Displaying items by tag: Results
Qatar National Cement’s 2015 first half profit up
31 July 2015Qatar: Qatar National Cement has reported that its profit for the first six months of 2015 rose to US$66.6m form US$65.3m in the same period of 2014, according to MarketLine. Its revenue for the first six months grew to US$160m from US$147m in the first six months of 2014. Its gross profit fell to US$63.3m from US$65.9m in 2014.
Nigeria: Lafarge's Ashaka Cement has reported a 5% year-on-year fall in half year pre-tax profit to US$21m in the first half of 2015, according to Reuters. Its revenue also dropped to US$54m from US$61.8m in the same period of 2014. The company's gross income fell to US$21.8m from US$25.9m in 2014.
Semen Indonesia’s first half profit falls to US$163m
31 July 2015Indonesia: PT Semen Indonesia has posted a sharp drop in net profit to US$163m for the first half of 2015, according to Reuters. In the corresponding period of 2014, its net profit was US$207m.
Greece: Titan Cement has posted a 26% year-on-year rise in its net profit to Euro17.6m for the first half of 2015, helped by a strong performance in the US. Its sales increased by 25.8% to Euro389m, boosted by higher demand for building materials and a stronger Dollar in the US, according to Reuters.
Romania: Lafarge's like-for-like cement sales in Romania rose by 25.2% year-on-year in terms of value in the first half of 2015, according to SeeNews. In terms of volume, cement sales in Romania climbed by 30.4% year-on-year in the first six months of 2015. "In Romania, cement volumes rose by 37% in the second quarter of 2015, bolstered by solid trends in the residential and the non-residential segments," said Lafarge in a statement.
Lafarge Africa's first half pre-tax profit rises 13%
30 July 2015Nigeria: Lafarge Africa has reported that its pre-tax profit rose by 13% year-on-year to US$149m in the first six months of 2015, according to Reuters. Its turnover in the first six months of 2015 increased to US$586m from US$523m in the same period of 2014. Its finance and investment income rose to US$17.6m from US$8.59m in 2014.
Vietnam: Yen Binh Cement's revenue grew to US$12.7m in the first half of 2015, thanks to its expanding markets.
In the period, Yen Binh Cement sold 308,000t of cement and exported 480,000t of clinker, fulfilling 40% of its 2015 target. The company produced 400,000t of cement in the six months, meeting demand in Yen Bai Province and the neighbouring Provinces of Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang and Lai Chau. Yen Binh Cement also exported 480,000t of clinker. In 2015 it aims to generate a revenue of US$33.2m, with a net profit of US$962,640.
Switzerland: In the first half of 2015, Holcim generated higher cash flow from operating activities and increased net income supported by the gain from the divestment of its minority shareholding in Siam City Cement in March 2015. However, Holcim was faced with a challenging development in the first half of 2015 as lower than anticipated demand in some markets caused volume declines in cement and impacted financial performance. Positive dynamics in markets such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Mexico and the Philippines were not able to compensate for these effects.
In the first half of 2015 consolidated cement volumes decreased by 2% to 67.6Mt as group regions like Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa Middle East reported declines. Like-for-like net sales across the group were almost unchanged in the first half of 2015. Net sales were down by 3.1% to Euro8.12m, as better performance in North America could not compensate for lower sales in other group regions. Operating earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), adjusted for merger-related costs of Euro80.8m, fell by 3.7% to Euro1.46m. Operating EBITDA decreased by 7.8% to Euro1.38m, impacted by merger-related costs and lower financial performance in Europe and Asia Pacific. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs of Euro80.8m, was down by 5.5% to Euro857m. Operating profit fell by 12.3% to Euro777m, as increases in Latin America and North America were not able to compensate for merger-related costs and lower performance in Asia Pacific, Europe and Africa Middle East. Net income increased by 4.9% to Euro648m, mainly as a result of the divestment of Holcim's minority shareholding in Siam City Cement.
Holcim was again confronted with a mixed global economic environment that was influenced by moderate growth levels as well as political and economic uncertainty. Although lower oil prices influenced economic development positively in oil-importing regions, ongoing investment weakness more than offset these effects in both advanced and emerging markets. With its strong focus on prices and cost management as well as its balanced geographic footprint, Holcim was able to mitigate some of these effects. Cement volumes declined in all group regions with the exception of North America and Latin America. More cement was sold in important markets including Romania, the Philippines, Vietnam and the US. Adjusted for merger-related costs, operating EBITDA was lower, despite the positive developments in North America and Latin America. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs also declined. While Group companies including Aggregate Industries UK, Holcim US, Holcim Mexico and Holcim Spain reported increased like-for-like financial performance, the development in Indonesia, India, Switzerland and France was less favourable.
Holcim expects that in 2015, the global economy will continue its gradual recovery. Key construction markets of Holcim in countries like the USA, India, Mexico, Colombia, the UK and the Philippines are expected to be the main growth drivers. Europe overall should have flat development. Latin America will continue to face uncertainties in Brazil, but should overall show slight growth in 2015. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow, although at a modest pace. Flat development is expected in Africa Middle East. Cement volumes should increase in all group regions in 2015 with the exception of Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
France: Lafarge has reported mixed results for the second quarter and first half of 2015, with lower cement volumes but higher sales for both periods.
In the second quarter of 2015, cement volumes decreased by 3% due to lower export sales. On its domestic markets, Lafarge's volumes increased by 2%. Cement prices fell by 0.5% year-on-year but rose by 0.5% quarter-on-quarter. Volumes were supported by continuing positive trends in many markets such as Romania, the Philippines, Egypt and Canada, while adverse weather limited growth in the US. Some markets faced more challenging economic and/or political environments. This was notably the case in France, where the construction sector remains subdued. In Brazil, Lafarge faces a very challenging overall environment. In Iraq and Syria difficulties in transporting cement across the country have prevailed since June 2014.
Lafarge's sales grew by 5% year-on-year to Euro3.54bn in the second quarter of 2015. Exchange rates continued to be favourable with a positive impact on sales of Euro249m or 8%, while the impact of Lafarge's divestments, notably in Ecuador, Russia and Pakistan, reduced its sales by 3% or Euro75m. Its earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) improved by 1% to Euro820m, supported by favourable exchange rates with a positive impact of Euro52m or 6%. Its operating income fell by 3% year-on-year to Euro608m.
Results in the second quarter of 2015 were impacted by one-off items in connection with the creation of LafargeHolcim that was finalised on 10 July 2015. These one-off items include Euro450m of impairment on some of the assets to be divested to CRH in the third quarter of 2015. Pre-tax merger costs of Euro94m were booked in the second quarter of 2015 and one-off restructuring costs, mainly reflecting reorganisation measures in France, amounted to Euro51m, compared to Euro32m in the same period of 2014. Excluding one-off items, Lafarge's net income was Euro210m in the second quarter of 2015, down by Euro27m from the same period of 2014.
Lafarge received Euro232m in cash for divestments in the second quarter of 2015, mainly reflecting the proceeds for its operations in Pakistan. Investments totalled Euro262m. Capital expenditures remained limited at Euro82m compared to Euro67m in the second quarter of 2014. Development investments amounted to Euro180m, mainly including projects in North America (Exshaw in Canada and Ravena in the US) and in Algeria, as well as a few debottlenecking projects, notably in the Philippines.
For the first half of 2015, Lafarge has reported a 4% year-on-year reduction in cement sales to 54.7Mt, while its sales grew by 5% to Euro6.32bn. Its EBITDA grew by 6% to Euro1.22bn and its operating income grew by 8% to Euro813m.
For the entirety of 2015, Lafarge expects cement market growth of 1 - 4%. Cost inflation should continue albeit at a slower pace than in 2014, given the evolution of fuel oil prices. This should result in higher prices overall. Lafarge should also benefit from more favourable exchange rates.
Thailand: Siam Cement's net profit surged by about 63% year-on-year to US$397m in the second quarter of 2015, boosted by better petrochemical margins, according to Reuters. However, its sales fell by 9% year-on-year to US$2.09bn.