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November 26, 2007 |
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TAIHEIYO CEMENT: Shares Fall After Mizuho Downgrades Rating Taiheiyo Cement Corp. shares fell the most in six weeks after Mizuho Securities Co. trimmed its rating on the company's stock because of rising coal prices and a weaker North American market, Akiko Ikeda of Bloomberg News reports. The Taiheiyo shares, as stated by Mr. Ikeda, fell JPY20 or 7.5%, making it the fourth-largest decline on the MSCE World Index. Bloomberg quotes Hiroshi Matsuda, an analyst at Mizuho, as saying, "We now expect a greater increase in steam coal prices, and the North American cement market is trending weaker. We forecast a significant decline in earnings in the cement segment." Mr. Matsuda cut Taiheiyo's stock rating to "hold" from "buy," states Bloomberg. Japan's biggest producer of the building material gets about 50% of its operating profit from cement sales from North America. Cement products, according to Bloomberg, account for about 56% of Taiheiyo's sales. About Taiheiyo Cement Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation -- http://www.taiheiyo-cement.co.jp/ -- formed by the 1998 merger of Chichibu Onoda Cement and Nihon Cement, is Japan's leading cement manufacturer. Taiheiyo's other interests include minerals and aggregates, construction materials (ready-mix concrete and concrete products), and real estate. The company also operates materials recycling businesses that include the conversion of sewage sludge from power plants. Taiheiyo provides real estate management services in the Tokyo area. The Troubled Company Reporter-Asia Pacific reported on June 25, 2007, that Standard & Poor's Rating Services lifted its 'BB' long-term foreign and local issuer credit ratings to 'BB+' Taiheiyo Cement Corporation. The outlook is stable. |
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