Group items tagged

Nexans reported organic revenue growth of 0.6% to €1.75 billion ($2.3 billion) in all activities in the first quarter, down from 13% growth in the previous year. The group reported strong growth for the first quarter 2012 for copper cables in South America and fibre cables and components in Scandinavia and France. The company did not supply a specific figure for the telecom business, which is now grouped in the transmission, distribution and operators division. Nexans said its operating margin at 30th June should be around 3.5% as a result of competition in underground cables and delays in invoicing high voltage products. At the end of March 2012, net debt came to €566 million ($748.1 million) compared with €222 million ($293.4 million) at the end of December 2011. This increase can mainly be attributed to the acquisition of AmerCable, finalised on 29th February for an enterprise value of €211 million ($278.9 million).

Nexans, a leading global cablemaking company, has been awarded a contract to design, manufacture and supply Chevron U.S.A with 42km of power umbilicals and terminations for the Jack and St. Malo oil fields in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the conductor which delivers a high voltage power supply, the power umbilical, which was pioneered by Nexans, includes a number of steel tubes, fibre optic elements and signal cables for control and monitoring purposes. By eliminating the need to transport and install separate power and control lines, the power umbilical significantly reduces transportation and installation costs.

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.

"That's where Ethernet extension comes in. Depending on your environment and application, there are three ways to extend your Ethernet LAN beyond the nearest closet."

8Mb rADSL is a far off pipe-dream - only speed advantage over a modem is the connect time. But it's what I'm charged for.

Another factor in the local network copper/aluminium/fibre mix. Consumers are paying for high speed and getting something in between. This isn't underpinning demand its causing consumers frustration.

Siemon launches a new whitepaper by respected data center infrastructure expert Carrie Higbie. Entitled "Comparing Copper and Fiber Options in the Data Center," this detailed whitepaper and accompanying video is available for download at: http://www.siemon.com/go/cvf

It is believed that a cash crunch is reducing orders in the Chinese power sector, which accounts for 60% of the country's copper demand. Analysts predicted strong copper demand in H1 as the country was eager to repair the damages to power networks caused by the heavy snow in the early part of the year. However, repairs have so far mainly been made to aluminium and fibre-optic cables. Cash flow problems at copper rod and wire plants have occurred following the government's tight credit policy and high copper prices. Some 30% of copper wirerod production capacity is being reported idle. The cash shortages have also delayed copper buying from active copper fabricators, further dampening consumption of the metal. China, a net importer of copper, exported 31,000 tonnes of refined copper in April, up 227% year-on-year, with the possibility that the country might have been re-exporting the metal since late February. China's General Administration of Customs reported that 14,000 tonnes were exported to South Korea, six times that from the same period last year. This perhaps confirms that traders were re-exporting copper it has imported to LME-approved warehouses to take advantage of the discount between Shanghai and LME copper prices.

Neans focuses on "priority markets"

In the past few days world leading cablemaker Nexans has announced one acquisition, one new joint venture and one asset disposal. On the 30th May, Nexans acquired Intercond a leading Italian manufacturer of special cables for industrial equipment and subsea applications. The company had sales of €90m and employs 150. "This [€90m] acquisition fits totally in the Group's strategy by increasing the proportion of its business in high value-added special cables", said Gerard Hauser, Chairman and CEO of Nexans. On the 2nd June, Nexans released a press report confirming that it has formed a joint venture to create a wire and cable plant in Qatar, the country's first manufacturing facility. Qatar International Cable Company (QICC) is owned 29% by Nexans with the balance being owned by Special Projects Company and Al Neama Industrial Co. The new plant in the industrial city of Mesaleed, 40km from Doha, and will employ 210 people. By the end of 2009 it will begin manufacturing low and medium voltage cables for buildings and energy infrastructure as well as special cables for the oil and gas industry. This JV will generate sales of $150m per year by 2010 at current copper prices. Finally, Nexans confirmed that it has completed the pre-announced sale of its copper telecom cable plant at Santander in Spain to the British company B3 Cable Solutions for €17m. These three actions continue to refocus the group's strategy on priority market segments.

US speciality brass mill Ansonia Copper and Brass Inc. has announced that it will lay off 85 of the 102 employees at its Liberty Street, Ansonia, factory in Connecticut. The plant manufactures copper alloy rod and wires. Company President Raymond McGee said "it's a very, very difficult situation". He blamed the redundancies, on top of 76 employees laid off in April 2007, on the company's struggle with escalating costs. Since 2002 electricity costs have soared 239%, natural gas 200%, fuel oil 125%, and copper and nickel 500% apiece. Ansonia's other facility in Waterbury, CT, which manufacturers copper alloy tube is unaffected by the announcement.

Further evidence of the impact of the North American economic slowdown on copper demand has recently been published by the ABMS and government statistical bodies. North American copper wirerod production plummeted 9.6% year-on-year to 174,000 tonnes in April. Output had been on a downward trend but the magnitude of the deterioration in April has still come as something of a surprise. A year-on-year increase of 2.0% in North American output January had been followed a 1.0% fall in February and a 2.7% drop in March. In April Canadian output was flat year-on-year due to improving export sales to the US, while US production fell 9.8% year-on-year and Mexican shipments slumped by 17.5%. On a year-to-date basis North American wirerod production was 2.9% lower in the four months to April 2008. Weakening demand from the automotive industry, coupled with a resurgance in copper prices and the return of Russian wirerod imports has clearly led to a deteriorating market situation for domestic mills.

Mueller Industries second quarter results highlight the tough times that the US brass mill industry is facing, but that companies can still operate profitably in a challenging market environment. The company's plumbing and refrigeration segment saw sales fall 11% to US$404m, while its operating profits dropped 32% to US$35m. The company blamed lower shipment volumes and lower spreads for the weaker performance. Sales at the company's OEM division, which includes its brass rod activities, rose 10% year-on-year to US$354m, while its operating profits rose 5% to US$19m. The improvement here is due to acquisition of Extruded Metals. Commenting on the results Harvey Karp, Chairman of Mueller Industries said "Mueller's earnings for the first half of 2008 were achieved despite the continuing decline in the housing industry, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, the turbulence in the financial markets, rising metal costs, sky-high energy prices and a slowing national economy. Considering these adverse circumstances, we are pleased with the results."

They want to supply residential and business buildings with largely fiber optic connections because the old copper cabling will soon no longer suffice to access communication networks. The growing Internet data network plus new online and multimedia services require increasing amounts of bandwidth and better transmission technology.

Prysmian secured EU regulatory approval for the proposed acquisition of Draka. According to the statement released by the EU antitrust regulator, "The Commission's investigation has shown that the merged entity will continue to face effective competition in the production of optical fibre cables and general wiring despite becoming the European leader in the markets concerned." It was reported that the European Economic Area consists of a number of smaller suppliers, and therefore Prysmian will continue to have a sufficient number of competitors in its markets.

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.