Displaying items by tag: Results

Germany: HeidelbergCement’s consolidated net sales grew by 1% year-year to Euro3.96bn in the first quarter of 2021 from Euro3.93bn in the first quarter of 2020. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 23% to Euro538m from Euro436m. The group said that the preliminary results are ‘significantly’ above market expectations.

Brazil: Votorantim Cimentos’ consolidated net sales were US$6.41bn in 2020, up by 19% year-on-year from US$5.41bn in 2019. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) also rose, by 35% to US$1.21bn from US$899m. The group attributed the growth to increased cement volumes sold in Brazil, Canada and the US. Total global cement sales increased by 8% to 32.4Mt. Net revenue grew in all regions, but the sharpest growth was reported in North America at 43% to US$945m.

Chief financial officer Osvaldo Ayres Filho said, “The past year has been extremely challenging due to the pandemic and its impacts across the planet. We have implemented a contingency plan to protect people's lives and preserve operations. This allowed us to respond with agility both in Brazil and in the other markets in which we have operations, ending the year with increased sales, cash generation growth and the lowest leverage in the past ten years.”

During the year, the group unified its joint-venture in Uruguay, with Cementos Molins, at a single site and merged its Canadian and US businesses under a new 83% owned subsidiary. It suspended its Pecém grinding plant expansion in Brazil due to the coronavirus pandemic and resumed it in September 2020. Completion of the project is scheduled for the first half of 2021. The producer also released its Sustainability Commitments for 2030 in November 2020.

Philippines: Eagle Cement recorded full-year consolidated net sales of US$286m in 2020, down by 30% year-on-year from US$408m in 2019. The company said that it recorded a stronger performance in the second half of 2020, according to the Manila Times newspaper. Second-half sales fell by 14% year-on-year to US$165m. Its full-year net income fell by 44% to US$70.1m from US$124m.

Chief executive officer Paul Ang said "The halting of our operations due to pandemic-related restrictions took a hit on our results in the first half of 2020 but the remaining half proved that we are well-positioned to bounce back. We saw improvement in our volume and we are able to bring down our production cost in 2020.” He added "We will continue to work on aggressive marketing and better pricing strategies for this year and this will be complemented by focusing on cost control initiatives in our operations, which will enable us to deliver better returns in 2021."

China: Asia Cement (China) has predicted a year-on-year increase of 110 - 130% in its consolidated net profit in in the first quarter of 2020. The company has attributed the anticipated growth to increased sales volumes during the quarter.

China: Huaxin Cement has forecast consolidated net profit growth of 104% - 111% year-on-year to US$55.7m – US$59.6m in the first quarter of 2021 from US$53.7m in the same period in 2020. The group said that cement volumes rose by 60% and concrete and aggregate volumes grew by over 200%. The cement producer has attributed the growth to the impact of coronavirus upon its business at the start of 2020.

Qatar: Qatar National Cement Company recorded a profit of US$19.3m in the first quarter of 2021. Reuters has reported that the figure represents a 29% year-on-year rise from US$14.9m from the same period in 2019. The cement producer reported a 6% year-on-year fall in revenue to US$182m and a 13% fall in net profit to US$40.8m in 2020.

Egypt: Sinai Cement’s consolidated net loss before minority interests was US$35.6m in 2020. The figure represents an increase of 26% year-on-year from US$28.3m in 2019, according to Mubasher.

Egypt: South Valley Cement’s full-year sales in 2020 were US$22.3m, down by 20% year-on-year from US$28.0m. Loss also fell by 20%, to US$16.0m from US$20.1m in the 2020 financial year, according to Mubasher.

China: CNBM’s revenue rose by 0.5% year-on-year to US$38.9bn in 2020 from US$38.7bn in 2019. Its profit for the year grew by 17% to US$3.30bn from US$2.81bn. However, its cement sales revenue fell by 3% to US$19.5bn from US$20.0bn and its concrete sales fell slightly to US$7.80bn. Cement-based earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell slightly to US$5.73bn and concrete-based EBITDA rose by 53% to US$794m. Both cement and concrete sales volumes grew slightly to 340Mt and 112Mm³ respectively. Overall group revenue rose due to sales by the group’s new materials and engineering divisions. The share of its overseas revenue fell to 2% in 2020 from 13% in 2019 due to declines in most regions with the exception of the Americas and Oceania.

“2020 was an extraordinary year, faced with severe and complicated domestic and international environment, especially the serious impact from Covid-19,” said Cao Jianglin, chairman of CNBM. He added, “The foundation of economic recovery in China is not yet solid, and the task of industry transformation and upgrading is arduous.” The company plans to continue implementing supply side structural supply reforms and work towards government CO₂ emission peak targets and carbon neutrality plans.

France: Hoffmann Green Cement’s consolidated net revenue fell by 19% year-on-year to Euro504,000 in 2020 from Euro620,000 in 2019. Net loss was Euro6.12m, up by 41% from Euro4.34m. Loss in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) more than doubled to Euro4.13m from Euro1.85m. During the year, the group began construction of its second cement plant, in Vendée, France.

Co-chairs Julien Blanchard and David Hoffman said, “We are happy with what we achieved at Hoffmann Green in 2020, in spite of the pandemic. We signed numerous technical and commercial collaboration contracts with key players in the construction sector such as Groupe GCC, KP1, Cemex and Eiffage Génie Civil, taking our order book to over 190,000t to date.” They reconfirmed the target of a 3% French cement market share by 2025/2026, adding, “The commercial dynamic continues at the beginning of 2021 with the signing of contracts with Ouest Réalisations for the construction of housing, and EdyCem to develop low carbon footprint concretes.”

Blanchard and Hoffmann called 2020 ‘the year of increasing production volumes,’ adding that the group expects on-going and future environmental legislation in all its regions to bolster demand.