Business & Financial News

Lafarge will continue in 2012 its price increases, to reduce its debt and its asset sales, in a context of increasing global demand for cement which supported its first quarter results.

The world's leading cement, who is currently refocusing on the job and on the concrete and aggregates while leaving the plaster continues to anticipate for the year increased 1 to 4% demand for cement due to emerging countries, where it now generates 60% of its sales, and even Europe, especially in the South.

It is right to catch up on prices, particularly favorable to the margins of the group Lafarge anticipates a more moderate cost inflation in 2012 and 2011. 

"Price increases passed successfully at the beginning of the year confirm our optimism on prices for the entire year," said Chief Financial Officer Jean- Jacques Gauthier during a teleconference.

He also expressed confidence to proceed to a further increase in August in the U.S. cement.

Lafarge has maintained its estimate of the market in 2012 despite weaker business in Greece on the one hand, and despite the rebound in the U.S. on the other. Jean-Jacques Gauthier said that the North American market, the group wanted to wait safely in the second quarter before rising to possibly refine its current forecast of demand for cement, between -1 and +2%.

"The main figures should receive a positive reception, especially in light of recent pressure exerted on the action," said Goldman Sachs in a note.

Around 11:30, the title Lafarge is 3.2% to 30.92 euros, after a day earlier to 31.80. At the close of Thursday, title, posted a gain of 10% since the beginning of the year, after -42% in 2011.

OVER ONE BILLION EUROS FOR TRANSFERS OF ASSETS IN 2012

Lafarge posted first quarter revenues up 5% to 3.35 billion euros, slightly above the consensus reached by the editor of Reuters ; estimates from eight analysts who gave $ 3.3 billion.

The EBITDA increased its share to 8% and operating profit by 28%, while net income, group share, showed a loss of 44 million euros , -29,000,000 against a year earlier, reflecting restructuring charges corresponding in particular to the 500 job cuts brought worldwide as part of the reorganization of the group. 

Excluding these charges, Lafarge has emerged over the period with net income of 18 million euros.

Lafarge intends to reduce by at least 400 million euros this year and costs limited to EUR 800 million investment as part of its debt.

In the first quarter, the group's net debt, largely inherited from the acquisition of Orascom in 2008, declined by 13% year on year to 12.4 billion euros . One quarter to another, it is clear, however, up 3%, a trend linked "to normal seasonal variations in working capital (working capital needs)," said Lafarge.

To seek "significant" this debt in 2012, the group also to give one billion euros in assets, of which 71 million were performed on the quarter.

Jean-Jacques Gauthier said that Lafarge would exceed the figure of one billion, but without saying how much.

Both activities are the subject of rumors of transfers, the plaster in North America, a trade balance which the group is almost released last year, and cement in South Africa. Lafarge must also achieve significant asset sales in Britain required by the Competition Authority to give its green light to the proposed joint venture between Lafarge and Anglo American.

"It is not impossible that these divestitures can be made in 2012," said his side the CEO of Lafarge, Bruno Lafont, during a teleconference .

Since same day cash advance is a high risk loan for the lender, the interest rates charged are high. The lender has no security and does not even conduct a credit check.

Saffron flames on the stock market Thursday after announcing strong growth in quarterly revenue, supported by its commercial engine business, and reaffirmed its 2012 objectives and confidence for years to come in light of trends in the market.

The supplier for the aerospace, defense and security sees its title clinch 7.40% to 28.65 euros by 9:55, the fastest increase in the CAC 40.

Safran, whose capitalization reached 12 billion, returned 24% since the beginning of the year.

The group confirmed target for 2012 growth of around 10% of its turnover and an increase of about 20% of its EBIT, free cash flow which should represent about a third. 

The Thomson Reuters consensus I / B / E / S reported for 2012 a turnover of 13.111 billion euros, representing growth of 11.7%.

In the first quarter, the group achieved a turnover of better than expected 3.108 million up 15.9% in raw data, representing organic growth of 7.3%.

It takes advantage of the 15.1% of its business services to commercial engines in U.S. dollars, thanks to the CFM56 product as part of CFM, its joint venture with General Electric to parity.

Saffron continues to expect growth in commercial engine business to nearly 10%, stressing "the fluctuating behavior of airlines inherent in economic conditions deteriorated ". 

MEDIUM-TERM OUTLOOK ENCOURAGING

Group CEO Jean-Paul Herteman said in a conference call to count on an increase in passenger and cargo traffic and the need for newly aging fleets of fuel-efficient in a context of price e rose oil.

Leap engine, successor to the CFM-56, was selected for the A320neo and 737MaX, remotorisées versions of single-aisle Airbus and Boeing, and for the Chinese Comac C919.

Safran reported 378 deliveries of new CFM56 engines in the first quarter – 56 more than the first quarter of 2011. Orders and purchase intentions and the CFM56 Leap totaling 695 units to 19 April, with an order book remained at about seven years of production.

On this basis, Jean-Paul Herteman spread the risk of occurrence of a bubble, a concern emerged after the record garnered orders from Airbus and Boeing in 2011, especially from companies Asian.

"The term bubble is certainly excessive," he noted, recalling that the shifts were still possible orders in the aerospace sector.

"(But) it does not involve sales growth and activity of the profession in the coming years unless major economic cataclysm," he added. 

He thus echoes the comments of Olivier Zarrouati, CEO of Zodiac Aerospace, a company specialized in equipment for aircraft cabins, who did not believe either to emergence of a bubble.

In terms of acquisitions, Jean-Paul Herteman declined to comment on the new interest in Safran for Italian Avio, controlled by private equity funds Cinven alongside Finmeccanica, which owns 14% stake.

John Paul was reaffirmed in February Herteman identify complementarities with Avio in the fields of space and aeronautics. 

The Italian public fund Fondo Italiano Strategico last week showed his interest for a stake in Avio, including an IPO was considered.

Jean-Paul Herteman also said he had signed the April 20 agreement establishing a joint venture with Thales for commercial and technical optronics, combining optical and electronic technology that facilitates including night vision for soldiers.

He added that the proposed JV parity announced just before Christmas was being investigated by the authorities of the staff.

Bad news on the economic front: the activity in the services sector began to turn to contract and morale deteriorates entrepreneur. The recovery will be anemic. French executives come to the business district of La Defense

The significant recovery announced by Nicolas Sarkozy is struggling to emerge. Instead, the slump continues, whether in industry or in services. The private sector activity has indeed registered the largest decline since 6 months, according to a first estimate of the PMI index released Monday by the firm Markit. The index "flash" composite of overall activity in France has contracted from 48.7 points in March to 46.8 points in April, below the 50 points that mark a contraction in activity. This decline reflects a sharp deterioration in performance of the services sector, whose activity fell for the first time in five months.  

The French industrial morale has degraded him in April compared with the previous month, according to the business survey released Monday by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE). The composite indicator of business climate in the industry fell 95 points, against 98 in March and remains below its long-term average set at 100 points.

"Here we have throughout the disappointing figures, downright disappointing side of the PMI surveys," summed Baudchon Helena, economist at BNP Paribas of France. Details of the survey by INSEE in March, which marked a rebound of industrial morale, "let hope for a continued recovery," said she. "I expected better than this: the confirmation of a rebound in confidence of business leaders," adds his colleague Societe Generale, Michael Martinez.  

The overall indicator of business climate in France, INSEE calculated from the responses of CEOs of major industries, is itself almost unchanged in April, to 95 points, with a decline in the building, an increase in retail trade and a stable indicator in services.

An anemic recovery

"In total, still manages to defend the idea that the French economy is now rebounding from a low point that has been the fourth quarter and first quarter. But the strength of this rebound is very very low, "says Mr. Martinez, who expects a decline of 0.1% of GDP in the first quarter, followed by an increase of 0.1% in the second.  

According to Jack Kennedy, the firm Markit economist, "the second quarter of 2012 will be difficult for the French economy, the service activity in April showing a decline in concern while a decline in manufacturing persists." He perceives a "wait and widespread household as businesses at the approach of the presidential election".

An argument that refutes Ms. Baudchon, for whom "the external economic and financial environment always difficult is a good explanation of the new shift in the PMI surveys in France and Germany".

Sector by sector in the industry, the survey by INSEE mask disparities and it appears that the decline is mainly due to the vehicle with the past activity "would have contracted sharply" and metallurgy.  

A table overshadowed by the automobile?

The overall order books and foreign French carmakers are down sharply while that "given the personal perspectives of production, the activity could fall further in coming months," said INSEE.

"Outside the car, which suffers from the end of certain tax provisions and the European context with overproduction on a European scale, we nevertheless confirmed that production recovered slightly and the personal perspectives of production are well oriented ", says Mr. Martinez.

European shares move in a disorganized mid-session after opening up while Wall Street is expected to have eased slightly.

In Paris the CAC 40 was down 0.15% (-4.99 points) to 3,418.82 points. In Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.29% and London, the FTSE is virtually unchanged. The pan-European index Stoxx 50 was down 0.40%.

The index futures point to a New York opening spreads from Wall Street while the purchasing managers' index for manufacturing (ISM) will be published at 1400 GMT.

In Paris, Total continues to rebound and earn 1.27% after the announcement that British authorities will receive Monday representatives of the company to consider a proposal to send a team of experts on its platform of Elgin in the North Sea which had to be evacuated due to gas leak. The revelation of the leak on March 26 led to a drop of nearly 7% of Total's share price, the last week, despite a rebound of a , 06% Friday after the announcement of the termination of a flare which casts a risk of explosion of the installation.

PSA Peugeot Citroen fell by 3.77% after announcing a fall of 33.2% over twelve months of its new car registrations in France in March, while Renault sells 1 76% after a decline of 29.8% over the same period against -23.5% for the whole French market.

Cimpor jumped nearly 9% in mid-session after the announcement Friday by the second group of Brazilian Camargo Correa construction of its intention to launch a bid for 68.1% capital of the Portuguese cement that does not already own. 

Originally worn by an official index of purchasing managers in China better than expected and reassuring thought on the growth of the first Asian economy, some European equity markets are ironed in led by the red squares of the peripheral countries of the south.

Information from press reports that the Bundesbank planned to take over the paper in several countries, including Portugal, have weighed heavily on the places of southern Europe, before being denied by the Institute of German issue.

The acceleration of the contraction of manufacturing in the euro area in March, reinforcing fears of a recession within the bloc while the slowdown has spread to Germany and France, has also affected the trend.

Unemployment insurance has been reminded by the Supreme Court the obligation to provide full information to job seekers, particularly in access to benefits. She has no room for error in this regard. Which should cause it to reorganize its procedures. Agency employment center in Nice

This is a decision that may have serious consequences for employment center to the edge of implosion. The Social Chamber of the Supreme Court ruled on February 8 that judge as unemployment insurance has failed in its obligation to deliver a "comprehensive information" to a woman about jobless benefits she was entitled. This decision "at the expense of employment center a general duty of information for all job seekers," he told AFP Me Christelle Mathieu, confirming a report by France Bleu Nord. "Now the burden of proof shall be on the employment center," while far a job seeker who felt cheated had to prove its allegations, she said. "It will be the employment center to prove that he has informed the job seeker," she added.

An obligation to properly inform

Moreover, "the Supreme Court has said that employment center has an obligation to provide full information," said the lawyer. Brochures and flyers have indeed been declared inadequate by the courts. The question is will it involve in terms of organization for the employment center. "One can imagine that (…) it will be individual interviews with job applicants, but since depth interviews will need to define precisely what rights the job seeker", which is entitled to several benefits, Mr. Mathieu said. "When we have two possible allocations, employment center will guide the job seeker to one that is most advantageous to him," she said.

His client had requested a specific solidarity allowance (ASS) which was paid from 2004. But during 2005, she had learned "by chance", she could benefit from the retirement allowance equivalent (EAR), the more advantageous, according to his lawyer. She asked that the EAR, it could actually benefit since 2003, he be paid retroactively, as unemployment insurance refused him. She was then approached the court and obtained the High Court of Valenciennes, April 27, 2009, 14,774 euros in damages for the injury sustained, Mr. Mathieu. This judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeal of Douai 16 June 2010.

Now, what will happen to employment center? Unions never fail to complain about a lack of resources and personnel and a degradation of services to job seekers, since the merger of the ANPE and UNEDIC. This lack of resources also derive worse working conditions for staff of employment center, whose workload has exploded and that no longer benefit from 1,800 additional posts in CSD granted when the crisis erupted.

The U.S. economy created 227,000 jobs in February. The unemployment rate remained at its lowest level in three years, to 8.3%.

The U.S. in February saw another month of massive hiring, confirming the scenario of a widespread economic recovery. The government says the country has indeed created 227,000 more jobs than it removed in February, which is higher than the net balance of 206,000 that gave the median forecast of analysts. Job creation are well above 200,000 for the third consecutive month. The Department has revised upward its estimate of 17% of new jobs in January, to 284,000, and the net hiring in February and is down 20% over the month.

The hires were not enough to lower unemployment, which remained at 8.3%, its lowest level for three years, according to official figures released Friday in Washington. In theory, the strength of job creation should lead to lower unemployment. This has not occurred because the labor force increased as much (0.3% compared to January) that the number of employed persons, according to government figures. The labor force declined in November and December, to rise for the second straight month in February could be a sign of improving labor market and show that the unemployed until then recover discouraged to seek employment. Department figures do not enable to determine at first glance from the increased labor force in February due to the influx of young people on the labor market and those related to the return of unemployed among its members.  

Department figures show that in February, employment increased in all sectors except retail trade, construction and public service. In the latter, job losses, which are the norm for over a year, have slowed considerably since there were only 6,000 per month from December to February, against over 20,000 of September to November. The employment report further states that the average hourly wage increased by 0.1% from January, to 23.31 dollars. On a year, says the Ministry, the increase in hourly wages was 1.9% which remains below its last measure of inflation (2.9% yoy in January).

PSA Peugeot Citroen does not exclude the future of cross-shareholdings with its new partner General Motors, which will take 7% of its capital as part of the alliance unveiled last week by the two groups.

The strategic partnership between the first French car manufacturer and the largest U.S. and world provides a common purchasing and the further development of common platforms.

The operation was not accompanied by an exchange of equity interests, as is often use to seal such a reconciliation, but a stake in GM in one way PSA, through a capital increase of one billion euros from the French group. 

"Now the time for us is probably not advisable to start with cross-participation because we need money to develop projects in which we invest with GM," de ; clared Philippe Varin, CEO of PSA, during a press conference at the Motor Show of Geneva.

"Nothing is excluded for the future, but it will not change the content of our alliance," he added.

Another big merger between two manufacturers, the Renault-Nissan has built from 1999 on equity cross – Renault now owns 43.4% of Nissan, Nissan 15% of Renault. The enlargement of the alliance in 2010 to Germany's Daimler was also accompanied by an exchange of capital, but more symbolic than at 3%.

"We think we cross-holdings are the best way to cement the win-win spirit of collaboration between the teams," said Carlos Tavares, Executive Director Officer of Renault, interviewed on Tuesday announced an alliance with its competitor.

"PSA as GM have a challenge in Europe in terms of their industrial overcapacity, both having the same problem I wonder how they will learn from each other to solve , "he added. 

COMPLEMENTARITY ON FUTURE PLATFORM

Philippe Varin declined Wednesday to discuss the implications of future common platforms for staff and two groups of plants in Europe. The first vehicle produced by this new architecture is programmed for 2016, which means starting construction next project.

The chief executive of PSA simply repeated today, the alliance had no impact on PSA overcapacity in Europe, a problem that the group intends GM solved separately in two years.

"This is a problem that every European competitor must address, it is not just a question for PSA, is a question for all European manufacturers," added Philippe Varin.

"It depends, for each manufacturer, the life cycle of its models. We, like others, will make decisions in a timely manner, "he added

. In the range of PSA, both models fueling questions about the future of sites that produce the Peugeot 207, produced in Madrid, near the end of life. Then comes the Citroen C3, also made in Madrid but also in Aulnay-sous-Bois, where management refuses to discuss the post-2014.

On the type of vehicle that will launch the first platform PSA-GM, the French group simply noted that the small car B segment, which includes the new Peugeot 208 presented e for the first time in Geneva, the alliance would draw on the expertise of the French group, while another segment of the priority of the alliance – the D, that of road – the U.S. would bring more.

PSA relies on this combination to continue its strategy of moving upmarket and internationalization of its sales, the financial difficulties that appeared last year against a backdrop of falling sales in Europe were likely to hinder . 

"The alliance allows us not to delay some projects that we would have been forced otherwise to delay," said Philippe Varin.

PSA has always perform 50% of its sales outside Europe in 2015, and two-thirds in 2020.

The activity of the French manufacturing sector has improved slightly in February, according to final results of the survey from Markit purchasing managers published Thursday.

The PMI rose to 50.0 last month, slightly below the first estimate (flash) published on February 22. He had registered at 48.5 in January.

The index found the 50, which separates growth from contraction, after six months in negative territory.

The index of manufacturing production also increased, to 50.8 against 48.8 in January and 51.4 in the first estimate.

That of new orders increased to 48.2 against 45.7 a month earlier (47.9 in flash).

"After having contracted slightly over the last six months, the French manufacturing sector appears to be stabilizing in February, showing an increase in production very marginal and the volume of new export orders increased moderately, "said Jack Kennedy, economist at Markit. 

"The weak demand persists, however, the domestic market while the purchasing price inflation is increasing and reached a high of eight months," he nuance.

"The resurgence of price pressures in a context of weak demand puts businesses in a difficult situation, any attempt to protect margins could result in a further decline in new orders."

The deficit of Spain represented 8.51% of GDP in 2011, said Monday the Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro.

A first estimate gave 8.2% and the upward revision is mainly due to exceedances of regional budgets.

Montoro said that this figure of 8.51% was also provisional and would be circulated for consideration by the European Commission.

The objective of Madrid in 2012 is a deficit of 4.4% of GDP.

In 2010, the deficit represented 9.3% of GDP.

The New York Stock Exchange ended down slightly from 0.01% Friday, the Dow Jones 30 industrial yielding 1.74 points to 12,982.95. The S & P-500, wider, took 2.28 points, or 0.17%, to 1,365.74, a closing level since June 2008 unpublished.

The Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 6.77 points on its side of (0.23%) to 2,963.75.

For the week, the Dow was awarded 0.3%, as the S & P 500, while the Nasdaq took 0.4%.