Displaying items by tag: Results
PPC reports 3% drop in sales in first trading quarter of 2016
26 January 2016South Africa: PPC has reported that its cement sales fell by 3% for its first trading that ran from October to December 2015. Cement sales in its South African business declined by 1.6% while its international businesses recorded an 8% decline, according to a trading update.
The South African cement producer reported that coastal regions in South Africa achieved positive volume growth. However this was offset by declines recorded in Gauteng and inland regions. During this period, average selling prices fell by 4%.
In Zimbabwe the completion of major infrastructure projects in Zimbabwe has led to declines of over 10% in local sales. Cement exports have also reduced due to exchange rate effects. In Botswana cement sales fell due to competition and weak demand. In Rwanda sales fell due to high rainfall and limited exports. However, the company's new 0.6Mt/yr cement plant was reported to be performing 'satisfactorily' and the kiln has passed its performance test for output and heat consumption.
Qatar National Cement Company profit increases by 10% in 2015
26 January 2016Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company has reported that its profit rose by 10% year-on-year to US$127m in 2015 compared to US$115m in 2014. Revenue increased by 11% to US$321m from US$288m. Gross profit increased by 6% to US$130m from US$123m.
Ultratech Cement net profit rises by 37% to US$83m in Q3
21 January 2016India: Ultratech Cement has reported a 37% rise in its net profit to US$83m for the quarter that ended on December 2015. It attributed the growth to lower operating costs and higher sales. The subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group reported a net profit of US$59m in the same period of the 2014 – 2015 financial year.
The company's total income rose by 4% year-on-year to US$910m from US$875m. Grey cement sales rose by 7% to 11.26Mt/yr from 10.51Mt.
"Though cement prices remained subdued, the performance during the quarter was encouraging, driven by operational efficiencies, judicious fuel mix and lower energy costs. This has resulted in lower operating costs," Ultratech said in a statement. However, this benefit was partially offset by rise in costs due to District Mineral Foundation levy in terms of the provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development) Amendment Act, 2015 and amendment to the Payment of Bonus Act.
China National Building Materials expects a four-fold increase in net profit for 2015
19 January 2016China: China National Building Materials (CNBM) said that it expects a 310 - 360% surge in net profit for 2015 compared with its 2014 net profit of US$22.5m, according to Dow Jones. CNBM said that the rise was due to it having 'cleaned up' asset losses. The exchange rate change between the US Dollar and the Chinese Yuan also contributed to its profit rise.
Oman Cement profit improves
15 January 2016Oman: Oman Cement Company reported a net profit of US$12.2m in the fourth quarter of 2015, a 172% year-on-year rise and a 208% quarter-on-quarter rise. Sales revenues were US$37.7m, a rise of 4% year-on-year.
The company did not provide further details on cement unit sales or prices, but it is possible that the company may have been able to sell a larger-than-expected quantity of cement during the quarter.
Statistics Canada reports falling cement shipments in 2015
14 January 2016Canada: Cement manufacturers produced 1.11Mt of cement products in November 2015, down by 12.2% compared to October 2015. Domestic cement shipments fell by 15% from October 2015 to 1.08Mt in November 2015. Including imports, shipments were down by 19.9% to 1.10Mt.
China Resources Cement expects 2015 net profit to have plunged
14 January 2016China: State-owned China Resources Cement said that it expects its 2015 net profit to have fallen sharply year-on-year due to lower selling prices and exchange losses from foreign loans, following dismal data for the first nine months of 2015.
Its net profit for the nine months of 2015 fell by 60.6% year-on-year to US$165m, as its exchange loss from non-Chinese Yuan net borrowings surged fourfold year-on-year to US$83.8m. Cement and clinker also suffered from narrow gross margins of 24.1% and 11.3% for the nine months that ended on 30 September 2015 compared to 34.6% and 13.9% from 2014.
Qassim Cement’s profit grew by 4% in 2015
11 January 2016Saudi Arabia: Qassim Cement Co's quarterly net profit during the fourth quarter of 2015 amounted to US$37.4m, up by 4.69% from US$35.7m for the same quarter of 2014.
The main reasons for the net profit increase were higher sales volume and value, lower general and administrative expenses and higher other income. Gross profit during the fourth quarter of 2015 was US$42.3m, some 0.83% higher than the US$41.8m in the same period of 2014. Its operating profit increased by 7.96% to US$40.6m during the fourth quarter of 2015 compared to US$37.6m in the same quarter of 2014.
The company's net profit in 2015 grew by 4.05% year-on-year to US$156m and its gross profit grew by 2.33% to US$168m. Its operating profit grew by 4.49% to US$160m during 2015.
Qalaa Holdings’ net loss rose to US$16m in the third quarter of 2015
10 December 2015Egypt: Qalaa Holdings' revenue grew by 19% year-on-year to US$262m in the third quarter of 2015. In the first nine months of 2015, its revenue rose by 31% to US$777m. The growth was attributed to ASEC Cement and energy distribution business TAQA Arabia. ASEC Holding saw its top line grow by 30% to US$299m.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the third quarter of 2015 fell by 9% to US$27.4m. The decrease comes on the back of several factors; Qalaa's exit from Misr Cement Qena, which had been positively contributing to EBITDA; the third quarter of 2015 having two Eid Holidays (Eid El Fitr and Eid El Adha) leading to less working days; and Sudan's Al-Takamol facing temporary fuel shortages during the third quarter of 2015. These factors affected cement revenues and EBITDA. In the first nine months of 2015, Qalaa's EBITDA grew by 71% to US$99.5m.
Qalaa has continued to press forward with its strategy of divesting non-core investments, with several exits concluded during the first nine months of 2015 and more recently in the fourth quarter of 2015. In the second quarter of 2015, Qalaa concluded the sale of its 27.5% stake in Misr Cement Qena, while in the fourth quarter of 2015, the company further reduced its exposure to the cement industry with its business unit ASEC Cement divesting its stakes in subsidiaries ASEC Minya Cement and ASEC Ready Mix.
"We are pressing ahead with plans to divest assets that will allow us to deleverage and devote maximum attention to high-growth businesses in sectors that are vital to the development of our region such as refining, energy distribution and transportation and logistics," said Qalaa Holdings Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal. "We remain firmly committed to growing our investments in ERC, Egypt's largest in-progress private-sector megaproject due to begin production in 2017, and TAQA Arabia, which is pursuing exciting new opportunities in gas distribution, electricity generation and renewable energy. In parallel, we are also looking for opportunities to unlock shareholder value at subsidiaries, including ASCOM and Rift Valley Railways, which have strong growth outlooks."
"The sale of ASEC Cement's Egyptian assets alongside other transactions will fundamentally re-shape Qalaa's financials, giving more weight on both our income statement and balance sheet to ongoing operations at our energy and mining units and setting the stage for the transformative impact of ERC," said Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham El-Khazindar. "The near-full impact of the substantial deleveraging that accompanies these transactions will be felt in our fourth quarter 2015 and first quarter 2016 financials."
The company reported a net loss after tax and minority interest of US$16m in the third quarter of 2015, a two-fold increase compared to the net loss of US$7.59m in the same period of 2014. On a nine month basis, however, bottom-line losses narrowed by 31% to US$41.2m compared to US$60m in the same period of 2014
LafargeHolcim finances and rumours down-under
02 December 2015This week we got our first real sense of how things are going at the new global cement leader LafargeHolcim. The group released its first 'combined' results, which cover the third quarter of the year and the nine month period to 30 September 2015.
First impressions are that LafargeHolcim is having a tough time of it, struggling, as many cement industry players are, with an increasingly tricky and uneven global market. It reported a fall in net sales and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the first nine months of 2015, compared to the same period of 2014. Cement sales were also down by 1.3%. The group said that lower than expected demand was the reason behind lower sales, particularly in China and Brazil, which continue to struggle economically. It also picked out India as a country where momentum was lacking.
Of course, it's not all bad. While net sales were down, they were only down very slightly, by 0.6% year-on-year in the first nine months. Many a cement producer would love to pull in Euro20.4bn in sales and ship 189Mt of cement in just nine months! And, after a sticky start to the year, the picture is improving in some regions, with third quarter performance buoyed by improving fortunes in Asia, excluding China and India. LafargeHolcim was able to continue banking on the strong recovery in North America and parts of Europe, where some markets, such as the UK, continue to buck the otherwise depressing trend.
While these results will be a concern they are by no means horrific. However, they have already given rise to (or at least sped up) LafargeHolcim's future divestment plans. According to Dow Jones, LafargeHolcim plans to raise Euro3.23bn in 2016 from selling off assets, around half as much as Lafarge and Holcim had to sell to allow the merger to go through. The company has reportedly started discussions with interested parties, including private-equity firms and industry rivals about some of the assets. The proceeds will be returned to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks, according to CEO Eric Olsen.
Which assets will be divested remains to be seen. However, it reportedly won't involve LafargeHolcim's assets in Australia and New Zealand, at least in the short term. In the past week or so local media has reported that LafargeHolcim's assets in the two countries were to be sold off. However, since then Holcim Australia's Chief Executive Mark Campbell said the company was 'not currently being sold.' Campbell also added that he couldn't rule out a possible sale in the future.
So, while being clear that LafargeHolcim has no plans to sell its Australian and New Zealand assets at the moment, what could happen if it did? The starting point is complex, especially in Australia. According to the Global Cement Directory 2016, there are six operational integrated cement plants and 12 grinding plants in the country, which share a combined 13.9Mt/yr of cement capacity. LafargeHolcim has a 50% interest in Cement Australia's 4.0Mt of cement capacity, giving it 2Mt/yr of capacity and around 14% of national capacity. The other 50% of Cement Australia is owned by HeidelbergCement. Other major players include Adelaide Brighton, which has 2.3Mt/yr in its own name and a 50% stake in Independent Cement, and Boral Cement, which owns 2.3Mt/yr of capacity outright and 50% of SunState Cement's 1.5Mt/yr of capacity. In New Zealand there are two integrated plants, one operated by Golden Bay Cement and one by LafargeHolcim. The latter, however, is due to be closed in 2016.
If LafargeHolcim was to leave the mix in Australia, it is possible that neither Adelaide Brighton nor Boral would be able to take over its share, due to their already-large market presences. This may leave the door open for other regional players, perhaps a Chinese player looking to exit that country's rapidly-declining domestic market? Cemex is contracting and still heavily indebted, leaving it out of the running. While it is also possible that assets could be sold to private equity firms, another interested player could be Ireland's CRH, with 'cash to burn' and recent disappointment from its failure to buy Lafarge and Holcim's former assets in India.
Of course, if the assets aren't for sale, it won't be possible to buy them, meaning that for now the above is just speculation. However, the quick analysis above does highlight the relative lack of viable cement industry suitors in this region. If LafargeHolcim does ever decide to sell in this region, it might find the assets hard to shift.