NIGERIA: Dangote Cement declares N121.8bn half-year profit

Dangote Cement Plc achieved a profit after tax of N121.808 in the six-month period ended June 30,2015, the company’s condensed consolidated statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income for the period showed.

The figure was 21.65 per cent higher than the N95.440bn PAT the cement giant announced for the same period of 2014.

The statements, which were filed with the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Thursday, showed that Dangote Cement also achieved a 20.23 per cent growth in profit before tax. Its PBT grew from N107.070bn to N128.726bn in the period under review.

This followed a 15.94 per cent rise in revenue, with the company realising N242.215bn revenue as against N208.909bn in the first half of 2014.

The growth in profit was achieved despite increases in administrative expenses, selling and distribution expenses and finance costs.

The results showed that administrative expenses rose to N13.618bn in the six months to June 30, 2015 from N7.295bn in the corresponding period a year ago, while selling and distribution expenses jumped to N23.385bn from N18.030bn.

Finance costs soared from N8.146bn to N24.381bn, while cost of sales rose to N84.501bn from N73.537bn.

Dangote Cement had grown its revenue to N114.7bn from N103bn in the first quarter of 2015 on the back of its expansion programme, which saw it commence operations in some African countries.

Its net profit for the quarter had also risen by 44.1 per cent to N68.6bn from N47.62bn in the first quarter of 2014.

The company had at its Annual General Meeting in April received the approval of its shareholders to pay N102bn as dividend for the 2014 financial year.

The Board of Directors had proposed the dividend, which translated into N6 per share after the company grew its revenue from N386bn in 2013 to N392bn in 2014.

The Chairman, Dangote Cement, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, had explained that, “As a result of the sizeable investment that we have made over the past few years, Dangote Cement ended the year (2014) with new lines in Nigeria, factories becoming operational in Senegal and South Africa.”

Earlier in the year, the company had said that its new plants in Senegal and Cameroun had commenced operations with plants in Ethiopia and Zambia following.

UGANDA: Tororo cement in sh86b expansion

Tororo Cement Limited, Uganda’s largest cement manufacturer has injected $ 25m (about sh86b) towards the plant expansion.

Brij Mohan Gragrani, the company executive director, said the new plant is expected to increase cement production from the current 1.8 million metric tons to 3 million metric tons per annum to meet the increasing demand of cement in the region. 

Gagrani said they expect to scale up production capacity that will include construction of more cement grinding mill with the cement storage silos, rotary packers, clinker feeding system and clinker sheds for investments of $25-30 Million. 

‘’The expansion is proposed in view of market demand in Uganda and the neighbouring countries,” he said.

BRAZIL: Brazil gives cement firms 30 days to pay combined $934 mln fines

Brazil's antitrust watchdog, Cade, has ordered six cement makers named in a price-rigging case to pay a combined 3.1 billion reais ($934 million) in fines within a month in a landmark decision that also orders asset disposals.

Under the terms of the decision announced on Wednesday, the watchdog gave the companies a one-year deadline to reduce their installed capacity in the cement and concrete industries through asset sales. The decision was published in the government's official gazette.

According to Cade, which first issued a ruling in the case in May of last year, Votorantim Cimentos SA, Camargo Correa SA's Intercement Brasil unit, Itabira Agro Industrial SA and Cia de Cimentos Itambé SA, as well as Switzerland's Holcim Ltd and Cimpor Cimentos de Portugal SGPS SA colluded on pricing to force rivals out of the market.

The ruling, which followed an eight-year inquiry, follows cost overruns that dogged Brazil's preparations for last year's soccer World Cup as well as dozens of road, port and infrastructure projects across Latin America's largest country. The firms named in the case control about three-quarters of the domestic market for cement and concrete.

A series of studies by Cade showed evidence that several takeovers and asset swaps among cement companies during the 1990s and the 2000s were made to prevent rivals from entering the lucrative market.

The largest players in Brazil's cement industry tend to have strong market control in specific regions, increasing the potential for collusion. The number of cement producers in Brazil shrank to about 10 in 2011 from almost two dozen in the early 1990s.

Under terms of the ruling, Votorantim must pay 1.5 billion reais in fines and Cimpor 297 million reais. Cade fined Intercement Brasil 241 million reais, Itabira 411 million reais, and Holcim 508 million reais. Itambé must pay 88 million reais.

Some of the companies are challenging Cade's ruling in the courts. The companies could not immediately be reached for comment on the penalties announced Wednesday.

Cade also imposed sanctions on Abesc, an industry group representing concrete producers; ABCP, Brazil's Portland cement group; and SNIC, which represents local cement factories.

Votorantim is the largest producer of cement in Brazil, followed by Holcim, France's Lafarge SA and Camargo's Intercement. Holcim and Lafarge are negotiating a merger.

TUNISIA: CMG autorisée par le ministère de l’Industrie, de l’Energie et des Mines à lancer son premier projet en Tunisie

La société Ciment de la méditerranée S.A. (CMG), crée en 2009 avec un capital social actuel de 4 425 000 DT détenu par de nouveaux actionnaires de référence à hauteur de 94% et en cours d’augmentation à 150 million de dinars,

annonce que le 22 Juillet 2015 la société a obtenue l’autorisation par M. le Ministre de l’Industrie, de l’Energie et des Mines pour la réalisation d’un projet Greenfield pour une unité intégrée de capacité de 1 million de tonne de Clinker (1,2 million de tonnes de ciment gris) par an avec un investissement total autour de 220 Million de Dollars Américains (434 millions de DT).

L’usine sera basée dans la délégation d’EL Guettar au gouvernorat de Gafsa. La construction démarrera le premier Janvier 2016 après les travaux de terrassement, de nivellement et d’ouvertures de pistes, tandis que l’entrée en exploitation de l’usine est prévue pour Juin 2018.

CMG est le fruit d'une collaboration fructueuse entre Ahmed Bouchamaoui International Group et Antonio Lopez Banos et Ricardo Mella International Group ( un groupe Espano-Portugais ).Mr Ahmed Bouchamaoui étant le Président du Conseil de CMG et Antonio Lopez son Directeur Général . La société compte renforcer sa collaboration avec d’autres institutions économiques qui feront partie du tour de table et a déjà identifié des sources de financement locales et étrangères.

CMG est équipée des technologies de production les plus modernes et travaille avec les deux constructeurs les plus puissants sur le niveau international. CMG est bien partie pour être leader dans le secteur de la production de ciment en Tunisie tout en limitant sa consommation d’énergie et de ressources naturelles grâce à de nouvelles technologies de production permettant d’assurer la durabilité et la protection de l’environnement. Cet engagement écologique est palpable sur tous les plans et constitue l’un des piliers des valeurs de la société. 

En plus des retombées économiques directes, ce projet aura des conséquences positives sur différents aspects locaux. Des actions seront menées afin de contribuer à une grande amélioration sur le plan social de la région d’El Guettar où seront créés 300 emplois directs et 1000 emplois indirects, réduisant ainsi le chômage dont souffre énormément cette région de Tunisie. CMG lancera également de nombreux programmes de soutien social dédiés à plusieurs secteurs comme le loisir, l’éducation, la santé et le logement.

COLOMBIA: Los despachos de cemento gris aumentaron 10,2 % en junio

Este crecimiento obedece al incremento del 25,8 % en los canales de distribución constructores y contratistas y del 7,5 % en comercialización, aportando en conjunto 8,7 puntos porcentuales a la variación.

Las Estadísticas de Cemento Gris- ECG mostraron que en junio de 2015 los despachos al mercado nacional alcanzaron 1.012,1 mil toneladas, es decir, aumentaron 10,2 %.

Este resultado se explicó principalmente por el crecimiento de los canales de distribución constructores y contratistas con 25,8 % y comercialización con 7,5 %, aportando en conjunto 8,7 puntos porcentuales a la variación.

Las principales contribuciones en los despachos de cemento gris se registraron en Antioquia con 15,5 %, Bogotá y municipios aledaños con 16,6 %, Bolívar con 28,1 % y Cesar con 41,5 %, los cuales aportaron en conjunto 6,8 puntos porcentuales a la variación total (10,2 %).

Por su parte, la producción de cemento gris alcanzó las 1.029,2 mil toneladas, presentando un incremento de 4,9 % con relación al mismo mes de 2014.

Año corrido En lo corrido del año hasta junio de 2015, los despachos al mercado nacional registraron un aumento de 6,6 % al acumular 6.067,4 mil toneladas.

Este comportamiento se explicó principalmente por el aumento en los canales de comercialización con 8,2 %, constructores y contratistas con 8,1 % y concreteras con 2,7 %, aportando en conjunto 6,4 puntos porcentuales a dicha variación.

Según el departamento de destino de los despachos en lo corrido del año hasta junio de 2015: Antioquia con 10,7 %, Bolívar con 19,6 %, el área de Bogotá con 6,4 %, Nariño con 62,2 %, Cesar con 27,0 % y Magdalena con 21,8 %, sumaron 5,3 puntos porcentuales a la variación total (6,6 %).

En contraste, los departamentos de Santander con -6,6 %, Atlántico con -6,0 % y Tolima con -9,3 %, restaron en conjunto 1,1 puntos porcentuales a dicha variación.

En cuanto a la producción de cemento gris, ésta alcanzó las 6.250,4 mil toneladas, presentando un incremento de 5,8 % con relación al mismo período del año anterior.

Doce meses Los despachos al mercado nacional ascendieron a 12.347,4 mil toneladas, aumentando 7,9 % en los últimos doce meses, debido al incremento en 15 de los 21 departamentos analizados, entre los cuales se destacan: Antioquia con 10,0 %, Nariño con 68,1 %, el área de Bogotá con 5,9 %, Bolívar con 13,9 %, Cundinamarca con 6,5 % y Magdalena con 25,5 %, aportando en conjunto 5,0 puntos porcentuales a dicho resultado.

Finalmente, la producción de cemento gris alcanzó las 12.728,8 mil toneladas, lo que significó un incremento de 6,9 % con relación al año precedente.