Wednesday, April 30, 2014

SPAIN: CEMENTOS PORTLAND PIERDE 24 MILLONES EN EL PRIMER TRIMESTRE

Cementos Portland perdió 24,3 millones de euros en el primer trimestre del año, frente a un beneficio de 62,4 millones en el mismo periodo de 2013, cuando contabilizó resultados extraordinarios.

Aunque las ventas de la filial de la constructora FCC continuaron lastradas por el desplome del consumo de cemento en España, el resultado operativo bruto casi se triplicó gracias al control de costes y a la venta de derechos de emisión de CO2.

La cifra de negocio de Portland cayó un 8,6 por ciento a 111,3 millones de euros después de traspasar y cerrar plantas no rentables en los negocios de hormigón, árido y mortero.

España representó un 39 por ciento de las ventas de la compañía, 4,5 puntos menos que en el mismo periodo del año anterior, mientras el consumo de cemento en el país sigue en caída libre.

El sector cementero se ha visto muy perjudicado por el pinchazo de la burbuja inmobiliaria y el desplome de la obra pública, lo que ha provocado seis años de descensos de dos dígitos en el consumo de cemento.

En el primer trimestre la caída se ralentizó, pero ello no ha alterado la previsión de la patronal del sector de que en 2014 el consumo baje por séptimo año consecutivo.

Por otra parte, los accionistas de Cementos (CEMENTOS.8)Portland aprobaron el martes la operación que permite a su matriz FCC aumentar su participación hasta el 78 por ciento desde casi el 70 por ciento, convirtiendo en acciones un préstamo subordinado de 100 millones de euros.

La ampliación de capital tendrá un importe máximo de 11 millones de euros con la emisión de 13,7 millones de acciones de 1,5 euros de valor nominal cada una y una prima de emisión de 6,5 euros por acción.

La deuda neta de Cementos Portland se situó en 1.379 millones al cierre del primer trimestre. La compañía está negociando la refinanciación de la misma con sus bancos, después de haber obtenido una dispensa de sus acreedores tras incumplir algunos de sus compromisos financieros

COLOMBIA:Cementos Argos se dispara 52 pct en 1er trimestre

La mayor cementera de Colombia, Cementos Argos, reportó el viernes un aumento del 52 por ciento en su utilidad neta del primer trimestre con respecto a igual periodo del año anterior, impulsada en gran parte por sus recientes adquisiciones en Estados Unidos y Honduras.

Las ganancias de Cementos Argos alcanzaron 79.627 millones de pesos (39 millones de dólares) entre enero y marzo, frente a los 52.502 millones en el mismo lapso del 2013.

La compañía, filial del holding de inversiones Grupo Argos , registró un incremento del 18,3 por ciento en sus ingresos operacionales a 1,3 billones de pesos.

"Entre otros factores, los resultados obtenidos se lograron gracias a la reciente incorporación de activos en Honduras y La Florida, la dinámica de recuperación en Estados Unidos, sumado a la creciente industrialización de la construcción en Colombia", explicó Argos en un comunicado.

En tanto, el EBITDA (utilidad antes de intereses, impuestos, depreciaciones y amortizaciones) de la cementera subió un 12 por ciento en el primer trimestre, a 261.000 millones de pesos.

En enero pasado Argos acordó la compra de activos de la estadounidense Vulcan Materlias en La Florida por 720 millones de dólares.

La adquisición se sumó a otra que realizó la cementera en Honduras, mediante la compra del negocio en ese país de la francesa Lafarge, por 232 millones de dólares.

UGANDA: Turkish Firm Eyes Uganda Cement

Kolin Construction, a Turkish-owned tourism and trading company has expressed interest in Uganda's cement manufacturing industry after noticing an abundance of raw materials.

The company Chairman Naci Kologlu who met President Yoweri Museveni last week, said they have successfully worked on construction of the Hoima- Tonya road in Bunyoro Sub-Region in Western Uganda. This is one of the many projects they are handling in Uganda.

"There are many opportunities and we think the cement industry is still not so crowded," Kologlu said.

President Museveni asked them to tap into the abundant opportunities that Uganda has in value addition of agro-products and minerals.

He specifically urged them to work out projects in relation to value addition to the maize crop that Uganda produces, leather and minerals such as cement and iron ore. He also concurred with the proposal to build hotels to cater for the budding tourism industry.

"The government is ready to help you build a hotel in Kampala and we shall facilitate you to establish a cement factory in the country," said Museveni.

The president also met Sseko Designs Shoe Industry, based in the United States of America, who manufacture and export ladies shoes to the United States of America. The company is based in Kyebando a Kampala suburb.

According to Ashley Paulus, the company's Operations and Programmes Manger they currently produce 8,000 units per month valued at $300,000.

The company, she added, employs a work-force of women only with particular emphasis on those that are disadvantaged socially and physically such as people living with HIV/AIDS and widows among others.

INDIA: Struggling to survive, smaller cement firms look for buyers

Sluggish economic growth and the absence of new infrastructure projects, along with a difference in prices across regions, are forcing a number of smaller cement companies, mostly in South India, to consider a sale of their facilities.

Bhavya Cements Ltd, Parasakti Cement Industries Ltd and JSW Cementare three such firms that intend to sell some of their assets but are finding it difficult to get buyers, according to two people familiar with the developments, who requested anonymity.

One of the two people cited above belongs to a large cement manufacturer who has inspected these assets, while the second is a top official at one of the companies looking to sell assets.

“Many of these companies haven’t been able to build a strong brand and are facing increased competition from larger players like UltraTech, ACC and Ambuja,” said one of the people cited above. He requested anonymity since he belongs to one of the top three cement firms.

The bigger firms, however, are not keen on acquiring these assets, mainly because of their geographical location, he added.

Hyderabad-based Parasakti Cement was established in 1998, and currently has a capacity of 1.5 million tonnes (mt) per annum. The brand is available in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.

Bhavya Cements, another Hyderabad-based company, was incorporated in April 2007 and has an annual capacity of 1.4 mt. It has approvals to increase the plant to 4 mt capacity.

JSW Cement, a part of the Sajjan Jindal-controlled JSW Group, started operations in 2009. It has the capacity to produce more than 5.4 mt per year.

Emails sent to Bhavya, Parasakti and JSW Cement did not elicit any response. However an official at JSW Cement, on condition of anonymity, said the company is considering a sale of its cement assets since it is one of the group’s non-core businesses.

These companies are struggling to survive at a time when cement demand remains muted; logistics, transportation and raw material costs remain high, and prices are under pressure, particularly in the southern parts of the country.

The average prices as on 11 April for the southern region rose 2.2% from a year ago, while the prices for all regions in India rose 8.3%, while that for the northern region increased 17%, the highest among all regions, according to a report Centrum Broking Pvt. Ltd, dated 15 April.

In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, all-India average cement prices rose 4.5% to Rs.305 per 50kg bag on a year-on-year basis, according to a 16 April report by HDFC Securities.

According to Nitin Bhasin, an infrastructure analyst at Ambit Capital Pvt. Ltd, a lot of companies in South India are in distress because not enough projects are coming up, and at a time like this, the smaller groups will suffer the most because they had never invested in marketing and branding.
“Many of the smaller companies in South India continue to be highly leveraged and are barely able to meet their interest payments; this distress could lead to some of them closing down or selling out,” Bhasin said.

In the South, factors such as poor infrastructure project execution, lack of new projects, and tepid real estate construction are proving to be major challenges for these companies.

A 24 March report by Ambit Capital highlights that some South India-based companies such as Sagar Cements Ltd, Andhra Cements Ltd, KCP Ltd,Keerthi Industries Ltd and Anjani Portland Cement Ltd, had in fiscal year 2014 an interest expense that eroded most of the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization, while most of them had a debt-to-equity ratio of more than 1.

To be sure, the southern region also has the lowest capacity utilization rate, a metric used to measure the rate at which potential output levels are being met or used. The utilization rate in the region for fiscal 2014 was at 59%.

Consolidation of cement capacities in the hands of larger firms such as the Aditya Birla Group-owned UltraTech Cement Ltd, the Holcim-ACC-Ambuja combine and Jaypee Cements has also made it tougher for smaller companies to compete. The top three companies already control around 30% of the approximately 370 mt per annum total capacity in the country. 

Analysts say the recent Holcim-Lafarge merger will further concentrate capacities in the hands of the top companies and lead to more consolidation in the industry. In fiscal 2013, the Indian cement industry saw deals adding up to around $3.3 billion, according to a January report by India Ratings and Research Pvt. Ltd. The agency expects the consolidation to continue in fiscal 2015 due to regional imbalances and cost inflation.

BELARUS: Belarus considering cement holding company with Russian Eurocement

Belarus is considering establishing a cement holding company together with the Russian company Eurocement, BelTA learned from Belarusian Architecture and Construction Minister Anatoly Chernyi at the international science to practice seminar held on 11 April to discuss foreign and domestic engineering practices in civil engineering.

Asked about prospects for establishing a cement holding company on the basis of three Belarusian cement enterprises, the official said: “There is no relevant news still. Besides, taking into account the agreement reached with Eurocement the role of the holding company would be insignificant today because it was supposed to be created for centralized cement sales while the ministry takes care of the pricing unity of our enterprises”.

Speaking about the establishment of the holding company together with Russian Eurocement, the Minister remarked: “It would be a massive merger. We could operate as a single team on foreign markets, markets of Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. However, these are just preliminary talks, we have only discussed the possibility. It is not a project for 2014 but a longer term. Now we have to transfer the Belarusian enterprises to the dry cement manufacturing technology to reduce the prime costs. Later on we will consider uniting efforts on domestic and foreign markets”.

Eurocement is ready to invest up to $80 million in the modernization of Belarusian cement factories. At present the three Belarusian cement factories can make 9.5 million tonnes of cement per annum, with 5.4 million tonnes manufactured using new equipment and the dry mixture technology.

IRAN: annual cement exports hit 18m tons

Iran exported around 18 million tons of cement in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2014, IRNA cited a report published by the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade on Sunday.

According to the report, Iran ranks first in the Middle East and third in the world in terms of cement exports.

The country’s annual cement output is currently about 80 million tons, of which 50 million tons is used by domestic industries.

In August 2012, former Iranian Industry, Mines and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said that the country's cement production capacity would reach 110 million tons by 2015.

WORLD: Holcim’s Revenues And Profits Decline

Holcim Ltd (ADR) (HCMLY) announced today its earnings results for the first quarter of fiscal 2014 (1QFY14; ended March 31, 2014) before the opening bell. The Swiss cement manufacturer reported a 57% decline in profit as it prepares to dispose assets to comply with regulatory authorities before its merger with Lafarge S.A. (ADR) (LFRGY).

The Jona, Switzerland-based company recorded lower sales of 4.09 billion francs for the quarter, a 5.4% decline year-over-year (YoY). Sales missed analysts’ estimates of 4.2 billion francs owing to adverse fluctuations in foreign exchange rates.


During the quarter, the company’s net income fell 57% YoY to 80 million francs ($90.7 million), missing the consensus estimate of 110.5 million francs. In 1QFY13, the company had gained some 146 million francs ($165.51 million) by divesting a 25% stake in Cement Australia.

Although Holcim reported lower revenues, it recorded a 2.9% YoY increase in consolidated cement sales, which totaled 33 million tons for the quarter. The increase was driven by a stronger performance in Europe, where mild weather during the quarter facilitated construction activity.

Performance By Segments

The company’s businesses in the Asia-Pacific region reported a 0.7% YoY decline in consolidated cement volumes, attributable to the impact of the disposal of Holcim’s 25% equity in Cement Australia. That excluded, however, consolidated cement volumes grew 1.7% on greater sales volumes in Indonesia and Australia. However, consolidated net sales in the region were down 15.1% YoY to 1.68 billion francs as a result of unfavorable currency conversion rates.

Consolidated cement sales volumes posted by Holcim’s Latin America businesses were up 1.5% YoY to 6 million tons. Sales in Brazil, currently the epicenter of construction activity due to the upcoming FIFA World Cup, offset lower volumes in Mexico and Argentina. Consolidated net sales in Latin America were, however, down 12.5% YoY to 723 million francs.

The European region continued its gradual recovery from the recession, with mild weather in many countries leading to improved construction activity. Consolidated cement sales increased 20.1% YoY to 5.2 million tons in the region during the quarter, as business in almost all countries reported higher sales. Consolidated net sales in the region increased 14.8% to 1.18 billion francs.

Holcim’s North American segment, too, reported a 2.5% YoY increase in consolidated cement volumes on the back of Holcim US’s strong performance in the Texas and Oklahoma regions, which, to an extent, compensated for the negative impact of inclement weather across Canada. Net sales increased 0.7% YoY to 444 million francs in the region.

The consolidated sales volume in the Africa and Middle East region increased 11.8% YoY to 2 million tons on the back of Holcim Morocco’s strong performance on the back of higher exports to the Ivory Coast. Consolidated net sales in the region reached 206 million francs, a 1.7% increase YoY.

Outlook

Holcim expects an increase in cement sales volumes across all regions in 2014, but the company has predicted that global economies will remain uneven. Businesses in the North American region are expected to continue benefiting from a further recovery, especially in the US. On the other hand, the Latin America region is expected to face uncertainty, but growth can be expected in Brazil, which is preparing for the 2016 Olympics after the FIFA World Cup.

The company expects a recovery in Europe, as further cuts in interest rates will allow potential buyers to borrow for purchases and undertake construction activity. The Asia-Pacific region is also expected to grow, albeit at a comparatively slower pace than in recent years. The Africa and Middle East region is also expected to deliver a better performance.

Merger

Earlier this month, Holcim and Lafarge announced they intended to tie up in a merger of equals. The proposal was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies. The proposed merger will be structured as a public offer filed by Holcim for all of Lafarge’s outstanding shares on the basis of a 1-for-1 exchange.

Holcim said there is considerable interest from private equity and other industry players in the assets the company must sell before merges with Lafarge. Holcim is expected to relinquish assets worth approximately 5 million euros ($6.85 million) to win a nod from regulators.

The two companies plan to merge before the second half of 2014 commences. The new company, to be called LafargeHolcim, will be based in Switzerland, where Holcim’s current headquarters are located.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

SOUTH AFRICA: Imports, supply glut pressure cement sector

THE domestic cement industry is facing tough conditions in the short term, with excess supply expected to keep margins under pressure. As a result, any further investments are likely to be channelled into upgrading dated and inefficient plants.

Supply gains have come from new entrant Sephaku Cement, as well as an increase in imports, which surged 44% last year to 1.1-million tonnes. There is talk in the industry of lobbying for protection from cheap imports.

But the spokesman for the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac), Thembinkosi Gamlashe, says the commission has not received an application from the industry.

Sephaku entered the market in January and brings 2.5-million tonnes of annual capacity to the industry. Though figures vary, analysts say this takes industry-wide capacity to between 18-million and 19-million tonnes a year. Domestic sales totalled just 12.2-million tonnes last year, 5.3% better than 2012’s volumes.

But Sephaku believes supply capacity figures are overstated due to double counting, and says some excess capacity is needed to cater for spikes in demand.

Gavin Wood, chief investment officer at Kagiso Asset Management, believes the South African cement market "is facing a challenging coming few years".

Amidst the increase in supply, Mr Wood says cement demand "is likely to be weak".

Weighing on demand will be the slow roll-out of the government’s infrastructure programme, and less private sector corporate construction following a reasonably strong few years. This is in addition to expectations for subdued residential construction activity, "particularly in the low-income market where unsecured credit conditions are much tighter".

Meanwhile, Mr Wood says the energy-intensive industry is now dealing with energy prices which are materially higher than before, while the implementation of carbon taxes will affect the "heavy carbon emission industry".

"Cement producer margins are likely to suffer as the various cement producers battle it out for market share," he says. But he is more positive about the prospects north of South Africa’s borders.

He says PPC’s growth plans for the rest of Africa "are very exciting and are likely to generate strong returns for shareholders".

Cement demand in Africa outside South Africa will be buoyed by increased construction activity as Africa’s collective economy sustains strong growth rates, while PPC will benefit from the lack of existing cement production facilities in Africa.

PPC is in a drive to get 40% of its sales from the rest of Africa by 2017, from about 22% now. The successful completion of four projects will get the group to that goal.

The projects include a joint-venture plan for a 2-million-tonnes-a-year plant in Algeria, announced in February, while PPC is also building cement plants in Ethiopia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Wood says the new projects all have "attractive funding and strong local partners".

"There is competition in Africa, but it is likely to be rational and not concentrated in areas where existing cement plants provide adequate supply," he says.

Imara SP Reid analyst Sibonginkosi Nyanga believes recent investments in South Africa were guided "by elevated profit margins during the 2000-07 construction boom".

Mr Nyanga says while margins will be affected by overcapacity and competition in the short term, "we do not anticipate any price war as Sephaku has indicated that it is not intending to rock the boat".

But while cement demand has gone through a number of cycles, "there is expectation that another boom cycle better than the 2000-07 cycle is on the horizon".

As cement demand is largely driven by economic and population growth, Mr Nyanga says "for the next few years we are not expecting a massive improvement in cement demand, unless government infrastructure spend kicks in".

He expects average cement sales volume growth of at least the same rate as real economic growth, which is expected to be between 2% and 4% in the near term.

Supporting demand is government’s social housing projects and various development projects across the country.

Mr Nyanga says South Africa’s per-capita consumption of cement, at 222kg, is still low compared with a world average of 500kg — indicating "that there is still scope for growth".

As cement is expensive to transport, competition in the industry is segmented into geographic areas. "It’s all about logistics — the company with better logistics arrangements will compete well in this environment," Mr Nyanga says. "It’s usually uneconomical to transport cement for long distances, especially by road.

"I think the issue of logistics also comes into play in Africa as well — what counts is how strategically the plants are located."

He believes plant upgrades in South Africa are necessary due to the age and inefficiency of most plants, and to remain competitive.

In the rest of Africa, Mr Nyanga says cement prices are often high due to supply deficits and logistical difficulties, "so I think African competition is manageable for now".

PPC CE Ketso Gordhan said in a recent interview that Sephaku’s entrance would further delay any new major expansion plans in South Africa.

Mr Gordhan said PPC’s domestic capital investment plans would be limited to upgrading its old Port Elizabeth plant and expanding one of its inland plants in order to prepare for higher demand in a few years’ time.

On a positive note, the excess capacity of the local market meant the industry would be well placed to respond quickly to a materialisation of government’s infrastructure programme, he said.

While PPC does not usually export product as local players cannot compete on price with low-cost producers from the likes of Pakistan, Mr Gordhan said PPC would export a relatively small amount for its own purposes into Congo, where it is building a plant.

"We are going to use some of our own cement building our plant, and we are also going to start using some of our own cement to begin to build the brand," he said.

Mr Gordhan said Congo would remain an undersupplied market even after PPC’s entrance.

Meanwhile, he said PPC had "a pretty downbeat view on the South African cement market for this year", though the outlook for demand would gradually improve after the elections. "So we are slightly more optimistic about the 2015-16 financial year."

PPC recently told investors that in the five months to the end of March, its local cement volumes were down due to weak economic conditions, and flooding in some regions which had hurt demand.

Monday, April 28, 2014

ALGERIA: Programme d'importation de 240 000 tonnes de ciment Portland

DNC au port de Djendjen (Jijel), Sodmac, port d'Oran, Sodismac, port d'Alger, trois filiales du Groupe industriel des ciments d'Algérie (Gica) vont, dès le mois de mai prochain, commencer à commercialiser du ciment importé de type Portland CPJ CEM 42.53

DNC au port de Djendjen (Jijel), Sodmac, port d'Oran, Sodismac, port d'Alger, trois filiales du Groupe industriel des ciments d'Algérie (Gica) vont, dès le mois de mai prochain, commencer à commercialiser du ciment importé de type Portland CPJ CEM 42.53. C'est ce que vient d'annoncer la Société de

distribution des matériaux de construction (Sodismac) dans un communiqué rendu public jeudi dernier. Les trois filières citées plus haut vont en effet entamer chacune la commercialisation de 80 000 tonnes de ciment Portland dont l'importation est en cours. Il est utile de rappeler au passage que suite à un avis d'appel d'offres international lancé par Gica pour la fourniture de 240 000 tonnes de ciment Portland conforme à la norme algérienne, le mois de février dernier, l'entreprise Star Commercial Ltd, basée dans les Iles vierges britanniques, a été choisie pour son offre la moins disante.

Concernant les conditions de commercialisation du ciment importé, la Sodismac souligne dans un communiqué qu'elles (les conditions Ndlr) obéissent aux dispositions réglementaires contenues dans les cahiers des charges du groupe Gica.

C'est pourquoi la Sodismac invite les entreprises de réalisation publiques, privées et étrangères à se rapprocher de la direction pour acquérir le ciment au prix pratiqué par le groupe Gica.

Toujours selon la même source et dans un souci de rendre facile les opérations de ventes, cinq cimenteries sont mises à disposition des transporteurs de ciment en sac et en vrac pour chargement, à savoir les cimenteries de Meftah, Sour el Ghozlane, Chlef, Aïn El Kebira, Aïn Touta. De plus, et pour rendre facile l'opération d'approvisionnement, la Sodismac a prévu six lieux de déchargement dans ses unités commerciales d'Alger, Bouira, Tizi Ouzou, Béjaïa, Médéa, Adrar, et trois autres unités commerciales à Djelfa.

Rappelons dans la foulée, que Gica a entamé dès juin 2012 des importations mensuelles de ciment. Un fardeau lourd qui coûte au budget de l'État au moins 300 millions d'euros chaque année. Et pour preuve : en 2013, la valeur des importations de ciment s'établissait à environ 290 millions d'euros, soit une hausse de 26% par rapport aux chiffres de 2012. Toutefois ces importations sont rendues nécessaires afin de répondre à la forte demande interne et pour atténuer la flambée des prix, accentuée notamment par la spéculation, et éviter le retard dans les délais de réalisation des projets.

Toujours dans le même ordre d'idées, le ministère du Développement industriel et de la Promotion de l'investissement rapporte que la capacité de production nationale installée est estimée à près de 19,5 millions de tonnes par an alors que la consommation varie entre 20 et 21 millions de tonnes, soit un déficit dépassant les 2,5 millions de tonnes.

Devant ce constat, le développement de la filière ciment figure parmi les priorités du gouvernement pour atteindre une production de 20 millions de tonnes à l'horizon 2016 et 29 millions de tonnes d'ici à 2018. Pour ce faire et dans le but de créer un équilibre entre l'offre et la demande croissante, un «ambitieux» programme a été tracé qui consiste notamment à réaliser de nouvelles cimenteries. Une stratégie où il est question de réaliser quatre nouvelles usines et l'extension des capacités de production de six cimenteries existantes. En résumé, selon le ministère, 17 cimenteries seront réalisées d'ici à 2017 dont quatre par le groupe Gica et sept autres par le secteur privé.

Production mondiale de ciment : l'Algérie au top 20

Selon le dernier rapport du Global Cement Directory pour 2014, d'Oxford business group, «la capacité de production de ciment de l'Algérie s'élève à 21 millions de tonnes par an, ce qui classe le pays parmi les 20 premiers producteurs de ciment dans le monde. Ce classement élaboré sur la base des chiffres publiés par l'US Geological Survey, l'institut d'études géologiques des États-Unis», place l'Algérie au top 20.

NIGER: DANGOTE TO BUILD CEMENT PLANT

Billionaire Aliko Dangote is building a 200-billion CFA francs ($421.35 million, about N66billion) cement factory in Niger capable of producing 1 million tonnes per year, state radio in Niger announced on Thursday.

President Mahamadou Issoufou formally started building work on the factory on Wednesday at Keita, around 600 km (375 miles) northeast of the capital Niamey and it is expected to take 18 months. When finished the factory will employ 3,000 people.

Niger, with a fast-growing population of 17 million people, is one of the world’s poorest countries. It has some of the lowest government revenues per capita in Africa despite the start of oil production in 2011.

“This is an important event after the railway project started on April 7 last year. This cement factory will contribute a lot to the economic development of Niger,” Issoufou said at the ground-breaking ceremony. “Niger is for now a cement importer but when this project comes on stream it will become a cement exporter,” he said.

Dangote Cement, owned by Africa’s richest man Dangote with a personal fortune of $25 billion, has cement plants spanning Africa, from Senegal to South Africa.

The company saw its 2013 profits increase by 40 percent to 190.76 billion naira ($1.16 billion), from 135.64 billion naira a year earlier.