Displaying items by tag: Results

Germany: HeidelbergCement recorded net sales of Euro13.1bn over the first nine months of 2020, down by 8% year-on-year from Euro14.3bn over the corresponding period of 2019. Sales fell in most regions during the nine month period but rose in Africa-Eastern Mediterranean by 4% to Euro1.31bn from Euro1.26bn. Group cement volumes totalled 17.9Mt, down by 2% from 18.3Mt, while concrete volumes fell by 12% to 4.40Mt from 5.00Mt.

Speaking of the third quarter of 2020, chair Dominik von Achten said, “HeidelbergCement has achieved an excellent result. In an environment that continues to be characterised by major regional differences and great uncertainty, we were able to increase earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by 17% in comparison to the third quarter of 2019.“ He added that the group expected earnings to grow in 2020 compared to 2019.

France: Vicat recorded net sales of Euro2.07bn in the first nine months of 2020, up slightly from Euro2.06bn in the first nine months of 2019. Sales rose in Africa by 23% to Euro198m from Euro161m, in Europe (excluding France) by 8% to Euro317m from Euro294m and in the Americas by 7% to Euro471m from Euro442m.

Cement sales constituted 51% of sales at Euro1.05bn, up by 5% from Euro991m. Cement volumes rose by 8% to 18.0Mt from 16.7Mt, while concrete volumes fell by 2% to 6.65Mt from 6.78Mt.

Chair and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos said, “The impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the group's operating profit was eliminated by the end of July 2020. The good momentum observed since then, particularly in the group's most recent operations in India and Brazil, leads us to envisage that operating profit may increase significantly at constant scope and exchange rates in 2020. Nevertheless, the group is continuing its efforts to reduce structural costs, signified by the relocation on 1 October 2020 of its head office to l’Isle d'Abeau in Isère.”

India: Ramco Cements recorded sales of US$301m in the first half of the 2021 financial year, down by 15% year-on-year from US$354m in the first half of the 2020 financial year. Its profit was US$46.4m, down by 4% from US$48.4m.

The company said, “Business operations were severely disrupted during April 2020 in view of lockdown imposed by the government due to Covid-19. After relaxation of restrictions by the Government, business recovered gradually and is continuing with weak demand, especially in urban/semi-urban markets. The company continues to comply with the various operating guidelines issued by the relevant regulatory authorities from time to time. As per the current assessment of the company, there is no material impact on the carrying values of trade receivables, inventories and other financial/non-financial assets.”

Nigeria: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Lafarge Africa recorded sales worth US$471m in the first nine months of 2020, up by 10% year-on-year from US$427m in the corresponding period of 2019. Its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) increased by 15.7% to US$108m from US$93m.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Khaled El Dokani said, “Our robust results for the first nine months reflect the strong recovery of the demand in the third quarter and the successful implementation of our ‘Health, Cost & Ccash' initiatives.” He added that this was despite the impact of coronavirus and negative local currency effects.

Denmark: FLSmidth has continued to report disruption to order intake, revenue and earnings due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its nine-month revenue from cement sector supply and service contracts were US$680m, down by 28% year-on-year from US$940m in the first nine months of 2020. The cement division’s loss before interest, taxation and amortisation (LBITA) was US$14.1m, compared to earnings before interest, taxation and amortisation (EBITA) of US$50.7. Its gross order intake fell by 39% to US$569m from US$932m. However, order intake in the third quarter of 2020 improved from the second quarter of the year.

The company said, “Across regions, around 95% of cement plants were back in operation at the end of the third quarter of 2020, but many plants continue to run at reduced capacity. As economic growth is one of the most important drivers for cement demand, our customers are highly sensitive to market fluctuations and typically respond through hesitation and cash preservation.” It added, “We are taking additional steps to simplify our cement business and adjust our cost structure. These activities include less in-house manufacturing and more sourcing from local suppliers as well as a reduction of the project organisation.”

China: China National Building Materials (CNBM) recorded operating sales of US$27.2bn in the first nine months of 2020, down by 1% year-on-year from US$27.4bn in the first nine months of 2019. Net profit rose to US$2.82bn, up by 22% from US$2.31bn.

The group said, “On 17 April 2020, the Company became the first batch of first-tier mature enterprises of the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, and carried out unified registration of debt financing instruments (TDFI) (including but not limited to super short-term commercial paper, short-term commercial paper, medium-term debentures, perpetual debentures, asset-backed notes, green debt financing instruments) in the China inter-bank bond market, which were issuable in different types and separate tranches, with a registration term of two years.”

Thailand: Siam Cement Group’s sales in the first nine months of 2020 were US$9.73bn, down by 9% year-on-year from US$10.7bn in the first nine months of 2019. Profit rose by 8% to US$891m from US$826m. Its cement and building materials business recorded revenues of US$4.22bn, down by 6% from US$4.49bn. The group attributed this to coronavirus-related lockdown measures. However, its earnings before taxation, interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBTIDA) rose by 9% to US$574m.

US: Eagle Materials recorded sales of US$875m in the six months between 1 April 2020 and 30 September 2020, the first half of its 2020 financial year, up by 16% year-on-year from US$756m in the first half of the 2019 financial year. Net earnings were US$192m, up by 70% from US$113m. Total cement shipments rose by 28% to 4.27Mt from 3.33Mt.

President and chief executive officer (CEO) Michael Haack said, “We are pleased to have delivered another quarter of record revenue and net earnings growth while further strengthening our balance sheet. Our end markets remain resilient as Covid-19-related uncertainty persists: the housing market continued its strong rebound, cement demand remained robust, despite wet weather in the first half of September.” He added that the company shipped a record 2.2Mt of cement during the quarter.

Switzerland: LafargeHolcim’s like-for-like net sales fell by 2.6% year-on-year to Euro6.04bn in the third quarter of 2020 from Euro6.68bn in the same period in 2019. However, its recurring earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) rose by 10% to Euro1.35bn from Euro1.33bn. It attributed recurring EBIT margin growth to margin increase in its cement business and cost management under the ‘Health, Cost & Cash’ action plan. For the first nine months of 2020 net sales fell by 7.9% year-on-year to Euro16.0bn from Euro18.9bn in the same period in 2019. Its EBIT decreased by 7.2% to Euro2.47bn from Euro2.88bn.

“Our third quarter results demonstrate the resilience of our business and the strength of our decentralized, empowered operating model,” said chief executive officer (CEO) Jan Jenisch. “In addition, the Group saw an increase in revenues from its branded products, which are sold across its broad distribution and retail network. For example, the company recorded a volume increase of 5% in its cement bag sales.”

Third quarter sales and earnings were either stable in improved in most regions with the exception of North America and Middle East Africa. In North America volumes were reduced by coronavirus and a slowdown in the oil and gas industry in western Canada. Overall sales fell in Middle East Africa but earnings were aided by sales volume growth in Nigeria. Elsewhere, cement market recovery was noted in Mexico and Brazil and weaker markets mentioned in the Philippines and Australia.

China: Huaxin Cement’s sales in the first nine months of 2020 were US$3.04bn, down by 9.2% year-on-year from US$3.35bn over the corresponding period of 2019. Net profit also dropped by 17% to US$660m from US$800m.