Displaying items by tag: Peru
Volcan could sell Polpaico stake
08 September 2015Chile/Peru: Peruvian mining company Volcan could sell its share in Chilean cement producer Polpaico if metal prices continue to fall, according to Volcan's CFO Jorge Murillo. Volcan could receive around US$27m for its approximate 20% stake in the business. Holcim, part of LafargeHolcim, owns 54.3% of Polpaico, which has 2.7Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has announced that, its consolidated earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 6.4% to US$28m in the second quarter of 2015. Its net income rose by 8% to US$13.9m, but its revenues fell by 8.8%. The company said that its second quarter results were impacted by continued weakness in cement demand from the public sector. This led to a 9.4% reduction in cement sales volumes and also reduced its EBITDA, excluding US$2.76m of income from the sale of a real estate asset.
In the first six months of 2015, Cementos Pacasmayo's consolidated EBITDA increased by 8.4% to US$55.9m, its net income grew by 19.4% to US$30.3m and its revenues fell by 6%. Despite lower year-on-year cement volumes, its gross margin was 43.1%, up from 40.5% in the first half of 2014, thanks to an increased focus on efficiency and cost reductions.
Cementos Pacasmayo announced that its US$386m Piura plant had reached the final stage of construction, with cement production set to begin in the third quarter of 2015 and clinker production in the fourth quarter of 2015. The plant will reach 60% capacity by the end of 2015, a level which the company has established as the optimal capacity utilisation given the current conditions in the Peruvian cement market.
Looking ahead, independent forecasts point towards a recovery in Peruvian infrastructure spending. Local government spending improved slightly late in the second quarter of 2015, this trend is expected to continue through the second half of 2015, while the self-construction market is expected to remain at or near its current level. Cementos Pacasmayo expects its full-year cement volumes to be similar to those of 2014.
UNACEM posts market growth in the first half of 2015
23 July 2015Peru: UNACEM has boosted its first half net income by 23% on higher prices and lower costs, according to Business News Americas.
UNACEM posted a US$47.8m profit and its sales rose by 6% year-on-year to US$896m in the first half of 2015. The company cut its operating costs by 8% in the first half of 2015 and its sales costs by 2.1%. Cement production fell by 1.6% to 2.71Mt in the first half of 2015, while clinker production fell by 6.3% to 2.58Mt. Exports jumped by 36.6% to 590,863t during the period.
UNACEM, which competes in Peru with companies including Cementos Pacasmayo and Gloria Group's Cementos Yura, said that it increased its domestic market share to 51.2% in the first half of 2015 from 49.9%. UNACEM expects to benefit from a growing contribution from its US$553m acquisition in 2014 from Lafarge Ecuador.
UNACEM has 7.6Mt/yr of installed cement capacity. Peru's cement production rose by 1.4% to 10.7Mt in 2014, according to cement producers' association Asocem. Exports from Peru rose by 37.4% to 306,277t in the same period.
Colombia: Jose Mario Velazquez, president of Cementos Argos, has confirmed the firm's intention to start operations in markets in Chile and Peru. Grupo Argos is already present in the US, Haiti, Honduras, Panama and Puerto Rico.
Can Peru’s cement industry continue to grow?
14 January 2015If you ever visit Lima be sure to try the wonton soup! One of the surprises of the Peruvian capital is the large number of Chinese restaurants. Peru has one of the largest proportions of inhabitants of Chinese-descent in Latin America. This adds a spoonful of historical context to this week's news of China's Jidong Development Group's intentions to buy Cementos Interoceanicos. It is one of a few stories affirming Peru's growth in recent years, although this trend may be changing.
The major Chinese producer is acquiring a cement plant with mineral rights that was first proposed in 2008. Originally the 1.6Mt/yr plant was budgeted at US$250m with construction set to start in 2009 and production intended to start in early 2011. At the time company executive director Armando Belfiore told local press that reserves of 700Mt of limestone and 390Mt of pozzolan exist in the Macusani, Ajoyani and Potoni districts in the Carabaya province of Puno. Subsequent plans were to develop lime and calcium carbide also. However, at present the project still appears to be in the development phase. No doubt Chinese money will be very welcome.
Meanwhile Peru's local producers have steadily been making their own progress towards becoming regional players in their own right. In December 2014 Union Andina de Cementos (Unacem) completed its purchase of Lafarge's cement assets in Ecuador. The US$517m deal included a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant in Otavalo. This followed Holding Cementero del Peru, a subsidiary of Gloria which operates Cementos Yura, paying US$300m to buy up to 98.4% in Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento (Soboce), Bolivia's largest cement producer. Media analysts have predicted that Cementos Pacasmayo is also likely to expand internationally once it has finished its local projects.
Internally, each of the major Peruvian cement producers has its own projects. Unacem is investing US$374m on its Atocongo and Condorcocha plants between 2014 and 2018, with a focus on the cement mill, the development of the Carpapata III hydroelectricity project and the construction of bagging facilities in Condorcocha. Cementos Yura targeted US$50m towards machinery and equipment at its Yura plant near Arequipa. Cementos Pacasmayo's new US$385m cement plant at Piura is due to start operation in the second half of 2015. The new plant in northwest Peru will have a production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.
Cement production in Peru has slowed since 2012 when the country saw production rise by 16% year-on-year to 9.85Mt. 2013 saw production rise by 6% to 10.5Mt. Currently released figures from the association of cement manufacturers in Peru (Asocem) to November 2014 suggest that this growth has continued to fall to 1.5% year-on-year.
Cementos Pacasmayo reported in its third quarter report for 2014 that the Peruvian economy had experienced a slowdown during the first nine months of the year although it was expected to recover in the final quarter and beyond due to impending infrastructure projects and spending. Given Peru's continued growth in gross domestic product (GDP), Jidong, Pacasmayo and Peru's other cement producers could do worse than order a nice bowl of wonton soup while they wait and see what happens.
Peru/China: China's Jidong Development Group may finalise discussions regarding the takeover of Peruvian cement firm Cementos Interoceanicos in the next couple of weeks, according to local media. With the acquisition, Jidong will be able to further expand its global reach.
Jidong representatives have visited Cementos Interoceanicos' activities in Puno, southeast Peru, as part of the negotiations process, the news provider explained, adding that Cementos Interoceanicos is currently developing its manufacturing plant in the region. Cementos Interoceanicos also holds mining rights to 54km2 of land in the Puno region, smaller areas in Arequipa and other areas.
Samuel Doria Medina sells stake in Soboce
17 December 2014Bolivia: Samuel Doria Medina, leader of the Unidad Nacional party, has sold his controlling shares of Soboce (Sociedad Boliviana de Cemento). Medina made the announcement after meeting with shareholders and officially listing the sale on the Bolivian stock exchange. Soboce was acquired by the Peru-based Holding Cementero, which has interests in the dairy, food distribution and service sectors. Prior to the full acquisition, Holding Cementero had an existing 49% stake in Soboce.
"I sold Soboce to completely devote myself to the people of Bolivia. In light of the October election results, which made my party the leading opposition force, I felt this was necessary," said Medina. He intends to donate some of the proceeds of the sale to charity.
Soboce was founded in 1925 in Viacha, La Paz. Medina took control of the firm in 1987, building the company from 200 employees to over 10,000.
UNACEM completes Ecuador acquisition
04 December 2014Ecuador/Peru: Peruvian cement producer Union Andina de Cementos (UNACEM) has completed the purchase of Lafarge's cement operations in Ecuador. "We are pleased with the closing of the transaction, which represents an important step in our growth strategy," said Carlos Ugás, managing director of UNACEM. The company closed the acquisition, which was initially announced in May 2014, for approximately US$517m. The deal involves the purchase of a 1.4Mt/yr cement plant located in Otavalo, in the north of Ecuador.
Ecuador: Peru's Gloria Yura Cement plans to invest US$230m in the construction of a new cement plant in Ecuador, according to the minister of Industry and Productivity in Ecuador, Ramiro Gonzalez.
Cementos Pacasmayo’s profit drops by 17% in Q3
28 October 2014Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo has reported a 17% drop in profit year-on-year for the third quarter of 2013 due to fall in cement sales. Its profit fell to US$13.9m in the July to September 2014 quarter from US$16.7m in the same period of 2013. Profit for the nine-month period rose by 3.4% to US$41.6m.
Net sales from the Peruvian cement producer fell by 6% year-on-year to US$108m for the third quarter of 2014. Sales remained static for the year to date. Consolidated adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 3.4% to US$29.9m for the third quarter of 2014. A similar fall in consolidated adjusted EBITDA was noted for the year to date. Cement production fell by 7.5% to 578,000t for the third quarter. Overall for the year to date cement production remained static at 1.73Mt.
In its earnings release Cementos Pacasmayo reported that its new cement plant in Piura should begin operation in the second half of 2015. The US$385m plant will have a production capacity of 1.6Mt/yr of cement and 1Mt/yr of clinker.