Displaying items by tag: Results

Germany: Claudius Peters’ 2020 sales were Euro80.2m, down by 19% year-on-year from Euro98.8m in 2019. The company recorded a ‘small profit’ compared to a loss in 2019. It said that it started the year with a historically low order book. This was compounded by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, the supplier exceeded targets in China, Romania and the US.

The company said, “Order intake is currently looking much more promising than a year ago with several major projects, delayed due to the pandemic, coming into the decision phase during the first quarter of 2021. With an operational overhaul now well under way, the future for Claudius Peters is looking more positive.”

US: Martin Marietta’s total revenue remained stable at US$4.73bn in 2020. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 11% year-on-year to US$1.39bn from US$1.25bn in 2019. Cement shipments rose by 11.7% year-on-year to 1.1Mt in fourth-quarter of 2020 due to strong demand in Texas.

“As we move forward, we believe underlying demand fundamentals will reset, establishing 2021 as the year during which the nation regains its economic footing,” said Ward Nye, the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Martin Marietta. He added, “We anticipate single-family housing growth, expanded infrastructure investment and notable heavy industrial projects of scale will support the company’s near-term shipment levels. We expect these demand drivers, combined with the ancillary construction necessary for housing community buildouts and the potential increased infrastructure investment from a comprehensive Federal surface transportation package, should provide for multi-year growth in product demand,”

India: ACC’s net sales fell by 12% year-on-year to US$1.85bn in 2020 from US$2.11bn in 2019. Its earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) dropped by 3% to US$341m from US$332m. Cement sales volumes decreased by 12% to 25.5Mt and ready-mixed concrete sales volumes by 36% to 2.3Mm³. The subsidiary of Switzerland-based LafargeHolcim said that its cost efficiency program and working capital optimisation helped it to grow earnings and profits in 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia: Yanbu Cement has started a two months modernisation project on Line 4 at its integrated Yanbu plant. The company said that dispatches would not be affected by the stoppage due to sufficient clinker stocks. Line 5, which represents 60% of the company's total capacity at the plant, will continue production at full capacity.

The cement producer reported that its sales fell by 4% year-on-year to US$251m in 2020 from US$260m in 2019. Its net profit after zakat and tax grew by 9% to US$74.9m from US$68.7m.

Saudi Arabia: Yamama Cement’s sales rose by 10% year-on-year to US$235m in 2020 from US$214m in 2019. Its net profit after zakat and tax grew by 42% to US$96.9m from US$68.3m.

France: Vicat recorded full-year consolidated sales of Euro2.81bn in 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from Euro2.74bn in 2019. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 6% to Euro557m from Euro526m. Consolidated net income rose by 8% to Euro172m from Euro160m.

The group said that organic sales were ‘strong,’ rising in all regions except in France, by 6% in total. It attributed the decline to a near-total shutdown due to the coronavirus outbreak in mid-March 2020, which lifted incrementally throughout the first half of the year. Vicat France’s cement business recovered ‘robustly’ in the second half of 2020, resulting in an operational sales increase of 3% for the year. Full stoppages of activity lasted for 33 days in India and for 30 days in Italy. Despite these challenges, business growth, cost-cutting and lower energy costs drove earnings growth, with ‘very sharp improvements’ recorded in the Americas and in Asia. Additionally, the ramp-up of a new grinding plant in Mali and production performance improvements in Senegal supported a ‘significant’ earnings increase in Africa.

Chair and chief executive officerGuy Sidos said, “Thanks to our employees’ tremendous efforts and commitment, the Vicat group strengthened its position amid the unprecedented current pandemic situation. Our resilience and flexibility allowed us to make organisational changes in order to reconcile our competing imperatives of keeping everyone safe and healthy, unlocking savings and making rapid adjustments, such as relocating our Paris head office to L’Isle d’Abeau in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Likewise, we made improvements to Vicat’s governance and stepped up our environmental and digital transformation programmes. Given the strength of our cash generation, we were able to resume key productivity investment programmes for the future. Despite the adversity we faced, our teams across all our various regions successfully delivered higher production efficiency levels and met market demand cost-effectively, paving the way for a solid increase in the Vicat group’s results.”

In 2021, the group plans to expand cement production and invest in new cement terminals in India and to continue with the upgrade of its Ragland cement plant in the US. It also says that it will ramp up projects aimed at meeting its carbon footprint reduction targets. The group expects its earnings to rise at constant scope and exchange rates over the full year.

Mexico: Cemex recorded consolidated cement volumes of 63.8Mt in 2020, up by 2% year-on-year from 62.7Mt in 2019. Ready mixed concrete sales volumes fell by 6% to 47.0Mm3 from 50.1Mm3. Its net sales fell by 1% to US$13.0bn from US$13.1bn although the group has reported a slight rise on a like-for-like basis. Operating earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to US$2.46bn, up by 3% from US$2.38bn. However, sales and earnings picked up significantly in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Fernando A González, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cemex said, “2020 was one of the most challenging years we have faced but it also was a remarkable year that tested the strengths of Cemex and several of our recent strategic initiatives. I am proud of our performance, the organisation, and how we responded to the sudden arrival of Covid-19 in 2020.”

Cement volumes rose by 6% in Mexico and by 8% in the US, but fell by 1% in Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa and by 8% in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Prices fell in all regions except Europe, where they rose by 3%, and the US, where they remained level. Annual like-for-like sales and gross profit increases were noted in Mexico, the US and Middle East and Africa.

The group concluded the sales of its 75% stake of US-based Kosmos Cement for US$499m in March 2020 and of ready-mix assets in the UK for US$230m in August 2020.

Australia: James Hardie recorded net sales of US$2.10bn in the first nine months of its 2021 financial year, up by 9% year-on-year from US$1.93bn in the first nine months of its 2020 financial year. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxation rose by 25% to US$456m from US$366m. Sales and earnings increased in all three regions in which the company operates. In Australia and New Zealand, it reduced costs by consolidating fibre cement production at its two Australian plants.

Chief executive officer Jack Truong said, “I am pleased with these record results, underpinned by excellent execution of our business transformation that we began in 2019, combined with increasing demand for our premium-quality James Hardie brand products and solutions. The transformation we undertook to unlock capacity and increase efficiency in our global manufacturing network through lean initiatives and to better integrate our supply chain with our customers continues to deliver consistent market share gains and the ability to serve our customers seamlessly around the world. We are firmly on track with our investments in growth to broaden our portfolio with industry-leading innovations that enhance aesthetic value for homeowners. Our transformation initiatives will enable us to expand our market opportunity and allow us to continue to deliver strong performance.”

Italy: Buzzi Unicem’s net sales remained stable at Euro3.22bn in 2020. Cement sales volumes grew slightly to 29.3Mt and ready-mixed concrete sales fell by 3.1% year-on-year to 11.7Mm³ from 12.1Mm³. The group attributed this to growth in the US and stable markets in Russia and Germany, compensating for weaker trends in Eastern Europe and Italy.

Australia: Boral’s group net sales fell by 9% year-on-year to US$2.10bn in the first half of its 2021 financial year from Euro2.78bn in the corresponding period of its 2020 financial year. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell by 1% to US$376m from US$381m. Net profit after tax remained consistent with previous first-half levels at US$121m. The group noted good value creation from its sale of its 50% stake in USG Boral to Germany-based Knauf for US$1.02bn, which it expects to conclude in the second half of the 2021 financial year.

Chief executive officer and managing director Zlatko Todorcevski said, “While market conditions across the sector remain uncertain, we have made strong early progress to reset our portfolio of businesses, in line with our commitment to shareholders to transform Boral into a more agile, resilient and profitable company. Much work remains to be done but we are well on our way. Our half-year results were impacted, as we expected, by a decline in multi-residential and non-residential construction activity in Australia, particularly in New South Wales, and the completion of a number of major projects ahead of materials demand from new projects coming through. We are in a good position to supply demand when activity in Australia picks up.” He added that housing demand in the North American region strengthened throughout the first half of 2021.

Cement sales revenue and earnings from the group’s Boral Australia subsidiary were reported as stable. The group has also conducted a study of the US fly ash market as part of its ongoing portfolio review. It plans to strengthen its fly ash business in the long term due to expected demand growth.