Displaying items by tag: Results
Raysut Cement’s turnover grows in first half of 2018
16 July 2018Oman: Raysut Cement’s turnover grew by 14.5% to US$111m in the first half of 2018 from US$97.2m in the same period in 2017. However, its profit after tax fell by 85% to US$1.8m from US$12m. The cement producer also noted that it is expected to receive US$10m from insurance claims relating to a loss of a ship and other claims relating to Cyclone Mekunu.
Norm Cement’s sales grow by 47% in 2017
13 July 2018Azerbaijan: Norm Cement’s sales grew by 47% year-on-year to US$74m in 2017 from US$50.4m in the same period in 2016. Its operating profit more than tripled to US$22.6 from US$6.62m. However, the cement producer reported that it paid US$25,000 in income tax in 2017 compared to US$710,000 in 2016.
Kazakhstan: Steppe Cement’s turnover rose by 23% year-on-year to US$30.8m in the first half of 2018 from US$25m in the same period in 2017. Its cement sales volumes rose by 14% to 0.74Mt from 0.65Mt. The company said that the cement market in Kazakhstan increased by 7% during the first half of 2018. However, overall cement shipments from local companies increased by 15%, imports rose by 30% and exports doubled to 0.9Mt from 0.45Mt. Steppe Cement's local market share increased slightly to 16% in the first half of 2018 from 15% in the same period of 2017 and it exported 12% of its sales compared with 11% in 2017. The company estimates that local cement consumption will reach 9.4Mt in 2018.
China: Anhui Conch expects that its profit will double year-on-year for the first half of 2018. The company reported an unaudited net profit of US$1.01bn in the first half of 2017. It has attributed the growth in profit to a ‘significant’ increase in the price of its products and an increase in revenue. The cement producer plans to release its half year report by the end of August 2018.
Saudi Arabia: Cement sales revenue is expected to fall quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2018 due to restructuring in the industry and holidays in the period. A report by Al Rajhi Capital found that cement sales volumes fell by 16.7% year-on-year in April and May 2018. 15 cement companies reported falling sales volumes, led by Riyadh Cement and Cement City with 44.1% and 37.5% declines respectively. Only two companies, Tabuk Cement and Hail Cement, reported growth. Total inventory for the industry grew by 1.2% quarter-on-quarter to around 36.2Mt at the end of May 2018. The financial services company forecasts that revenue in the cement sector will fall by 6% year-on-year.
Lafarge’s Czech sales increase but profit falls
03 July 2018Czech Republic: Lafarge Cement’s sales in Czechia increased by almost 7% to Euro38.2m in 2017 but its profit dropped by 25% to Euro5.9m, according to spokeswoman Milena Hucanova.
Czech construction registered only moderate growth in 2017, which was reflected in the company's sales. Operating profit was comparable with the level from 2016.
"The company's net profit was mainly as a consequence of changes in the volume and appraisal of inventories, higher consumption of carbon credits and the firming up of the Koruna / Euro (exchange) rate after the Czech National Bank’s interventions," said CFO Jan Mencl.
Investments by the company in 2018 are planned to amount to Euro3.8m. Hucanova said that half of this had already been spent on the conversion of an electrostatic precipitator to a baghouse at the company’s Čížkovice plant.
Sephaku Cement earnings expected to fall in 2018
21 June 2018South Africa: Sephaku Cement says that its earnings for its 2018 financial year that ended on 31 March 2018 are expected to fall by up to 40% to US$3m. It has blamed this on a poor start to the year from its cement business, the impact of one-off income from a closure agreement with Sinoma regarding the opening of a new cement plant on the previous year’s results and poor results from its concrete business.
South Africa: PPC’s profit rose due to strong performance in Zimbabwe and Rwanda. Its gross profit rose by 3% year-on-year to US$174m in the financial year that ended on 31 March 2018 from US$169m in the same period in 2017. Its revenue grew by 7% to US$762m from US$715m. However, its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 9% to US$140m from US$153m.
"Our performance has been resilient against the backdrop of challenging economic and political environments in markets in which we operate. While our rest of Africa operations, particularly Zimbabwe and Rwanda, achieved good results, our materials division faced reduced demand and increased competition. Our results have also been impacted by a number of significant abnormal items: corporate action, impairment of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) operations and restructuring costs,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Johan Claassen.
By region, the group’s sales in South Africa and Botswana fell slightly due to a fall in cement sales volumes of 2 – 3%. Imports rose by 32% although PPC said it was from a low base. Elsewhere in Africa, PPC’s sales volumes rose by over 50% supported by ‘robust’ volume growth in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. The group’s PPC Barnet cement plant in Democratic Republic of Congo was commissioned in November 2017.
PPC’s lime division increased its revenue by 2% to US$59m, with volumes and selling prices similar to 2017. Volumes were constrained by key steel-customer shutdowns and non-extension of a significant contract. Lime's EBITDA contracted by
18% after higher variable costs for maintenance and raw material inputs.
Pakistan: Business activity slowed during the month of Ramadan in Pakistan, with cement demand also affected. In May 2018, domestic cement sales were the slowest seen in the current fiscal year, which runs until the end of June 2018, yet they still rose by 2.4%. When exports, which rose by 41.8%, are also included, the year-on-year change rises to 5.7%.
The All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers’ Association (APCMA) reported that 3.92Mt of cement was sold in May 2018 compared to 3.71Mt in May 2017. Sales in the country's northern region stood at 2.81Mt, compared to 2.8Mt in May 2017. In the south, sales came to 0.67Mt in May 2017, as opposed to 0.59Mt in May 2017. Exports from the northern region were 0.224Mt in May 2018 compared to 0.219Mt in May 2017. From the southern region, exports totalled 0.215Mt compared to just 0.09Mt in May 2017.
Total cement sales in the first 11 months of the 2018 Fiscal Year hit a record high, with 42.92Mt sold, a 14.2% rise year-on-year compared to 37.6Mt in the first 11 months of the 2017 Fiscal Year. The APCMA reported that the national capacity utilisation rate over the 11 months period was 94.7%, beating the previous 93.6% record from 1992-1993.
An APCMA spokesperson said the association anticipated that domestic cement consumption would once again rise after Ramadan, while a continued increase in exports was a welcome sign for the industry. However, he said the major factor behind the rise in exports had been the decline in the value of the Pakistani Rupee against the US Dollar, which greatly improved the competitiveness of cement manufacturers in global markets.
Losses mount at ARM Cement in 2017
04 June 2018Kenya: ARM Cement’s net loss more than doubled to US$55m in 2017 due to poor demand in Kenya and Tanzania. Its sales fell by 32% year-on-year to US$85m from US$127m. Elections in Kenya reduced cement demand, a coal import ban in Tanzania caused production issues at its Tanga cement plant and both countries saw increased competition.
“2017 was the most challenging for the group since the company’s listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 1997. Whilst the management has navigated many business difficulties well in the past, raised capital for expansion, increased net profits and market capitalisation continuously over a 14 year period up to 2015, the challenges of the past year have been unprecedented,” the company said in a statement.
The cement producer says it is undergoing a ‘significant’ review of its current operations, asset base and financing structure to address its problems. It has also been cutting staff benefits as part of its plan to save money.
UK-government investor CDC Group, which holds a 41% stake in the company, has also replaced its board members Ketso Gordhan and Pepe Meijer with Sofia Bianchi and Rohit Anand.