Displaying items by tag: Sales

China: TCC International Holdings has reported that it has signed an agreement with Southwestern Cement, a subsidiary of China National Building Material Group Corp (CNBM), to 'increase cooperation on several businesses'.

According to agreement, TCC will buy cement assets in Sichuan Province from Southwestern Cement for US$8.52m to expand its share of the local market, while TCC will sell its cement assets in Guizhou Province to Southwestern Cement for US$17.8m. TCC will earn US$137m in profit from the deal and will use the profit to replenish working capital and fund future acquisition projects.

Just before the end of 2012 Holcim sold shares in companies it owned in Thailand and Guatemala. It reduced its stake in Siam City Cement Company (SCCC) in Thailand from 36.8% to 27.5% and it sold its entire 20% minority stake in Cementos Progreso in Guatemala. For the sale of these two share packages Holcim received approximately Euro310m.

This is interesting given that Asia-Pacific was the Switzerland-based multinational's biggest sales area in 2011 and because sales of cement rose by 6% in Latin America in 2011. Similarly in 2012 from January to September the two regions propped up the group's profits. Why would Holcim sell stakes into two of its most profitable regions?

In its third quarter report in 2012 Holcim repeatedly described Thailand as 'encouraging' following floods in 2011. It added that it had focused increasingly on the cement market in the country and strengthened its position in neighbouring countries that resulted in lower clinker exports.

According to the Global Cement Directory 2013 SCCC has a capacity of 31Mt/yr, 65% of Thailand's total capacity of 48Mt/yr. SCCC predicted in December 2012 that domestic cement demand would increase by 5-10% in 2013. The company is currently planning to build new plants in Indonesia and Cambodia and is considering investing in Myanmar. In Indoniesia Holcim is the third biggest producer after Semen Gresik and HeidelbergCement subsidiary Indocement.

Meanwhile in Central America, Cementos Progreso was the sole producer in Guatemala with 2.5Mt/yr from two plants. This was set to double with the commissioning of a third plant towards the end of 2012. However, Holcim retains seven plants in southern Mexico (12Mt/yr), both of El Salvador's plants (2Mt/yr) and a plant in Costa Rica (1Mt/yr).

With Holcim's strong presence in Central America and the North American market reviving leaving Guatemala makes sense with the group's debt reduction programme in mind. The situation in Thailand is more complex, so unsurprisingly Holcim has reduced its stake rather than leaving completely. SCCC's expansion plans outside of Thailand suggest, that although growing, the market is maturing. In one such potential expansion target, Indonesia, Holcim is already a major producer.

In its press release announcing the sales in Thailand and Guatemala, Holcim attributed the decision to its ongoing debt reduction programme. As part of its 'Leadership Journey' the group intends to save Euro1.25bn by the end of 2014. Other savings in 2012 included reducing management in Europe, layoffs and closures in Australia, a plant closure in Hungary, further delays on the decision to build a new plant in New Zealand and layoffs in Spain. The management changes in Europe alone contributed a Euro99m chunk of Holcim's target saving of Euro124m for 2012.

Yet it's worth considering that a week after the sales of its shares Holcim's subsidiary in India, Ambuja Cements, announced investments of Euro277m in India. Perhaps the best way to save money is to make more money.

Lithuania: Concretus Materials is planning to buy up to 51% of shares in the cement manufacturer Akmene Cement. According to the regulator Concretus Materials applied to the Lithuanian Competition Council on 27 December 2012 for approval of the deal.

The Mexican cement giant Cemex owns a 33.95% stake in Akmenes Cementas. Other shareholders included Simonas Vytis Anuzis with 13.67%, Olius Danyla with 13.55%, Arnoldas Mituzas with 12.76% and Edmundas Montvila with 9.8%.

Akmenes Cementas is currently implementing a modernisation project, worth Euro101m, moving to a dry production process. The company expects to complete its new production line in mid-2013. The producer's annual revenue rose year-on-year by 37% in 2011 to Euro63.1m as cement sales increased by 19% to nearly 984,000t/yr. in 2011 Lithuania remained its biggest market, accounting for 55% of the total sales. Akmenes Cementas's cement plant is located in Naujoji Akmene, in north-western Lithuania.

Spain: Cementos Molins has sold 10.61% in its Argentina-based unit Cementos Avellaneda to Votorantim Europe for Euro45.2m. Following the deal Cementos Molins retains 51% in the company and Votorantim Europe, part of Brazilian group Votorantim, is holds 49%. The Spanish firm also transferred a 12.61% stake in its Uruguayan-based unit Cementos Artigas to Votorantim Europe for Euro19m, keeping 49% in the subsidiary and its partner raised its stake to 51%.

Indonesia: Indonesia's cement sales in November 2012 rose by 17% compared to November 2011, a faster pace than the previous month, according to data from the country's biggest cement firm Semen Gresik.

The sales of 5.23Mt were up by 0.9% compared to October 2012. More than 55% were on the main island Java, with the Molucca islands and Papua posting the highest annual sales growth at 95%.

Between 1 January 2012 and 30 November 2012 sales surged by 15% year-on-year, according to data from the Indonesian Cement Association (ASI). In the first 11 months of 2012 sales rose to 49.9Mt, compared to 43.4Mt in same period of 2011. Over the 11 months, Java consumed 55% of the Indonesian cement total, Sumatra consumed 22% and Sulawesi and Kalimantan each consumed 7.4% of the total.

Peru: Cement production in Peru reached 8.98Mt in the first 11 months of 2012, growing by 16.7% compared to the same period in 2011, according to figures from the national cement association Asocem. Production in October 2012 alone reached a record 926,623t.

Cement shipments within the country reached 8.76Mt to the end of November 2012, growing by 16.6% compared to the same period of 2012. Meanwhile, cement exports in the January-November 2012 period grew by 200% year-on-year to 173,198t.

Cement producers active in the country are making the most of the current demand in the market. Cemento Andino and Cementos Lima agreed to merge in July 2012, giving rise to the largest player in the local market, with an installed capacity of some 7.6Mt/yr of cement. At the same time, Mexican cement producer Cemex is building a new US$230m, 1Mt/yr production facility in the country.

South Korea: French cement maker Lafarge is looking to sell its controlling stake in its South Korean subsidiary Lafarge Halla Cement Co, according to South Korean online media Edaily. The French company, which controls about 90% of its Seoul-based unit, expects to raise around US$651m in proceeds from the divestment, for which it has picked Lazard and HSBC's South Korean arm.

Lafarge, which has been offloading non-strategic assets in a drive to push its debt below US$13bn from US$16bn, has not commented on the report. The move follows the announcement in November 2012 that Lafarge and Anglo American would sell a portfolio of its UK operations to Mittal Investments for US$439m, and the sale of two of Lafarge's cement plants in North America to Eagle Materials for US$446m in September 2012.

Indonesia: Cement sales in Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, rose by 10.7% year-on-year in October 2012, with the highest growth in the Moluccas and on Papua. Data from the largest cement firm PT Semen Gresik showed that October 2012 sales were up by 0.1% relative to September 2012 at 5.17Mt.

The highest consumption was, as usual, seen on Java, the main island in the archipelago. Sales in the Moluccas and Papua stood at 87,316t, rising by 68.5% year-on-year earlier.

Indonesia: Cement sales in Indonesia have hit a record high of 5.16Mt in September 2012, according to data from the country's largest cement producer PT Semen Gresik. The amount represents a 34.4% rise compared to the same month in 2011 when sales were 3.84Mt.

September 2012 sales were boosted by increased monthly sales on the main islands of Java and Sumatra. However sales on the island of Moluccas and Papua fell by 21.7% on a monthly basis. The strong September 2012 sales follow a dip in sales in August 2012 due to fewer working days during religious festivities. Domestic cement sales in Indonesia fluctuate with factors such as holidays and government project completion deadlines.

"We expect domestic volume growth of 12.6% in 2012 and 10.8% in 2013, helped by strong marketing sales," commented Teguh Hartanto, an analyst for Bahana Securities in Jakarta.

Philippines: Ongoing construction demand from 2011 and new infrastructure projects have driven cement sales in the Philippines up by 20% in the first half of 2012, according to data from the Cement Manufacturers' Association of the Philippines (CEMAP). Cement sales from January to June in 2012 reached 9.55Mt, up by about 20% year-on-year.

CEMAP president Ernesto Ordoñez attributed the sales increase to higher infrastructure spending. In 2011 the government deferred the implementation of various projects for review. This resulted in a drop in demand for construction materials, including cement. The implementation of these projects, on top of infrastructure projects lined up for 2012, have increased demand for construction materials.

Cement sales, according to CEMAP, are expected to remain strong for the rest of 2012. The local industry reported combined sales of 15.6Mt in 2011. CEMAP includes cement producers Cemex Philippines, Holcim Philippines, Lafarge Cement Services, Northern Cement, Pacific Cement and Taiheiyo Cement Philippines.