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CCNN revenue and income down in first quarter 04 May 2016
Nigeria: The Cement Company Of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) has reported a net revenue of US$17.9m for the first quarter of 2016, compared to US$22.2m in the same period a year earlier. This represents a 19% decrease year-on-year. CCNN’s profit before income tax dropped more dramatically, falling by 61% to US$1.79m from US$4.67m.
Lafarge Africa launches US$302m refinancing bond 04 May 2016
Nigeria: Lafarge Africa is marketing a US$302m bond to refinance some of the US Dollar-denominated debt held by its subsidiary United Company of Nigeria (UNICEM), which it bought in 2015. Chief finance officer Anders Kristiansson said that there was strong interest for the bond and that book-building was expected to open in the second week of May 2016.
The cement maker said it had received approval from Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a US$500m bond, but will issue US$302m for five-years. "We are in the process of restructuring the UNICEM debt,” explained Kristiansson. "We want to refinance the US Dollar borrowings that we have in UNICEM."
UK financier to take 40% stake in ARM 04 May 2016
Kenya: The UK-based development financier CDC is set to acquire a 40% stake in ARM Cement, after the firm injected US$140m into the family-owned Kenyan cement manufacturer.
The CDC funds will allow ARM to retire expensive short-term loans that have been weighing down the company’s earnings. The CDC is owned by the UK’s Department for International Development.
“We are proud to back a founder-led frontrunner in East African manufacturing,” said Mark Pay, CDC’s managing director for equity investments. “This investment will strengthen a company (that is) making a difference to the local economy, bringing jobs and lower-cost raw materials to a region traditionally dependent on imports.”
UAE: India's JK Cement has revealed that its plant in Fujairah, UAE is due to reach full production capacity by 2017. At full capacity the plant will be able to produce 0.6Mt/yr of cement.
The plant is unusual in that it can produce both grey and white cement from the same kiln. The expansion of the UAE plant's production capacity is in line with increased demand for white cement in the Middle East, according to JK Cement’s Ajay Mathur.
India: India's upper house of Parliament has approved changes to the country's mining law to make it easier to sell mining rights, a move that could spur acquisitions in the cement and mining sectors.
Lawmakers approved the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, allowing the transfer of mining rights by companies that received them through a government allocation. The bill was cleared by the lower house of Parliament in March 2016 and now needs to be signed off by the President to become law.
In the past, mining rights had either been distributed to companies through government auctions or through individual allocations, a method that raised questions about arbitrariness in decision-making.
In 2015 the government implemented a new law that made it mandatory to auction mining rights. It also permitted the transfer of mining rights previously won through auction, but was silent on whether rights received through a government allocation for captive uses could be sold.
The latest rule provides clarity and could help speed up proposed merger deals such as UltraTech Cement’s planned takeover of Jaypee Group's cement plants and LafargeHolcim's plan to sell two cement units to Birla Corp.