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CRH to leave Belgard Castle headquarters 02 November 2015
Ireland: CRH is leaving its Belgard Castle headquarters in Tallaght, Dublin, after 40 years. The company is moving to a former GlaxosmithKline building in Rathfarnham, Dublin, bringing together 250 staff now at Belgard Castle and Cabinteely, Dublin. It will continue to own Belgard Castle, an 18th-century building and will use it for group functions and facilities. The group office at Stone-mason's Way is undergoing refurbishment and will provide CRH with 'a world-class facility.' CRH expects to complete the new offices by the end of 2015.
Fauji Cement posts profits of US$5.71m 02 November 2015
Pakistan: Fauji Cement Company Limited's profit rose from US$5.71m to US$10.5m in the third quarter of 2015, which ended on 30 September 2015. Company revenue grew by 4.9% year-on-year to US$41.6m as local dispatches remained strong and prices remained intact.
"The result outperformed the market forecast for the quarter on the back of lower-than-anticipated cost of goods sold and financial charges," said Faizan Ahmed. "Resultantly, gross profits grew by 41% to US$18m. In addition, financial charges declined by 40% to US$1.88m due to deleveraging and monetary easing."
West China Cement to buy Yaowangshan Cement for US$121m 02 November 2015
China: West China Cement has agreed to acquire the entire equity interest of Tongchuan Yaowangshan Ecological Cement Co Ltd as well as shareholder's loan of US$121m. The Yaowangshan cement plant in Yaowangshan, Tongchuan, Shaanxi has 2.2Mt/yr of cement production capacity.
China Conch Venture and Red Day Limited, which is owned by West China Cement's Non-executive Director Ma Zhaoyang, agreed to inject US$14.2m and US$4.73m into Xi'an Yaobai Environmental Technology Engineering Co Ltd. Upon completion, Yaobai Environmental will be 60% owned by Conch Venture, 20% by Red Day and 20% by West China Cement.
West China Cement expects to record a US$63,096 loss as a result of the transactions. The parties agreed to develop Yaobai Environmental into the only platform for the treatment of dangerous and hazardous waste for the parties within China. West China Cement believes that the investments from Conch Venture and Red Day, which will provide additional financial resources to Yaobai Environmental, is an important step towards this goal and paves the way for further collaboration among the parties.
India: HeidelbergCement India has appointed Juan-Francisco Defalque as an Additional Director on the Board of Directors of the Company with immediate effect.
Lucky Cement reports US$28.2m net profit for the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year 30 October 2015
Pakistan: Lucky Cement's net profit rose by 11.2% year-on-year to US$28.2m during the first quarter of its 2016 fiscal year, which ended on 30 September 2015. On a consolidated basis, its net profit rose by 13.8% to US$31.3m.
The company's net sales revenue declined by 1.2% to US$98.1m during the quarter. This was primarily attributed to a 2.7% decrease in sales volume, which was partially offset by a 1.5% increase in net retention due to an improved sales mix. Lucky Cement's domestic sales volume grew by 11% to 1.07Mt, whereas export sales volumes fell by 23.2% to 490,000t.
The Board of Directors have also decided to set up a 2.3Mt/yr capacity greenfield cement manufacturing plant in Punjab. The expected project cost is US$200m and construction work is expected to start in the first quarter of the 2016 calendar year. It is expected that plant will become operational in the second quarter of the 2018 calendar year. Lucky Cement also reported progress on its key foreign and local projects; namely an integrated cement plant in the Democratic Republic of Congo; a 660MW, supercritical, coal-based power project; a 50MW wind farm, electricity supply to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO); and a waste heat recovery unit at its Pezu power plant.