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Wonder Cement to double production 19 March 2015
India: Rajasthan-based Wonder cement, part of the RK Marble Group, plans to double its cement production by the end of 2015. The company will increase the capacity of its cement plant in Chittorgarh, Rajasthan from 3.25Mt/yr to 6.75Mt/yr by investing US$256m in the project. The plant, which currently runs at full capacity, sells 180,000bags/day of cement.
Buzzi presents binding offer to buy SACCI 19 March 2015
Italy: Buzzi Unicem has presented a binding offer to buy 99.5% of the Italian cement producer SACCI for Euro120m. The offer would be funded from cash and existing credit lines and would see Buzzi take on SACCI's debt. Buzzi said that it might in future pay an additional sum, depending on events like the achievement of a certain level of sales of the two companies and the possible sale of non-core activities.
Keurig K-Cup recycling programme that turns waste coffee pods into cement looks to expand 19 March 2015
Canada: A British Colombia programme that recycles Keurig coffee K-Cups into cement has been so successful that it may expand into Alberta. The Lafarge cement plant in Kamloops, British Colombia, Canada used about 1.4m K-Cups as ash in its cement in 2014 after teaming up with Van Houtte Coffee Services, which collects the used pods for recycling.
"I think we've been fairly successful here," said Eric Isenor, the Lafarge Kamlooops plant manager. "Van Houtte is happy with the programme so far and is looking to expand." He added that the company might start collecting the used pods in Alberta, Canada for recycling in British Colombia.
The single-serving coffee pods are not recyclable because they are a mixture of materials coffee grounds, a paper filter, plastic cup and foil top that cannot be efficiently separated. After collecting the used coffee pods, Van Houtte, a coffee service that delivers supplies to offices and retailers around Kamloops, brings them in large bins to the Lafarge cement plant for processing. The pods are dried out, shredded and heated to 2000°C to form ash, which is then used for cement production.
Germany: HeidelbergCement has reported a 26% decline in its 2014 net profit, reflecting a one-time loss and the absence of the prior year's gain. Operating income and revenues, however, increased on higher sales volumes and price increases in major markets. Further, HeidelbergCement announced higher dividend and said that it sees strong growth in fiscal 2015 results and sales volumes.
"We are confident about 2015. The outlook for the global economy is positive but there are still macroeconomic and geopolitical risks," said Bernd Scheifele, chairman of the managing board. "We will continue to benefit from the positive development in North America, the UK, Germany and Northern Europe. These countries generate almost 50% of our revenue. The results of the first two months in 2015 confirm our outlook."
In 2014 HeidelbergCement's profit plunged to Euro687m from Euro933m in 2013. The latest results were hurt by a non-recurring evaluation loss of Euro236m from the sale of the building products business, while 2013's results included Euro420m of non-recurring gains. Pre-tax profit fell by Euro91m to Euro931m. Operating income, however, grew by 5% on a reported basis and by 13% on a like-for-like basis to Euro1.6bn. Operating income before depreciation (OIBD) grew by 3% to Euro2.29bn, while its OIBD margin dropped to 18.1% from 18.3% in 2013. Revenue for the year totalled Euro12.6bn, up by 4% from Euro12.1bn in 2013. On a like-for-like basis, revenue growth was 8%. Cement sales volumes grew by 5% year-on-year to 81.9Mt.
HeidelbergCement expects to make Euro1.2bn of investments to upgrade and expand its capacities in 2015. New capacities of more than 5Mt/yr are set to be commissioned in 2015, primarily in Indonesia and sub-Saharan Africa. HeidelbergCement expects to significantly increase its revenue, operating income and net profit for the financial year in 2015. Cement sales volumes are also expected to grow, reflecting the positive development of demand and the commissioning of new capacities.
CRH assumes LafargeHolcim merger will proceed 19 March 2015
Europe: Ireland's CRH is assuming that the LafargeHolcim merger will still happen, according to CRH chief executive Albert Manifold. "At this moment in time, we're working forward on the basis that the deal will close, the merger will happen," said Manifold. He added that he had spoken to both companies on 19 March 2015.
CRH has agreed to buy a number of mostly European assets from Lafarge and Holcim for Euro6.5bn so that Lafarge and Holcim can get antitrust clearance for their plan to merge. According to Reuters, CRH's shareholders voted to approve the acquisition on 19 March 2015 at its extraordinary general meeting. According to Manifold, the CRH vote was a procedural step that had to be done, regardless of the uncertainty at Lafarge and Holcim, as a failure to approve the asset purchase would have left CRH exposed to a potential Euro158m break-up fee.
Manifold also confirmed that if the merger should fail, the break-up fee would apply in the other direction. "Likewise, if other parties don't conclude this deal for whatever reason, we would then be in receipt of a break fee," said Manifold. "I'm not going to speculate on whether it is or isn't going to happen. There are discussions going on to decide what they want to do over the next couple of days," said Manifold, adding that CRH was interested in buying the assets even if the merger falls through.
According to CRH, the LafargeHolcim assets would transform CRH into the world's third-largest building materials supplier, the biggest in central and eastern Europe, and double its presence in emerging markets. CRH makes about half its sales in the US and wants more exposure to new markets such as the Philippines and parts of Europe it believes are beginning to recover.
Manifold said that CRH also has its eye on other acquisitions, should the purchase of Lafarge and Holcim assets fall through. "This deal is an important part of the strategy of CRH, but it is not the strategy of CRH," said Manifold.