Displaying items by tag: Results
Cement sales indicate good growth in the Philippines
10 August 2015Philippines: Philippine construction activity growth, which slowed to 4.4% in the first quarter of the 2016 fiscal year compared with an average 5% growth in the previous three quarters, appears to have picked up in the second quarter of fiscal 2016, which ended on 30 June 2015, as indicated by Holcim Philippines' sales over the period and reported by Dow Jones.
In the second quarter of its 2016 financial year, Holcim Philippines' net sales rose by 9.7% year-on-year to US$212m, aided by higher sales volumes and prices. Holcim president Eduardo Sahagun said that the company was improving plant efficiency and upgrading it to run longer to cover strong demand. He said that cement prices don't appear to be as big a concern as supply. "We understand that contractors are most concerned with steady cement supply and this is what we are trying to address in the second half," said Sahagun.
Sumitomo Osaka Cement reports strong growth in the second quarter of its 2016 fiscal year
10 August 2015Japan: In the April - June 2015 period, Sumitomo Osaka Cement's operating profit rose by 26.8% year-on-year to US$35.5m. Its sales rose by 6% to US$455m, according to Reuters.
Shree Cement’s profit down by 63%
06 August 2015India: Shree Cement's profit in the quarter that ended on 30 June 2015 fell by 62.5% year-on-year to US$16.3m, but its overall earnings beat expectations due to strong growth in its power business.
Its revenue grew by 4% to US$270m and its operating profit fell by 18.7% year-on-year to US$55.9m. Its results were affected by 8.2% higher power and fuel costs, 26% higher freight and forwarding expenses and a 55% depreciation cost. The cement business grew by 1.7% to US$238m, while its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was a US$7.46m loss. Overall performance was supported by its power business, which contributes 23% to total revenue.
India: Orient Cement has reported a 20% year-on-year decline in its net profit to US$4.37m for the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended 30 June 2015, on the back of fall in revenues. Total income from operations decreased by 8.69% to US$54.8m. However, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margin was stable at 17%, mainly due to lower raw material and power and fuel expenses. Orient Cement also announced that it has appointed Swapan Dasgupta as additional director in the category of Independent Director.
Asia Cement’s first half 2015 revenue down by 23%
05 August 2015China: Asia Cement said that its profit attributable to owners for the first half of 2015 plunged by 97.4% year-on-year to US$1.59m in the first half of 2015. The decrease in net profit was attributed primarily to the fall in average cement sales price. Its revenue fell by 23.1% to US$484m and its gross profit margin on revenue dropped to 14% from 24% in the same period of 2014. No interim dividend will be distributed.
US: Eagle Materials has reported that in the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 June 2015, its revenues grew by 7% to US$285m, its earnings before interest and income taxes grew by 1% to US$60.4m, its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 10% toUS$84.6m and its net earnings grew marginally to US$37.8m.
First quarter net sales prices improved across nearly all businesses, with the most notable increases in the cement and concrete businesses. Extraordinarily wet weather in many of itscement markets, including Texas, Oklahoma and Colorado, adversely impacted the timing of cement sales volumes during the first quarter. However, Eagle Materials reported that its underlying demand for its cement continues to remain strong. In addition, all of its cement facilities completed their planned annual outages during the first quarter and cement maintenance costs were approximately US$3m higher than the prior year's first quarter.
Its cement revenues for the first quarter, including joint venture and intersegment revenues, totalled US$128.2m, which was slightly higher than the same quarter last year. The average net sales price grew by 9% year-on-year. Cement sales volumes fell by 7% to 1.2Mt. The most significant decline in cement sales volumes occurred in Texas, primarily associated with well-above average rainfall during the period. Operating earnings from cement for the first quarter of 2016 grew by 25% to US$25.7m. The earnings improvement was driven primarily by improved average net cement sales prices, lower energy, raw materials and purchased cement costs, partially offset by lower cement sales volumes and US$3m of increased costs associated with a shift in the timing of all the annual maintenance outages at cement plants to the first quarter.
US: Summit Materials has reported increased net revenue, operating income and gross profit in the second quarter of 2015, which ended on 30 June 2015.
"During the second quarter of 2015, we produced significant growth in net revenues and margins across all of our lines of business. This strong improvement reflects the steady demand improvement in all of our regions, despite some weather-related challenges, mainly in Texas and Kansas, and our disciplined focus on price optimisation across our vertically integrated lines of businesses. We achieved this while also expanding our adjusted EBITDA margin by 300 basis points and generating incremental margins in excess of 50%. The success of our acquisition strategy was also evident in our results, with more than half of our profit growth contributed by our accretive acquisitions," said Tom Hill, president and CEO of Summit. "We believe our sustained progress is a direct result of the steps we have taken to expand our business into attractive markets and establish leadership positions throughout our diversified footprint. Our completion of the Davenport assets acquisition was an exciting milestone for our company and significantly advanced our position as a leading cement producer in the Midwest. We are now better positioned to continue enhancing our materials earnings exposure and overall profitability as we integrate these assets onto our platform. As we look to the back half of 2015, we plan to capitalise on the improving demand environment to improve our profitability while also remaining opportunistic with our capital to further expand our businesses in select target markets."
In the second quarter 2015, net revenue increased by 12.5% to US$329m. The increase in net revenue was primarily attributable to an increase in volumes across all lines of business, led by the West and Central regions. Net revenue grew organically by 3.2% to US$9.3m. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 28.4% to US$78.1m, with growth in all regions. As a percentage of net revenue, adjusted EBITDA improved to 23.8%, compared to 20.8% in the prior year quarter.
Adjusted EBITDA in the west region grew by 28.4% to US$8.7m, primarily driven by a higher mix of net revenue from aggregates, organic volume and price growth and the impact of acquisitions, mainly in the Houston and Midland / Odessa, Texas and British Columbia, Canada markets. In the central region, adjusted EBITDA increased by 23.2% to US$6.7m, largely attributable to price growth across all lines of business, stronger volume in aggregates and ready-mixed concrete and the favourable impact of acquisition activity. Adjusted EBITDA in the east region improved by 20.8% to US$1.6m, primarily as a result of higher volume in aggregates leading to a larger mix of net revenue derived from materials.
Gross profit increased by 25.1% to US$116m. As a percentage of net revenue, gross profit improved to 35.2%, compared to 31.6% in the prior year quarter, primarily attributable to a higher mix of net revenue from materials and products as a result of organic improvement and acquisition activity. Net revenue from materials increased by 29.6% to US$88.1m. Cement volumes and prices increased by 0.7% and 9.1%, respectively, both driven by additional market demand. Gross profit from materials grew by 34.7% to US$52.7m.
On 17 July 2015, Summit Materials completed the acquisition of the Davenports Assets, including a 1.2Mt/yr cement plant, a quarry and seven cement distribution terminals, from Lafarge for US$450m in cash and a cement distribution terminal in Bettendorf, Iowa. The Davenport Assets are being integrated with and will operate as Continental Cement Company, an existing wholly-owned subsidiary of Summit.
Egypt: Alexandria Cement has reported that, in the first half of 2015, its consolidated net sales grew by 3% year-on-year to US$130m. It incurred consolidated pre-tax net loss of US$9.32m compared to US$14.9m in the same period of 2014. Alexandria Cement's standalone pre-tax net loss was US$6.13m, compared to US$31.4m in 2014.
Spain: Cementos Portland Valderrivas has reported that in the first half of 2015, its net sales grew by 11.3% to Euro289m compared to Euro260m in the same period of 2014. Its cement sales grew by 4.1% year-on-year. In the first half of 2015, Cementos Portland Valderrivas reported a Euro39.9m loss compared to Euro31m in the same period of 2014.
Gulf Cement profits fall by 29.3% in the first half of 2015
03 August 2015UAE: Gulf Cement Company has reported a 29.3% profit drop to US$48.4m in the first half of 2015 compared to US$12m in the same period of 2014. Profits grew to US$4.29m in the first half of 2015 from US$2.53m in 2014. Gulf Cement had previously reported profits of US$4.12m in the first quarter of 2015 compared to US$14.4m in the same period of 2014.