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Holcim and Cemex to swap assets in Europe 29 August 2013
Europe: Mexican cement producer Cemex and Swiss multinational cement maker Holcim have announced that they have reached an agreement to conduct a series of transactions in Europe. The transactions will are expected to be complete in the final quarter of 2013, subject to regulatory approval.
Cemex will acquire all of Holcim's assets in the Czech Republic, which include a 1.1Mt/yr cement plant, four aggregates quarries and 17 ready-mix plants.
Cemex will sell its assets in the western part of Germany to Holcim, which include one cement plant and two grinding mills that encompass a total capacity of 2.5Mt/yr, one slag granulator, 22 aggregates quarries and 79 ready-mix plants. Cemex will retain its interests in other parts of the country.
In Spain, Cemex and Holcim will combine all their cement, ready-mix and aggregates operations. Cemex will have a 75% controlling interest over the combined operational assets and Holcim will control 25%.
As part of these transactions, Holcim will pay Cemex Euro70m in cash. Additionally, the transactions are expected to generate synergies that will result in a recurring improvement in Cemex's EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of US$20-30m, which will begin to be realised in 2014.
"When finalised, this will be an important strategic step that should allow Cemex to improve its footprint in Europe and it will consolidate our portfolio in the continent," said Lorenzo H Zambrano, Chairman and CEO of Cemex.
"This transaction will significantly strengthen our presence in Germany while at the same time giving us the necessary flexibility in Spain," said Holcim CEO Bernard Fontana. "Overall, our footprint in Europe will be considerably strengthened."
Boral on a sticky-wicket down under
Written by Global Cement staff
27 August 2013
This week's news that Boral's operations have been disrupted by the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) in the Australian state of Victoria highlights an increasingly difficult situation for the company and the Australian cement industry in general.
Boral's worksite at Footscray, near Melbourne, was allegedly blockaded by the CFMEU last week over the union's separate and long-running dispute with site contractor Grocon. The CFMEU wants Boral to stop supplying Grocon sites. Boral says that it has been forced to address the issue at Footscray and two other sites by issuing injunctions against the union. After its first half results announcement last week, which showed a loss of US$192m for the year ending 30 June 2013, this is clearly the last thing that Boral needs to be dealing with.
So far, 2013 has seen mainly trouble for Boral. In January it announced that it would shed 1000 jobs across its global operations, including 885 in its native Australia. In February it announced that the company made a US$25m loss in the half year to 31 December 2012. In March, it restructured by merging production divisions to save additional cash. It also had to suspend production at its Waurn Ponds plant. However, revenues have been rising. Boral is not Titan.
Elsewhere in Australia, Adelaide Brighton announced that its first half 2013 profit fell by 9% year-on-year. It expects no improvement over 2012 in the rest of the year.
With the onset of the carbon tax, cement manufacturing is increasingly expensive in Australia, a fact that is especially difficult when combined with lower demand. China, Indonesia and Vietnam all produce similar quality cement 'nearby' at considerably lower cost, making the long-term future of cement manufacturing in Australia look fragile. Indeed, this is a trend that Australia shares with its antipodean neighbour. In New Zealand, after years of indecision, Holcim recently decided to not build a new cement plant at Weston. A new import terminal is its new preferred strategy. Could Australia, a country with such vast reserves of fuels and minerals, also be gradually heading towards cement import dependency?
Meesak appointed to new VP Human Resources role at FLSmidth
Written by Global Cement staff
27 August 2013
Denmark: Cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth has announced that Virve Elisabeth Meesak has been appointed to a newly created position in Group Executive Management as Group Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources. She will take up her new position on 1 September 2013. The new role has been created in an effort to effectively strengthen the FLSmidth Group's competitiveness by focusing more on strategic human resource management.
Meesak, 53, is a Swedish citizen and has been an independent Human Resource consultant specialised in change management, leadership training and executive coaching since 2010. Between 2008 and 2010 she was Human Resource Director for Alstom Power Services (North East Europe) and from 2005 to 2008 she held the position of Vice President (Human Resources) at Sandvik Mining and Construction AB. Prior to 2005 Meesak had a number of other vice president roles.
FLSmidth orders down in first half of 2013 27 August 2013
Denmark: The Danish cement plant manufacturer FLSmidth has announced that its total order intake fell by 22% to Euro1.43bn in the first half of 2013 from Euro1.83bn in the first half of 2012. However, its revenue increased by 16% to Euro1.62bn from Euro1.41bn.
Earnings before amortisation and impairment of intangible assets (EBITA) decreased by 45% to US$72.5m from Euro131.9m in the first half of 2012. FLSmidth's profit decreased by 62% to Euro23.7m from Euro62.2m in the first half of 2012.
Looking towards the rest of 2013, FLSmidth said that, over its entire operations (which now includes recent acqusition Cembrit), it expects consolidated revenue of Euro3.5 - 3.75bn. The launch of an efficiency programme is expected to create a sustainable EBITA improvement of Euro100m with full-year effect from 2015.
Boral hampered by construction union action 27 August 2013
Australia: Cement maker Boral is claiming that Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) officials in Victoria have defied court orders and are blocking it from accessing sites in an attempt to pressure it not to deal with construction firm Grocon. The CFMEU is in a bitter legal dispute with Grocon over its blockade at a different site in 2012.
Boral says that members of the CFMEU parked their cars across the entrance to the Regional Rail Link site in Footscray, near Melbourne, Victoria, stopping the company from making deliveries. In a letter to staff on 22 August 2013, Boral manager Paul Dalton said that the union had 'banned' Boral from accessing sites because it supplied Grocon.
Dalton said that the blocking of delivery trucks by the CFMEU had increased, saying, "At present, we have no fewer than three injunctions from the Supreme Court in Victoria ordering the CFMEU to stop unlawfully interfering in our business."