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52 • ROCK products • September 2015 www.rockproducts.com CalPortland, Martin Marietta Announce Deal A $420 million asset deal with Martin Marietta Materials, anchored by the former TXI Oro Grande plant, will enable Glendora, Calif.-based CalPortland Co. to replace capaci- ty from its idled Colton mill – about 35 miles south – and strengthen a home state, integrated cement and concrete platform. Coupled with Stockton and San Diego terminals, the plant will contribute to what CalPortland parent Taiheiyo Cement reported is "a steady improvement in sales volume and profit in [the] group's U.S. operations." TXI, with whom Martin Marietta merged in July 2014, com- pleted a $400 million-plus Oro Grande plant upgrade in 2009, bringing capacity to 2 million tpy. The operation will support optimized cement production and logistics at CalPortland's Mojave and Rillito plants in California and Arizona. The Mojave plant is about 75 miles northwest of Oro Grande. "While we believe the California cement plant is one of the most up-to-date plants in the region, it is not in close proxim- ity to other core assets and, unlike other marketplace com- petitors, is not vertically integrated with ready mixed con- crete production. After careful evaluation, we determined a divestiture is the best avenue to maximize shareholder val- ue," noted Martin Marietta CEO Ward Nye in a second quarter earnings review referencing the CalPortland agreement. The deal is scheduled for a third quarter closing, Nye add- ed, with proceeds supporting a previously announced share repurchase program. The CalPortland transaction will leave Martin Marietta with the TXI Crestmore clinker grinding plant in Riverside, Calif. Cemex Dominican Republic Wins Court Case The Dominican Republic's Supreme Court overturned a San Pedro Civil Court ruling which ordered Cemex to pay the municipality of Quisqueya RD$893 million ($19.8 million), or 3 percent of the company´s gross income from 2011 to 2013, reported the Dominican Today. The court determined that Cemex Dominican Republic pays all applicable taxes as an industrial company, for which it cannot be taxed for the same activity twice, as the Quisqueya city council claimed. It said since Cemex Dominican Repub- lic pays income tax on its net profit, it doesn't have to pay a city tax on the same tax base because it would create double taxation banned by the Constitution. The ruling adds that the city council based its claim on an erro- neous interpretation of Article 284 of Municipal Law 176-06. Holcim's Half-Year Results Released In the first half of 2015, Holcim generated higher cash flow from operating activities and increased net income support- ed by the gain from the divestment of the group's minority shareholding in Siam City Cement (Thailand) in March. How- ever, Holcim was faced with an overall challenging develop- ment as lower than anticipated demand in some markets caused volume declines in cement and impacted financial performance. Positive dynamics in markets such as the Unit- ed Kingdom, the United States, Mexico and the Philippines were not able to compensate for these effects. Consolidated cement volumes decreased 2.0 percent to 67.6 million tons as group regions Asia Pacific, Europe and Afri- ca Middle East reported declines. Cement volumes did not decline in North America and Latin America. Adjusted for merger-related costs, operating EBITDA was lower, despite the positive developments in the group regions of North America and Latin America. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs also declined. While group companies including Aggregate Industries UK, Holcim (US), Holcim Mexico and Holcim Spain reported increased like-for-like financial performance, the development in Indo- nesia, at Ambuja Cements, and in Switzerland and France was less favorable. Like-for-like net sales across the group were almost unchanged in the first half of the year. Reported net sales were down 3.1 percent to $8.95 billion, as better perfor- mance in North America could not compensate for lower sales in other group regions. Operating profit adjusted for merger-related costs of $89 million was down 5.5 percent to $944 million. The adjusted operating profit margin decreased to 10.6 percent. Reported operating profit decreased by 12.3 percent to $856 million, as increases in the group regions Latin America and North America were not able to compensate for merger-related