Displaying items by tag: VICAT

Egypt: France’s Vicat and its subsidiary Sinai Cement plan to invest Euro30m in the local market. Vicat Egypt’s chief executive officer (CEO), Tamer Magdy, said that the investment is intended to meet demand for cement, according to Mubasher. He added that the company would continue to invest in the Sinai Peninsula despite on-going security issues.

France: Vicat’s cement sales rose by 1.8% year-on-year to Euro948m in the first nine months of 2018 from Euro932m in the same period in 2017. At constant scope and exchange rates it rose by 10.2%. Overall sales grew by 1.4% to Euro1.95bn from Euro1.92bn. The group’s sales volumes of cement rose by 3.1% to 17.4Mt from 16.9Mt.

“The group achieved healthy increases over the period in all our territories, except Switzerland and Egypt,” said the group’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos. “In the third quarter, business trends held up well, despite a downturn in the economic and industry environment in Turkey, which was hit by the sharp depreciation in its currency. The acquisition of Ciplan in Brazil, a country with tremendous potential, reinforces Vicat’s strategy of sustainable growth, leveraging its high-quality assets and strong regional positions to generate cash flow.”

Brazil: France’s Vicat Group has acquired a majority share in Cimento Planalto (Ciplan). It has signed a binding agreement to buy a 65% share for Euro290m through a reserved capital increase. Ciplan will use the proceeds of the share to settle the ‘vast majority’ of its existing debt. Vicat noted that the transaction will be debt funded and its closing is subject to the fulfilment of ‘certain’ conditions.

Ciplan operates a 3.2Mt/yr integrated plant at Sobradinho in Bahia near to Brasilia. It also runs nine ready-mixed concrete plants and five aggregates quarries.

Vicat says that this acquisition is intended to support its targeted external growth and geographical diversification strategy. In order to ‘capture’ the Brazilian market the company plans to leverage an industrial asset base, strong brand awareness, abundant quarry reserves and a competitive position in its local markets.

Brazil: France’s Vicat has confirmed that it is in talks with Ciplan. Local newspaper Valor Econômico revealed that Vicat was in the ‘final stages’ of buying the cement producer. Ciplan was founded in 1968 and it operates an integrated plant at Sobradinho in Bahia near to Brasilia.

India: Bharathi Cement has launched its BharathiUltraFast product for the market in Karnataka. The OPC 53 cement product promises faster pre-casting work, even in humid conditions, high early strength and a low heat of hydration to minimise crack formation.

The cement producer is a subsidiary of Vicat. The French company acquired a 51% stake in Bharathi Cement in 2010. It also owns Kalburgi Cement, formerly known as Vicat Sagar Cement. Bharathi Cement operates a 5Mt/yr integrated plant at Nallalingayapalli in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh and Kalburgi Cement runs a 2.75Mt/yr plant at Chatrasala in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka. Both plants market their products under the brand name ‘Bharathi Cement.’

India: Kalburgi Cement has commissioned a 1.2Mt/yr bulk terminal at Khapoli near Mumbai. The unit had an investment of US$10m, according to the Hindu newspaper. The subsidiary of France’s Vicat plans to transport cement by train from its 2.25Mt/yr Gulbarga plant to the new terminal to supply the market in Mumbai. In 2010 Vicat purchased a majority stake in Bharati Cement, which has a production capacity of 5.5Mt/yr. It sells cement under Bharati brand name.

France: Vicat’s earnings rose in the first half of 2018 due to good performance in the US, Turkey, France and Kazakhstan. Its earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) increased by 21.3% year-on-year to Euro104m from Euro86m. Its sales revenue rose by 2.7% to Euro1.28bn from Euro1.25bn. The company’s cement production increased by 5.3% to 11.4Mt from 10.8Mt.

“Excluding currency movements, which have a particularly large negative impact this year, the croup achieved notable progress in Turkey, the US, France and Kazakhstan,” said the group’s chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos. He added that the group also benefitted from the start of work on new infrastructure projects in India.

However, the group reported a 21.9% fall in earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to Euro22.7m in India due to falling prices and mounting energy costs. In West Africa EBITDA declined by 14.5% to Euro22.2m due to falling prices and rising production costs. In Europe EBITDA fell by 16.9% to Euro35m due to contacting sales in Switzerland as well as issues Italy. Finally, EBITDA fell to a loss of Euro3.9m in Egypt due to falling sales in the wake of military intervention in the Sinai region.

India: Bharathi Cement plans to build new plants in Vizag and Mumbai. The new units are intended to meet market demand in the east and west of the country respectively, according to the Economic Times newspaper. The company hopes to raise its national market share to 5% from 4% at present with the new plants and from new products.

France: Vicat’s sales in Turkey, the US and Kazakhstan have driven its growth in the first quarter of 2018. Its sales revenue for its cement business rose by 10.9% year-on-year at constant scope and exchange rates to Euro290m in the first quarter of 2018. Its cement sales volumes rose by 6.5% to 5.2Mt from 4.9Mt.

“We posted significant business growth in Turkey, the US and Kazakhstan, excluding currency effects. The gradual recovery continued in France and India was boosted by the start-up of new infrastructure projects. Conversely, we recorded a business contraction in Switzerland during the first quarter as a result of adverse weather conditions, especially in March 2018, and the completion of a number of major projects. The group’s business trends in Egypt were hampered by the military operations underway to restore security in its production area,” said group chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) Guy Sidos.

Egypt: France’s Vicat plans to invest Euro50m into its Sinai Cement subsidiary. Gianfranco Tantardini, the managing director of the local subsidiary, said that the cement producer wants to reduce the company’s losses by raising its stake in it, according to Mubasher. Vicat is waiting for the Egyptian government to approve a waiver to the 45% foreign ownership limits for the transaction to happen. In 2003 Vicat acquired a 40% stake in Sinai Cement.