Group items tagged

Fujikura Dia Cable (FDC), the joint venture of Fujikura and Mitsubishi Cable Industries, announced a 14% year-on-year decline in their building cables shipment for the period April-September 2008. FDC describe the current situation as a difficult one, especially due to weak demand. The manufacturer, facing decreased inventory value due to falling copper prices, has to sell at relatively low prices reducing profit margins. FDC cable shipments fell by 8% in 2007 and the initial target for 2008 was to grow back to the 2006 level. However, this was revised down because of sales results. Overall profitability is also affected by rising prices of insulating and sheathing materials.

Japanese electric wire and cable manufacturer Fujikura Ltd reported consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended 30 June 2009. The company achieved sales of ¥112.93b (US$1.19b) for the first quarter, 28.7% lower than the same period a year ago. Operating income for the first quarter was ¥1.84b (US$19.4m), 50.3% lower than the year-ago level. Net income for the same period was ¥111m (US$1.17m), 94.3% lower than a year ago. The company is expecting to make a net loss of ¥800m (US$8.43m) for the first half ending 30 September 2009.

According to data released by the Japanese Electric Wire and Cable Makers' Association, copper wire and cable shipments totalled 51,200t in May 2011, up by 3.0% y-o-y, the first y-o-y increase in three months. Nonetheless, May shipments experienced an 8.9% m-o-m fall and remained the third lowest for May in 35 years. Japanese exports of copper wire and cable have been affected by China's economic slowdown and domestic demand has been impacted by the decline in the automotive industry.

On October 29th, Japan's Hitachi Cable Ltd announced plans to form a deeper business alliance with Chinese partner Zhongtian Technology Group Co (ZTT). The alliance will see the two companies, which have been joint venture partners since 2000, concentrate on possible tie-ups in the wire and cable sector within China. The announcement forms part of Hitachi Cable's medium term strategy to concentrate on the social infrastructure sector. According to CRU estimates, Hitachi Cable Ltd is the world's 8th largest wire and cable producer. Hitachi Cable projects total sales of USD 5.27bn in 2012/13.

Dubai Cable Co. (Ducab), the joint Dubai and Abu Dhabi state owned wire and cable producer, is optimistic about short to long term wire and cable demand prospects. This is primarily due to heavy investment in infrastructure by Gulf governments, including plans to build a six-nation power grid. The company also sources its optimism from predictions of a wire and cable supply deficit in India.

Nexans said it has been awarded contracts worth around €110 million ($113.2 million) by Libya's PEWCO (Public Electrical Works Company), to supply cables for projects to upgrade the country's power transmission and distribution infrastructure. The contracts involve the supply of over 1,000 km of high-voltage (HV) and low and medium-voltage (MV) cables. The transmission contract comprises 245 kV underground cables to be manufactured and supplied by Nexans, France and the 33 kV and 15 kV distribution cables and the optical fibre cables being supplied by Nexans Greece, with additional accessories being supplied by Nexans, Italy. Delivery and installation of the cable is expected to be complete by the end of 2013.

Hitachi Cable announced its plans to install manufacturing equipment for industrial wire and begin production of rolling stock wire and heat-resistant wire at its Chinese subsidiary Hitachi Cable (Suzhou) Co. The company will construct a new building at the existing facility, occupying 11,000 square metres. It is expected that investment will amount to 1 billion yen, achieving a target of 2.5 billion yen of net sales of industrial wire in FY2015, three years after the facility commences operations.

Electrical wire and cable manufacturer Eurocable Group announced that it has began production of copper wire at its plant near Zagreb as part of a push for the vertical integration of its business. The company is one of the few manufacturers of electrical wire and cable in Europe to launch in-house production of copper wire from copper cathodes. Eurocable Group's in-house production will fully cover the company's needs for 8 mm copper wires, thus cutting operating costs and making external suppliers redundant. The copper cathodes that will be processed at the Jakovlje site will be procured from companies that are members of the LME. Production will initially focus on meeting only the needs of the Eurocable Group itself.

Nexans won a contract to supply most of the power, control and data cables in a project of Bombardier Transportation involving the construction of 27 passenger locomotives for the New Jersey Transit Corporation. The cables will be used in the production of the ALP-46A locomotives, developing a technology that Bombardier has been applying since 2002. Nexans cables meet the required technical specifications for fire resistance and efficiency, and they will be produced in the company's plants in Nuremberg and Monchengladbach, Germany. Delivery will start in April 2009. As Global Segment Manager for Rolling Stock Dietmar Steinbach reported, ''the main factors that persuaded Bombardier Transportation to place this major contract with Nexans are our proven capability to design, develop and deliver on-time and throughout the world a complete range of special cables to meet virtually any rolling stock requirement.''

Essex Group Inc., a subsidiary of Superior-Essex Inc., announced the acquisition of the magnet wire sale and distribution assets of Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. (FEC) and American Furukawa Inc. Magnet wire is produced out of copper or aluminium and is used largely by the motor and electronics industries. The product is becoming increasingly popular due to its applications in the manufacture of electric motors for the hybrid vehicle market.

It was announced that Hitachi Cable decided to use its plant in China to manufacture heat-resistant and train cables. The decision aims to enable the company to serve Chinese clients faster and also be more cost-competitive. The manufacturing base is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and is operated by Suzhou Hitachi Cable Precision Co. Currently, the plant makes wire and cable for electronic devices but the company has decided to invest 1.0B yen to extend the product portfolio to the segments stated above. Installation of new equipment will begin in February and it is expected that it will become operational within the current year.

It has been announced that General Cable Corp. acquired Delphia Produtos Eletricos Ltda., a Brazilian automotive parts manufacturer although terms of the deal have not been disclosed.. Delphia manufactures automotive ignition wire harnesses sold into the Brazilian market and reported revenues of about $20 million in 2011. General Cable had net sales of $5.9 billion in 2011. General Cable CEO Gregory Kenny said, "over the past several years, through our expansion strategy and continuous improvement culture we have enhanced our service capabilities in a wide range of transportation and industrial applications for original equipment manufacturers, suppliers and distributors. We are well positioned to further enhance the value proposition to our global customers having achieved another important milestone with the acquisition of Delphia in this significant market in South America." Delphia is located in Sao Bernardo do Campo, Sao Paulo State and will continue to operate as Delphia under the umbrella of General Cable Automotiva Brasil.

Power cable producer Jiangsu Zhongchao Cable plans to acquire three industry peers through a private placement, reports claim. Zhongchao Cable plans to issue a maximum of 68 million shares at not less than RMB13.43 (US$2.10) per share in order to raise a maximum of RMB900M (US$142.M) to acquire 51% stakes in Yufang Cable, Mingzhu Cable and Xizhou Magnet Wires, and to set up an operations centre in Shanghai. According to the filing, controlling shareholder, Jiangsu Zhongchao Group, plans to spend between RMB100M and RMB300M (US$15.9M and US$47.6M) for the private placement.

Nexans has announced that construction of its first high voltage power cable manufacturing plant in North America has begun. The plant is sited in Berkeley County, Charleston, S Carolina. Frederic Michelland, Nexans Senior Corporate Executive Vice President said, "The establishment of our first high voltage cable manufacturing plant in North America is a key strategic development for Nexans. It will enable us to capitalize on the ever growing demand for high quality high voltage cables designed and manufactured to meet the specific needs of the major power transmission infrastructure projects planned in North America and worldwide in the coming years." The plant is to begin operations in 2014 and has an initial investment of US$85M. The first phase of the facility will focus on the manufacture of underground power cables up to extra high voltage (EHV) levels of 500 kV and the company hopes it will reinforce Nexans' current product range in North America, adding to the existing medium voltage, low voltage, overhead transmission, industrial, building wire, electrical wire and LAN portfolios.

Japanese Furukawa Electric Co. plans to begin exporting copper power cable from its Shenyang production plant in China to the US and Europe from September 2011. So far, the company has been providing cables for the Chinese market only. It was reported that the quality of cables has improved sufficiently to be exported to industrialised countries. The company hopes to achieve annual sales of US$125M to industrialised countries in the next five years. The company expects strong demand from sustainable sources of energy.

Shenzhen-listed wire and cable producer Qingdao Hanhe Cable Co announced on 27th November that it has won a contract to supply cables to the State Grid Corporation of China as part of a fifth round of contract tendering. The contract, worth RMB81.8M (US$13M), will involve the supplying 220KV cable as well as 20.304 KM of 500V cable. In a separate announcement the company said it was selling its 51% stake in Tianjin Hydraulic Machinery and using the funds to invest in the research and development of competitive products.

SWCC Showa Holdings Co., Ltd, the Japan-based cable and systems manufacturer, announced plans to construct a copper wirerod plant in China during fiscal year 2012. The new factory, which will have an annual capacity of 60,000t, will be located in Tianjin. Investment is expected to reach RMB1.0B - RMB1.5B. In China, high-quality copper wire is in demand because it is used in winding wire assembling, primarily for automobiles. The company said it also plans to invest RMB1.5B in adding equipment to its factory in Zhejiang to double annual capacity there to 60,000t.

To improve streamlining and strengthen businesses in China, SWCC Showa Holdings is to increase capital investment by US$83.5M - an increase of around 60%y-o-y, the company said. Broken down, this will be an increase of around 75-80% for domestic investment and around 20-25% for overseas investment. Domestically the company said it will focus on streamlining to strengthen profitability; improving the productivity of electric wires for construction and electric power fields and replacing production lines for fibre optic cables. The overseas investment will be to increase the capacity for growth markets such as copper wire rods and industrial electric wires, the company said.

Five major Japanese wire and cable producers recently announced financial results for FY2010-2011, all but one of which showed positive signs of growth in profitability. Sumitomo Electric Ltd. and Furukawa Electric Co.'s profits rose while Showa Cable Systems Co. returned to positive net profit. Hitachi Cable Ltd. suffered losses, although they decreased y-o-y. Fujikura Ltd. saw its profits decrease. The results of all companies were said to have been constrained by weak demand from the construction sector, which has not fully recovered. However, those companies producing automotive wiring harnesses benefited from strong auto demand.

A recent survey by the Shanghai Metals Market of 21 major Chinese electrical wire and cable producers, with a total capacity of 990,000t/y, showed that operating rates in January decreased to 69.73%, down 6.86 percentage points from December. The survey cited a lull in major contracts for power cables prior to Chinese New Year as the reason for sluggish demand. However, stabilisation in the demand for enamelled wire was noted in January, whilst demand for electrical wire was estimated to have picked up. The SMM survey revealed that producer's inventories of raw materials had picked up prior to the Chinese New Year Holiday, with producer's raw materials holdings as a percentage of production up 9.46 percentage points since December, to 34.58%. The survey suggested easier cash flows and expectations of future copper price rises were reasons for the increase.