![](/templates/proglobalmedia-main/images/globe-blue-whitebg.gif)
Displaying items by tag: Sales
Concretus Materials to buy up to 51% of Akmene Cement
02 January 2013Lithuania: 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’s sales up 17% in November 2012
19 December 2012Indonesia: 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.
Sales strong through first 11 months in Peru
19 December 2012Peru: 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.
Lafarge to sell South Korean unit
12 December 2012South 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.
Indonesian cement sales rise 10% year-on-year
21 November 2012Indonesia: 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.
Indonesian cement sales in September rise by record 34.4%
12 October 2012Indonesia: 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.
Filipino sales up 20% in H1
22 August 2012Philippines: 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.
Lafarge to start Tarmac asset sales by end of June
13 June 2012UK: Lafarge's chief executive Bruno Lafont has said that the joint venture between miner Anglo American and cement maker Lafarge in the UK is likely to begin selling a series of assets as required by regulators by the end of June 2012.
The UK Competition Commission said in May 2012 that the companies had to sell 'an extensive package of operations' including one of the UK's largest cement plants, the Hope plant in Derbyshire, for the planned joint venture to win approval.
"It's a process that should start at the end of the month of June when we have completed the process of authorisation and consultation with the antitrust authorities," Bruno Lafont announced.
Both companies said in May 2012 that they were confident the conditions for the joint venture would be met, prompting speculation that they might have buyers for the assets lined up, despite government austerity plans that are likely to limit infrastructure spending.
Cemex loss narrows in first quarter of 2012
26 April 2012Mexico: Mexican cement giant Cemex has reported that sales growth in its operations in the United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean helped it to narrow its first-quarter loss in 2012.
"The favourable performance in most of our regions leads us to believe that we are in the initial stages of a turnaround," said Fernando Gonzalez, Cemex's executive vice president of finance and administration, who added that the quarter marked Cemex's sixth consecutive quarter of top-line growth.
Sales rose by 4% year-on-year in the January-March 2012 period to US$3.5bn. Higher sales in the US helped compensate for weaknesses in Mexico and Europe, although the US operations were still a drag on operating earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA).
Cemex said its operating EBITDA rose by 7% on the year to US$567m. On a like-to-like basis for its ongoing operations and adjusting for currency fluctuations, operating EBITDA increased by 10%.
Cemex's net loss for the quarter was US$26m, narrower than a loss of US$229m loss a year earlier.