Global Cement News

India: Grasim Industries, a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group, has posted a 44% year-on-year rise in its consolidated net profit to US$303m for the third quarter of the 2023 Indian fiscal year, a period that ended on 31 December 2022.

During the quarter under review, the company’s consolidated revenue rose by 17% to US$3.45bn. Grasim Industries said that the growth in revenue was driven by strong performances by its subsidiaries UltraTech Cement and Aditya Birla Capital. UltraTech Cement’s sales for the quarter rise by 12% year-on-year to 26Mt. This led to an increase in capacity utilisation rate from 75% to 83%.

France: Vicat’s full year results for 2022 show a 16.6% year-on-year rise in consolidated sales, from Euro3.12bn to Euro3.12bn. Its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBIDTA) came to Euro570m, a 7.9% fall compared to Euro619m in 2021. Its net income for 2022 was Euro156m, a fall of 23.6% year-on-year from Euro204m in 2021.

Commenting on these figures, Guy Sidos, the Group’s chair and chief executive officer, said “In 2022, the Vicat Group demonstrated resilience amid tough conditions. Faced with an unfavourable basis of comparison as a result of the sharp post-Covid rebound in business trends during 2021, a very strong increase in energy costs and non-recurring industrial costs in the US, France and India, we responded rapidly, raising our selling prices significantly across almost all the markets in which we operate to offset the impact of inflation. We have made progress with our policy of lowering our greenhouse gas emissions by harnessing existing solutions and investing in technologies that will enable us to reach our new 2030 targets.”

Australia: Rampant inflation, restructuring costs and a softening US housing market have been blamed for a third earnings downgrade at building materials group James Hardie. The company’s new chief executive officer Aaron Erter has also warned of ongoing challenges for the business in Australia, where the housing boom is grinding to a halt in the face of surging interest rates and the end of the federal government’s HomeBuilder stimulus.

James Hardie reported an adjusted net income of US$129.2m in the three months to December 2022, down by 16% year-on-year from the same quarter of 2021. Global net sales of its fibre cement and cladding products were down 4% during the quarter, at US$860.8m, driven down by falling sales volumes in its largest market in the US, as well as in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

More widely, price increases partially offset an 11% decline in global sales volumes across James Hardie’s entire range of business lines. The challenging conditions led to full-year earnings guidance for the 12 months to 31 March 2023 being cut for a third time, to US$600 - 620m, in line with the prior fiscal year.

Peru: Cementos Pacasmayo’s revenue rose by 1.7% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022, mainly on the back of higher bagged cement sales prices, although inflation affected raw material and energy costs. However, its sales volume of cement, ready-mix concrete and pre-cast elements fell by 7.7% partly due to high sales in the comparable quarter of 2021, although road blockages as part of political disruption in December 2022 also reduced sales. Its net profit for the quarter was US$10.1m, a 24.6% rise.

Across the whole of 2022, the company’s revenues were up by 9.2% year-on-year, while sales of cement, concrete and pre-cast elements rose by 5.3%. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 8.8% to US$128m, mainly due to performances in the first nine months of the year. It made a net profit of US$45.8m, an increase of 15.4%.

India: Adani Group is in talks with lenders to repay a US$500m bridging loan facility it used to buy controlling stakes in ACC and Ambuja Cements in 2022. Adani is looking to repay the loan with cash during February 2023, according to the Economic Times. The loan was underwritten by Barclays, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered. The financial consortium lending to Adani also includes DBS, MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Intesa and Mizuho.

The Economic Times’ report comes a day after the group said its companies face no material refinancing risk or near-term liquidity issues, in its latest attempt to calm investors spooked by Hindenburg Research’s critical report on its business practices.