Displaying items by tag: Results

Philippines: Cemex Philippines’ sales were US$238m during the first nine months of 2023, down by 15% year-on-year. The Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper has reported that the company recorded increased costs during the period, although its electricity costs dropped. It implemented cost efficiency measures, but failed to reduce its net loss, which rose by 47% to US$66.5m from US$45.4m.

President and chief executive officer Luis Franco said "In this year of transition for our company, we remain dedicated to finding opportunities to improve our overall efficiency and profitability by proactively managing the variables we can control. I am pleased with the initial progress we have made in the implementation of our efficiency programme and its results in optimising our operations, streamlining processes, increasing supply chain efficiency and improving our energy mix."

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement’s sales were US$156m during the first nine months of 2023, down by 21% year-on-year. Its net profit also dropped in the period, by 35% to US$27.1m.

Austria: RHI Magnesita says that its sales volumes declined quarter-on-quarter during the third quarter of 2023, with its refractories plants operating at 70% capacity. The company noted ‘under-absorption’ of fixed costs. However it succeeded in maintaining constant earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) levels in line with the second quarter of the year. As such, RHI Magnesita revised its adjusted EBITA guidance for full-year 2023 to Euro380m from Euro360m. It said that its order book visibility is at ‘normal’ levels, with limited signs of a recovery in demand volumes in 2024, as global construction activity continues to be weak.

Chief executive officer Stefan Borgas said “I am pleased by the strong execution demonstrated by RHI Magnesita during difficult conditions for our key end markets. We are currently benefitting from the strategic investments we have made in reducing our cost base and rationalising our production network, together with improved planning and careful management of our assets through this period of weaker demand. Pricing discipline has helped to maintain EBITA margins at over 11%, offsetting the impact of lower production on our fixed cost base. We have also been able to progress our mergers and acquisitions strategy, with six acquisitions completed in the first nine months of 2023 and a total of nine in the past 24 months.

India: Larsen & Toubro recorded sales of US$6.12bn during the third quarter of 2023, up by 19% year-on-year. Its infrastructure projects segment contributed sales worth US$3.36bn, 55% of the total, with an increase in order inflow of 72%. Larsen & Toubro’s net profit grew by 45% year-on-year during the quarter, to US$387m.

Spain: Cementos Molins reported sales worth Euro1.08bn during the first nine months of 2023, up by 13% year-on-year from those recorded in the corresponding period of 2022. Meanwhile, the company’s earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 33%, to Euro278m. Its net profit grew by 38% to Euro124m. The producer succeeded in reducing its debt by 76% to Euro34m, compared to Euro1.42bn at the beginning of the year.

Cementos Molins chief executive officer Julio Rodríguez said "Despite the increasing challenges in the global environment, the results for the first nine months of 2023 showcase the strength of our integrated business model, which comprises products and solutions. We are also making significant progress in implementing our sustainability strategy. I extend my personal gratitude to our dedicated and committed team of more than 6200 employees, whose efforts have enabled our growth across our diverse business segments and in most geographical regions.”

China: Tangshan Jidong Cement recorded US$3.05bn in sales during the first nine months of 2023, down by 18% year-on-year from US$3.74bn during the first nine months of 2022. Its nine-month net loss was US$44m, against a profit of US$223m one year previously.

Switzerland: Holcim has reported growing sales and earnings on an organic basis in first nine months of 2023. In real terms its sales declined by 10% year-on-year to US$22.7bn during the first nine months of 2023 from US$25.2bn in the first nine months of 2022. Its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) fell by 2.2% to US$4.05bn from US$4.14bn. However, sales and recurring EBIT grew by 6.2% and 14% respectively on an organic basis. The group divested businesses in India, Brazil and Russia in 2022.

Cement sales were US$11.5bn (51% of group sales), down by 20% from US$14.4bn (57% of group sales). These sales rose by 12% on an organic basis. Throughout the period, ECOPlanet low-carbon cement accounted for 19% of the company’s cement sales. It also recycled 17% more construction and demolition waste year-on-year. Group CO2 emissions per net sales fell by 43% between 2020 and 2023.

Chair and chief executive officer Jan Jenisch said “I thank all members of the Holcim family for delivering profitable growth in the third quarter of 2023 despite challenging economic conditions, marked by softer demand in some markets and foreign exchange headwinds.” He added “The third quarter of 2023 results confirm Holcim’s strong earnings profile, with broad-based growth drivers delivering another increase in profitability. This performance gives us the confidence to upgrade our 2023 guidance to an industry-leading recurring EBIT margin of above 17% for the year.” The group also upgraded its outlook for full year organic sales growth to above 6% and for organic EBIT growth to above 10%.

Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s sales dropped by 12% year-on-year to US$3.47bn during the first nine months of 2023. The group’s net profit remained level year-on-year, at US$67.4m.

India: ACC recorded sales of US$1.16bn during the first half of its 2024 financial year that started in April 2023. This represents a year-on-year rise of 14% from US$1.02bn in the first half of the previous financial year. Cement sales grew by 15%, to US$1.08bn, 94% of total sales. The company’s raw materials costs rose by 16% to US$185m, while its power and fuel costs fell by 24% to US$241m, failing to offset a 5% rise in overall costs, to US$1.06bn. As such, ACC reported a profit after tax of US$102m, up by a factor of six from nine-month 2023 financial year levels.

US: Eagle Materials sold 4.14Mt of cement during the first half of its 2024 financial year, from 1 April 2023, a slight increase from the volume sold in the same period in its 2023 financial year. It reported sales revenue from its wholly owned cement business of US$614m, up by 15% year-on-year and corresponding to 50% of total group sales. Overall, group revenue rose by 4.9% to US$1.22bn.

President and chief executive officer Michael Haack said "Market conditions for our construction materials remained resilient during the quarter, even as the Federal Reserve continued to raise interest rates and tighten money supply to contain inflation. Several factors helped offset the higher rates and supported demand for cement, including limited housing supply, strong homebuyer demand, increasing infrastructure awards and significant investment in domestic manufacturing facilities. As demand remained strong and our operations remained nearly sold-out, we implemented a second round of cement price increases in early July across half our markets, and announced the next round of price increases for early January 2024.” Haack added “We expect that our portfolio of businesses will remain well-positioned for the second half of fiscal 2024."