shale gas reserves in the centre of Texas have led to a building boom in terms of both new constructions and oil well cement. Despite this, TXI announced a loss of US$17.6m in the quarter to 30 September 2013, although it saw higher sales. It blamed interest repayments. There are obviously clear gains for Martin Marietta in buying TXI, but it had better have a plan to sort out TXI's finances.
For all the talk of major restructuring in China , and mergers and acquisitions in India, it is the US cement industry that is showing the most movement so far in 2014. Could this be the year when things finally look up?
Martin Marietta in advanced talks to acquire Texas Industries
27 January 2014Update 29 January 2014
US: US construction materials giant Martin Marietta has agreed to purchase Texas Industries (TXI), which has 6Mt/yr of cement capacity and a raft of ready mix concrete facilities in Texas and California, for US$2.7bn.
Martin Marietta's chief executive, C Howard Nye, said, "We like the Texas market a lot. This augments the position we have in Dallas - Fort Worth. The Texas market, for the long term, is one of the most dynamic in the country."
Original story
US: Construction materials maker Martin Marietta Materials is in advanced talks to acquire Texas Industries. Texas Industries currently has a market capitalisation of US$2.15bn. A deal is expected as early as February 2014.
Reports in mid-December 2013 revealed that the owners of Texas Industries were exploring a sale of the company and were working with Citigroup to find a buyer. Texas Industries' largest shareholders, Southeastern Asset Management and NNS Holding, have been seeking to sell their stakes in the company for some time. Combined, the two investors own more than 51% of the company.
Texas Industries has a 6Mt/yr cement production capacity that is expected to grow to almost 8Mt/yr in the next few years. The company reported a second quarter net loss of US$17.6m in January 2014, despite a growth in net sales from US$168m in the second quarter of 2013 to US$209 for the same period of 2014. The net loss was blamed on higher interest expenses.
HeidelbergCement will not bid for Vulcan
22 December 2011US: The German cement maker HeidelbergCement has said that it will not place a counter bid for US competitor Vulcan after US Martin Marietta offered US$4.8bn for Vulcan.
HeidelbergCement's CEO Bernd Scheifele said that HeidelbergCement would wait until the deal was closed and then see if any assets are put up for sale. He said that he does not expect any big consolidation moves in the industry in the short term, because companies are currently preoccupied with reducing their debts.
Scheifele stuck to the company's forecast to book US$15.3bn in revenue and US$1.82bn in operating profit in 2011, both above 2010's figures.