BUSINESSHIGHLIGHTS
IRELAND
CRH to buy Lafarge and
Holcim assets
SingleUS$7.3billiondeal seesHolcim and Lafarge
shedbusinesses togain approval formerger
C
RHhas agreed tobuybusinessesworth€6.5billion (US$7.3billion)
fromLafarge andHolcim, which the two companies have todivest to
gain regulatory approval for their plannedmerger.
Most of the businesses being acquired are based in either Europe orNorth
America, but it will also gain cement and aggregates facilities in emerging
markets including Brazil and the Philippines. However, as CRH already has
a significant presence inEurope andNorthAmerica it remains to be seen if
it will have to divest some existing or acquired businesses to gain regulatory
approval for the deal.
CRH said the acquisitionwouldbe fundedby€2billion (US$2.6billion)
in cash from its balance sheet, newdebt and theproceeds of an equityplacing
of 9.99% of CRH’s current issued share capital. Completion of the deal is
expected in the first half of this year.
The company said it had identified € 90 million (US$ 102 million) of
savingswhichwouldbe achieved in the first three years after the acquisition.
US
Flat 2014
Caterpillar’s revenues for 2014
were US$ 55.2 billion, a -1% fall
on 2013. However, the company’s
profitper share in2014 improvedby
+2% over 2013 levels toUS$ 5.99.
Thiswasdespiteadip inprofitability
in the fourthquarter.
The company is forecasting a
-10% decline in revenues in 2015,
based on the expectation of only
modest global economic growth and
continued weakness in commodity
prices.
AUSTRALIA
Divestment bonus
LeightonHoldings had revenues of
AU$18.4billion (US$14.3billion)
last year, a+4% increaseon2013. Its
net profit after tax was up +33% to
AU$ 677million (US$ 525) thanks
in part to the disposal of its 50%
of its Services business and John
Holland.
The companybooked anet gainof
AU$424million (US$329million)
on the sale of John Holland to
CCCCI in December. Meanwhile
the rolling of 50% of its Services
businesses into a joint venture
with Apollo Global Management
brought a pre-tax net gain of
AU$550million (US$426million).
However, these gains were eroded
by a AU$ 675 million (US$ 524
million) charge which the company
describes as a “Contract debtors
provision.” It said this was to cover
the risk of unrecoverable payments
due to it on various contracts.
SWITZERLAND
Exchange impact
Holcim’s sales fell -3.1% to CHF
19.1 billion (US$ 20.1 billion) in
2014. Its operating profit was down
-1.7% to CHF 2.32 billion (US$
2.45 billion) for 2014, although it
increased its overall sales of cement
last year to140million tonnes, from
139million tonnes in2013.
The company said unfavourable
exchange rates and costs linked to
consolidating its operations affected
its financial performance. However,
it said that on a like-for-like basis
saleswere up+3%.
VALUEOF 1:
SYMBOL AU$
BRL
UK£ CNY
€
INR
YEN MXN RUR SAR
ZAR KRW CHF
US$
AustralianDollar
AU$
0.44 0.507 4.90 0.695 48.3
93
11.72 47.8
2.93
9.06
859 0.741 0.781
BrazilianReal
BRL
2.27
0.223 2.15 0.306 21.2
41.0
5.15
21.0
1.29
3.99
378 0.326 0.344
BritishPound
UK£
1.97
4.48
9.7
1.37
95.2
184
23.1
94.3
5.78
17.9
1695 1.46
1.54
Chinese Yuan
CNY
0.204 0.464 0.104
0.142 9.86
19.0
2.39
9.76 0.598 1.850
175 0.151 0.159
Euro
€
1.44
3.27
0.73
7.04
69.4
134
16.9
68.8
4.21 13.03 1236 1.07
1.12
IndianRupee
INR
0.021 0.047 0.011 0.101 0.014
1.9
0.243 0.990 0.0607 0.188 17.8 0.0154 0.0162
Japanese Yen
YEN
0.011 0.024 0.005 0.053 0.007 0.518
0.1256 0.513 0.0314 0.0972 9.2 0.0079 0.0084
MexicanPeso
MXN
0.085 0.194 0.043 0.418 0.059 4.12
7.96
4.08 0.250 0.773
73
0.063 0.0667
RussianRuble
RUR
0.021 0.048 0.011 0.102 0.015 1.01
1.95 0.245
0.061 0.190 18.0 0.0155 0.0163
Saudi Riyal
SAR
0.341 0.776 0.173 1.672 0.237 16.480 31.840 4.000 16.320
3.09
293 0.253 0.267
SouthAfricanRand ZAR
0.110 0.251 0.056 0.541 0.077 5.328 10.293 1.293 5.276 0.323
95
0.082 0.086
SouthKoreanWon KRW
0.0012 0.0026 0.0006 0.0057 0.0008 0.0562 0.1085 0.0136 0.0556 0.0034 0.0105
0.00086 0.0009
Swiss Franc
CHF
1.35
3.07
0.68
6.61
0.94 65.12 125.82 15.81 64.49 3.95 12.22 1159
1.054
USDollar
US$
1.28
2.91 0.649 6.27
0.89
61.8 119.4
15
61.2
3.75
11.6
1100 0.949
For exampleUS$ 1=AU$ 1.28
Exchange rates: February 2015
UAE
Al FuttaimCarillion (AFC) has
been named preferred bidder on two
contracts inDubai worth a total of
UK£ 380million (US$570million). It is
in line for aUK£ 225million (US$344
million) contract to build amixed-use
development on theDubai Creek
waterfront and theUK£155million
(US$ 237million) contract for the
construction of the ‘LaMer’ beachfront
development at Jumeirah.
CHINA
Deutz and Volvo have said
theywill not go aheadwith a previously
announced engine joint venture in
China. The two companies said in
April 2012 that theywould set up a
majorityDeutz-owned factory tomake
medium duty engines for off-highway
applications inChina. However, the
weak local market has prompted the
reversal of that decision. They added
that no significant investments had
beenmade in the venture to date.
SWEDEN
Atlas Copco has decided
to end production of its Powercrusher
compact crushing and screening
equipment range. Atlas Copco acquired
the business, previouslymarketed
under theHartl brand, in 2010.
AUSTRALIA
A joint venture between
Bouygues and Lend Lease haswon the
€
1.9 billion (US$2.1 billion) tunnelling
contract on theNorthConnex road
project inSydney. The project for the
design and build of the 9 km twin-tube
tunnel, is part of a scheme linking the
south of theM1PacificHighway at
Wahroonga to theM2HillsMotorway.
international
construction
march 2015
BUSINESSNEWS
10
INDIA
UltratechbuysmoreJaypeeplants
Jaiprakash
Associates
(Jaypee
Group) is to sell two cement plants
in India’s Madhya Pradesh state
to fellow cement manufacturer
Ultratech. The assets comprise
cement plants and grinding facilities
with a total capacity of 4.9 million
tonnes per year along with an 180
MW power plant to supply them.
The net transaction value is INR
3,750 crore (US$628million).
Ultratech said the acquisition
wouldtakeitscementmanufacturing
capacity in India to some 65million
tonnes.
The sale is part of Jaypee’s
programme to pay-down debt,
which has included some INR
10,000 crore (US$ 1.6 billion) of
divestments in its cement business. .
Is largest previous cement
divestment was also to Ultratech
for a 2.4 million tonnes per yeear
facilitiy inGujarat.
