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Displaying items by tag: Results
Cimpor blames Euro206m first-half loss on Spain
05 September 2012Portugal: Cimpor has blamed a Euro206m loss in the first half of 2012 on the worsening economic climate in Spain. By comparison, the company's net profit for the six months ending on 30 June 2011 was Euro138m.
The Portuguese producer recorded a loss in net operating income for the period of Euro140m compared to a gain of Euro198m in 2011. Its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 15.3% to Euro267m from Euro316m.
Overall cement and clinker sales for the company fell by 6.3% to 12.9Mt from 13.8Mt. Sales in Spain declined by 34.5% to 0.82Mt from 1.25Mt. Sales in China fell by 29.1% to 1.36Mt from 1.92Mt. Sales in Turkey fell by 12% to 1.28Mt from 1.45Mt. Cimpor attributed its decline in Turkey to a severe winter and its decline in China to difficult market conditions. Other major markets in Portugal and Brazil reported increases of 3.7% to 2Mt and 4.2% to 2.77Mt respectively. Despite the sales increase by volume, turnover fell in Portugal for the half-year.
In July 2012 Cimpor was taken over by Brazilian industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa Group.
Titan profits plummet by 65% in first half
30 August 2012Greece: Titan Cement has reported continuing falling profits in the first half of 2012, amid an ongoing slump in Greece and weakness in many of its other markets. However, second quarter turnover in 2012 has started to improve year-on-year.
Titan posted a turnover for the first half of 2012 of Euro548m, a 2% decline compared to the first half of 2011. Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) declined by 21% to Euro112m. Net profit reached Euro8m, a 65% decline compared to the same period in 2011. In addition, the weakening of the Euro versus local currencies had a limited Euro2m positive impact on operating results for the first half of 2012.
In the second quarter of 2012, Titan's turnover increased by 6% to Euro322m compared to the same period in 2011. The increase in turnover, the first in six consecutive quarters, is mainly due to what appears to be the beginning of the recovery in construction activity in the US, as well as increased exports from Greece. EBITDA declined by 17% to Euro78m while net profit reached Euro28m, the same as in 2011.
Titan estimate that demand for its products in Greece is continuing to decline at an annual rate of roughly 40%. Cement consumption for 2012 is expected to be approximately 75% lower than the levels recorded in 2007. The last time consumption stood at such levels was in the first half of the 1960s.
For the remainder of 2012 Titan does not expect private building activity or infrastructure projects to improve its outlook in Greece. In the US it expects the increase in cement consumption noticed in the first half of 2012 to continue. In Southeastern Europe the continued slowdown related to the Eurozone crisis is expected to hold back demand for building materials. In Egypt expectations about cement demand remain cautiously optimistic whilst in Turkey demand remains at high levels for the time being for both private and public works.
UAE cement company results
24 August 2012UAE: A series of results has been released by cement producers in the United Arab Emirates. Sharjah Cement has announced a US$3.5m net profit for the first half of 2012, an improvement from a US$0.6m loss in the first six months of 2011. Its revenue was up by 14.5% to US$87.5m from US$76.4m.
Meanwhile, Union Cement posted a profit of US$5.6m, which, like Sharjah, was an improvement from a loss. It lost US$4.1m in the first half of 2011. Union's sales revenue was down marginally year-on-year to US$88.3m, a drop of 0.2%.
Gulf Cement also made an improvement year-on-year, increasing its revenue by 14.9% from US$35.4m to US$40.7m. However, the company went from a profit of US$3.64m to a US$0.78m loss.
Chinese producers profits in free-fall
23 August 2012China: On the back of similar reports from numerous Chinese cement producers, two more companies have announced large drops in their profits in the first half of 2012.
Tangshan Jidong Cement Co Ltd, a Hebei Province-based cement producer, posted US$17m in net profit for the first half of 2012, a year-on-year drop of 85%. The company's operating revenue slid by 10.7% year-on-year to US$1.0bn.
Meanwhile, Jiangxi Wannianqing Cement Co Ltd, a Jiangxi Province-based cement maker has posted a net profit of US$9.1m for the first half of 2012, a year-on-year decrease of 80%. Its operating revenue slid by 22.1% to US$316m.
Shree profit sky-rockets
23 August 2012India: Shree Cement, one of the top-five Indian cement producers, has reported an incredible 539% jump in its net profit for the first quarter of the 2013 fiscal year. Its net profit rose to US$63.6m for the quarter ending 30 June 2012, whereas the net profit of the company stood at US$10.0m during the same period in 2011. Shree's total income rose by 43.8% to US$269m during the quarter, from US$187m.
The company did not explain the massive increase in net profit, but it is likely that the year-ago period saw a large non-operating payment.
Boral’s second half profit hit by slow housing market
22 August 2012Australia: Boral has reported a 59% fall in second-half profit, hit by weak housing construction in Australia and delays in big resource and road projects. Boral, which removed its chief executive in May 2012, declined to give a fiscal forecast for the year ahead, in light of uncertain market conditions, but said it would update investors at its annual meeting in November 2012.
Net profit for the six months to June 2012 fell to US$35.7m from US$87m a year earlier, as calculated from full year figures. The building products maker issued profit warnings in April 2012 and June 2012.
"Earnings from our Australian business in the six months to June were hit by very weak housing and non-residential building activity, combined with delays and disruption from sustained rainfall across the east coast. The positive impact of price increases was more than offset by much weaker sales volumes in these markets and by higher costs, including from the wet weather," said Boral's chief executive officer, Ross Batstone.
Overall for the year to 30 June 2012 profit, after tax dropped by 42% to US$106m from US$183m. Sales revenue grew by 5%, to US$5.24bn from US$4.94bn, but this excludes the impact of the acquisition of Lafarge's 50% of Boral's stake in their Asian plasterboard joint-venture.
Boral's cement sector reported a slight fall in revenue to US$449m from US$462m, due to a 40% reduction in New South Wales lime volumes, marginally lower cement volumes and broadly flat cement prices. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 12%, to US$124m from US$140m.
For its 2013 outlook Boral expects its cement volumes to be remain flat, with residential demand improvements in the state of North South Wales offset by weakness in Victoria and continued low volumes in South East Queensland. The pricing environment will remain challenging due to the high Australian dollar and low sea freight prices, which allow imports from Asian countries.
Akmene Cement takings rise by 22% in first half
21 August 2012Lithuania: Akmene Cement, Lithuania's only cement manufacturer, has posted a revenue of Euro30.3m for the first half 2012, a 22% increase from Euro24.7m in the same period in 2011. The company's cement output rose by 7%, to 423,000t from 396,000t. Akmene has not disclosed its profit for the 2012 period.
"The demand in the export countries is more or less similar to that of 2011. We are exporting slightly more to Belarus," said Akmene Cement representative, Giedre Kundrotiene. In 2011 the company's revenue grew by 37%, year-on-year, to Euro62.8m. Volume sales rose by 19%, to nearly 984,000t.
Akmenes Cementas has completed 60% of an upgrade project worth Euro101m to shift from wet to dry cement production. Work is expected to be finalised by the middle of 2013 at the plant located in Naujoji Akmene, in north-west Lithuania.
West China Cement profit collapses by 65% in first-half
17 August 2012China: West China Cement's net profit has fallen by 64.6% to US$23.4m in the first half of 2012. The cement producer's revenue dropped by 7.2% to US$250m in the same period.
Yet West China Cement expects better profits and revenue in the second half of 2012 as production capacity rises by up to 50%. "Our production costs will go down as our scale increases," said company chairman Zhang Jimin. "Our gross margin will rise in the second half. With selling prices and sales volume rising, our profits and revenue will increase." Zhang added that the company's cement sales would be boosted by infrastructure projects in Shaanxi province, including the Datong-Xian high-speed-rail project and the second Xian-Ankang rail project.
On 8 August 2012 US 'short seller' Glaucus Research Group accused West China Cement of fraud, inflated profits and suspicious acquisitions. West China Cement executive director Low Po Ling said that her company was consulting its lawyers and that is had reserved the right to take legal action against Glaucus. Low said that since the Glaucus report came out, Italcementi Group, West China Cement's third-biggest shareholder, had held discussions three or four times with the mainland company. "Italcementi was very unhappy. It will issue a statement," said Low.
Lucky Cement’s annual profit jumps by 71%
16 August 2012Pakistan: Lucky Cement has declared its best ever profit after tax of US$71.8m for the year ending 30 June 2012. The result is 70.8% higher than the net profit of US$42.1m made in the same period in 2011.
The company's gross profit increased by 46% as its net sales revenue improved by 28.1% to US$353m from US$276m. Higher sales volume in the domestic market coupled with better retention prices attributed to the record-breaking profit. Local sales volumes grew by 7%, to 3.72Mt from 3.46Mt. However, export sales volume fell by 4% from 2.35Mt to 2.25Mt, mainly due to a focus on the domestic market, which contributed in increasing the overall profitability of the company.
Lucky Cement undertook various capital expenditures in the year ending 30 June 2012, including new refuse-derived fuel (RDF) and tyre-derived fuel (TDF) plants and a new European-origin packing plant. The RDF and TDF plants replaced up to 20% of coal consumption with alternative fuels. During the year, a project of supplying electricity to the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) was also successfully completed whereby a grid station and 22km of interconnection lines were installed. The company is also working on joint venture investments for a cement plant in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a grinding facility in Iraq.
FLSmidth Q2 profit dented by write-off
15 August 2012Denmark: Cement equipment provider FLSmidth has reported that its second-quarter net profit for 2012 fell by 24% to Euro30m as increased costs and big write-downs outweighed growth in its revenue. Its profit in the same period in 2011 was Euro38.8m.
FLSmidth saw its revenue improve by 26% year-on-year, to Euro811m from Euro644m. Order intake also grew substantially by 20%, to Euro973m from Euro812m. As a result, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 32%, to Euro90m from Euro68.2m.
However, amortisation and write-downs of intangible assets jumped to Euro34.4m from Euro5.51m, which had a negative effect on overall profit. This negative item consisted mainly of a one-off Euro25.3m write-down of capitalised research and development costs.
FLSmidth registered strong order intake and earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) in all its segments except for Bulk Materials, which has been experiencing difficulties in project execution as a result of underestimated risks in connection with orders received in previous years. For its cement sector two major orders in the USA and the Middle East were received in the second quarter. The period saw a order intake rise by 47%, to Euro256m from Euro173m.