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India: Reliance Infrastructure has sold its cement business to Birla Corporation for US$709m to lower its debt. The transaction is subject to approval of the Competition Commission of India and other applicable regulatory approvals," the company said.
"Reliance Infrastructure today announced the signing of share purchase agreement with Birla Corporation Limited, the flagship Company of the M P Birla Group, in relation to 100% sale of its subsidiary RCCPL," the company said in a statement. It added that SBI Capital Markets acted as the financial advisors to Reliance Infrastructure for this transaction.
Reliance Infrastructure has an integrated cement production capacity of 5.08Mt/yr at Maihar, Madhya Pradesh and Kundanganj, Uttar Pradesh and a 0.5Mt/yr cement grinding unit at Butibori, Maharashtra. The deal was valued at US$140/t of cement production capacity.
Akmenes Cementas revenue drops by 6% to Euro55.4m in 2015 05 February 2016
Lithuania: Akmenes Cementas has reported that its revenue fell by 6% year-on-year to Euro55.4m in 2015 from Euro59.2m in 2014. It sold nearly 1Mt of cement in 2015. Nearly half of its revenue came from exports markets in Poland, Scandinavia and Kaliningrad, according to local press.
Akmenes Cementas CEO, Arturas Zaremba, told Verslo Zinios that cement consumption in Lithuania fell by 5% in 2014 and by 7% in 2015. He blamed this on increased competition from cement producers in Belarus.
Jordan: Lafarge Jordan has proposed a US$2.8bn plan to replace its Fuheis cement plant with an urban development, according to the Jordan Times. The company sent an official letter to the Investment Commission in October 2015 informing them about the plan but still has not received any response. The Fuheis cement plant has been non-operational since 2011 when it was converted to petcoke but the local community objected.
Vicat like-for-like sales fall by 4.4% in 2015 05 February 2016
France: The Vicat group has today reported that its sales, at constant scope and exchange rates, fell by 4.4% in 2015. Reported sales rose slightly, by 1.5% year-on-year to Euro2.46bn in 2015, compared to Euro2.43bn in 2014. Cement sales fell by 0.4% to Euro1.26bn from Euro1.26bn.
"The sales growth achieved by the Vicat group in 2015 again reflected a contrasting picture from one region to another. Business momentum in the United States and Asia helped to offset the impact of a more challenging macroeconomic and competitive environment in West Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Europe. Notably, the group's activity returned to growth in France in the fourth quarter, helped by a positive weather effect and a stabilising industry environment," said the Group's Chairman and CEO, Guy Sidos.
By region, Vicat noted falls in sales in its cement business in France and Europe.
This decline was blamed on a volume contraction and a slight decrease in average selling prices. Sales in the US grew by 23.6% on a like-for-like basis in 2015 due to high volumes, strong momentum in the south-eastern US and price increases. Sales in Asia grew by 3.1% on a like-for-like basis driven by increases in Turkey and India despite a decrease in Kazakhstan. Notably, Vicat reported that its sales rose in India, despite falling volumes due to price increases. Sales in Africa and the Middle East fell by 16.6% on a like-for-like basis, mainly due to a steep fall in business in Egypt.
Reported sales volumes in cement fell by 3.6% to 19.8Mt in 2015 compared to 20.5Mt in 2014.
Cemex announces return to positive income in 2015 04 February 2016
Mexico: Cemex has announced its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2015. On a like-for-like basis, for ongoing operations and adjusting for currency fluctuations, consolidated net sales increased by 2% during the fourth quarter of 2015 to US$3.4bn. They rose by 5% for the full year to US$14.1bn. Operating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) (also on a like-for-like basis) increased by 7% during the fourth quarter to US$663m and went up by 9% for the full year to US$2.6bn.
The increase in consolidated net sales, on a like-to-like basis, was due to higher prices of Cemex's products, in local currency terms, across most of its operations, as well as higher volumes in the US, the Mediterranean and Asia. On a like-for-like basis, operating earnings before other expenses, net, in the fourth quarter increased by 11% to US$410m and in the full year increased by 17% to US$1.7bn versus the same periods in 2014.
Fernando A Gonzalez, Cemex Chief Executive Officer, said, "Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, which has affected many of our markets, our industry and Cemex in particular, we have been able to meet these challenges and deliver strong operating and financial results, on a like-to-like basis."
"Our full-year net income was positive for the first time in six years. In addition, our operating EBITDA increased by 9%, on a like-to-like basis, reflecting our cost-reduction program of US$150m as well as a positive operating leverage in several of our markets, which translated into a 1.1 percentage-point improvement in operating EBITDA margin. I am particularly pleased with the growth in our free cash flow after maintenance capex of more than US$480 million, which enabled us to reduce our debt by close to US$1bn during the year."
Sales in Cemex's Mexican operations decreased 19% in the fourth quarter of 2015 to US$672m, compared with US$827m in the fourth quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA decreased by 10% to US$231m versus the same period of last year.
Cemex's operations in the United States reported net sales of US$967m in the fourth quarter of 2015, up by 5% from the same period in 2014. Operating EBITDA increased 26% to US$173m in the quarter, versus US$138m in the same quarter of 2014.
In Northern Europe, net sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 decreased 18% to US$738m, compared with US$901m in the fourth quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA was US$71m for the quarter, 14% lower than the same period of 2014.
Fourth-quarter net sales in the Mediterranean region were US$370m, 4% higher compared with US$357m during the fourth quarter of 2014. Operating EBITDA decreased 5% to US$63m for the quarter versus the same period in 2014.
Cemex's operations in South, Central America and the Caribbean reported net sales of US$436m during the fourth quarter of 2015, representing a decrease of 15% over the same period of 2014. Operating EBITDA decreased 25% to US$125m in the fourth quarter of 2015, from US$165m in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Operations in Asia reported a 4% increase in net sales for the fourth quarter of 2015 to US$162m, versus the fourth quarter of 2014, and operating EBITDA for the quarter was US$46m, up by 4% from the same period of 2014.